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E-business offers clear advantages for exporters: you can do exploratory research, increase contacts, develop markets around the globe, manage customer relationships, and reduce turn-around. Here are a few key points to keep in mind when using the Internet in the global market.
Make your site local
To increase your market penetration and provide the best customer service, most experts recommend customizing your site to your target market. Some possibilities include: .
Language
Although English is a de-facto standard, you should make your site available in your customers' language (Forrester Research predicts that by 2005, only 1/3 of users will use English). Translate at least a summary page (for foreign-language searches), order pages, and catalogues. A final tip: use professional translators, not machine translators or native speakers with little translation experience.
Local branding
Business-to-business (B2B) companies can profit from customizing their sites to their target market. Country flags, local spelling variants or terminology (flavor vs. flavour, cell vs. mobile), local content, and country-specific references (legal content, for example) all increase user confidence and comfort.
Currency
For retailers, showing prices in local currency can be more than a nice touch; it can increase local flavour and your customers' ability to compare prices; this gives them one less reason to choose local competition.
Electronic payment
Relatively few B2B payments are done online; however, more and more financial institutions are offering electronic payment as a solution. Make sure you can accept payments in local and U.S. funds and that your billing and ordering processes are as easy as your competitors'.
Step up your security
Security is essential in Internet transactions for both retail and B2B operations. You will probably use some form of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to protect data transmitted between you and your customers. You must also protect your on-site information. Firewalls, for example, can help prevent electronic infiltration. You could also consider limiting physical access, remote and local login controls, secure payment systems, and digital signatures. Searchsecurity.com offers a collection of articles on Internet security.
You will also need a digital certificate - a secure electronic "key" that authenticates the partners in an online transaction. If you host your own site, you will require a server certificate, and many B2B transactions will require you to have a personal certificate for secure e-mails. Thawte, Verisign, and Entrust.com offer various digital signature solutions.
Partner with other companies
Some businesses can benefit from the Internet's potential to eliminate middlemen (brokers, wholesalers, distributors, and the like). On the other side of the coin, these companies can sometimes help your e-business with specialized solutions such as local warehousing, drop-shipping, and other order fulfillment solutions. Sometimes couriers such as UPS, FedEx or Purolator can offer these types of logistics solutions.
Join e-Markets
Electronic markets are big and growing, and like giant intermediaries, they provide a forum for buyers to contact sellers. There are many competing e-markets out there, so you'll probably want to join more than one.
Keep a close eye on the market
Exporting and e-business information is readily available- a simple search will turn up hundreds of useful articles. In fact, to keep their business in the know, many companies designate employees to surf their competitor and related industry sites and to participate in industry-specific newsgroup forums.
Know your taxes, laws & regulations
One of the most difficult hurdles for small businesses is dealing with local taxes and regulations. Fortunately, most target countries have online resources to answer your basic questions. Still, you will most likely need to make contacts with local brokers or other export-import specialists.
Canada Border Services Agency has a Handy Customs Guide for Exporters; the Department of Foreign Affairs has some technical information on international trade. Export Development Canada (EDC) offers economic reports on over 50 countries. The Standards Council of Canada offers an Export Alert! to keep you abreast of changes in your target market.
In the end, e-business offers exciting potential but is one of many channels to assist you in becoming a successful exporter. Don't neglect traditional marketing efforts such as trade shows, sales force motivation, advertising and networking, which can also help you raise visibility and develop new business.
If you are seeking support, an e-business specialist such as a BDC advisor can help. In fact, BDC offers a comprehensive e-strat program to help adapt, develop, and implement a customized e-business strategy.
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