Who better to turn to for advice on cross-border selling using global marketplaces than the very people who have been there and done it? Here, we offer our favourite tips from World First customers.
1. Think like a buyer
When listing your products on a marketplace, be sure to take a step back and think about how it looks from a potential buyer’s point of view. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself; “What would I like to see if I was the buyer?”
2. ‘Busy’ and ‘successful’ are not the same thing
The aim is to make sure that you are profitable and not just busy fulfilling orders, dealing with returns, and looking after admin. Successful sellers ensure that they are busy doing the right things.
3. Get your pricing right
Sounds obvious, right? But how do you know what is ‘right’? Work out your margin carefully and make sure you are competitive whilst also factoring in all your costs. Don’t forget that your time is a ‘cost’, so make sure you allow for that.
4. Stock-up. Golden rule: do not oversell!
Successful businesses are able to fulfil every order that comes in quickly and efficiently. If you can’t, your reviews and ratings will suffer and that can damage your brand. Get your back office as automated as your funds will allow.
5. Look after your public-image
It may sound obvious, but high-quality, hi-res images of your products are essential. It might be a good idea to invest in a quality camera – or even a quality photographer – to present yourself and your products in the best possible light.
6. Commit to selling internationally
It may seem to make sense to test things out by ‘going international’ on the cheap, but if your translations, distribution and returns policy, for example, are not up to scratch, you’re unlikely to succeed.
7. Protect your margin
If, like lots of marketplace sellers, you are a low-margin, high-volume business, unnecessary fees and uncompetitive exchange rates can damage your margin. Through World First’s great exchange rates, we could help you make significant savings compared to using a bank (or the marketplace’s default currency option) when bringing back your hard-earned sales.