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How to provide a local flavor to your global ecommerce business

Category: Growth Hacks

How to provide a local flavor to your global ecommerce business
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

How to provide a local flavor to your global ecommerce business

Think global, act local is the new success mantra for e-commerce players operating internationally.

Localization of one’s global e-commerce business is the best strategy to transcend cultural boundaries and win customers’ trust (and wallet share!). Although e-commerce has wiped away the boundaries of time and place, cultural differences play an important role in customer perception. Often, small changes like localization of language and content can help connect better with the customer. We shall study the ways in which the localization strategy can be effectively implemented:

  1. Speak the same language: One must be aware of the cultural sensitivities of each region before going gung-ho and translating the entire website into the native language. For example, in some regions, an informal address might be acceptable to the customer. In others, a polite and formal tone sends across the message of being business-like and professional. Customers are likely to be impressed with product descriptions in their regional language or websites hosted on country-level domains. Often, there are websites that support multiple languages. One needs to select the country name from a drop down menu and the entire website is customized as per local tastes. However, it is important to note that the meaning should not be lost in translation!
  2. Win at social media: Unless one has been living under a rock, an active social media presence is a must. Effective communication and posts as per regional interests would help easily win potential customers. One should not stick to global platforms like Twitter and Facebook merely. There would be other mediums that would be able to catch the pulse of the local public better.
  3. Reviews by natives: It would be a good idea to include reviews by the natives in the regional website. The readily available peer reviews would convince other customers about the quality of the product. This would result in higher sales conversion.
  4. Utilize local festivals to one’s maximum advantage: This strategy works well in a country like India, where festivals are celebrated on many days in a year. Major e-commerce players like Amazon, Flipkart have successfully adopted this strategy. They offer special discounts for Diwali, Republic Day, Holi etc, which results in phenomenal volume growth in sales. Further, offering customized products with marketing material suited to the occasion can help boost revenues. Thus, one could capitalize on special shopping days by working with local marketing agents to achieve higher sales.
  5. Payment processing in local currency: Customers would prefer to pay in the local currency. Merchants should ensure that the payment gateway supports payment in home currency. Another idea would be to have a flexible shopping cart with a currency converter. The online payment platforms could also offer multilingual support. It would be prudent to have multiple payment options as the preferred and acceptable payment modes vary from region to region.
  6. Familiarity as a branding strategy: Localized content and hosting products that are popular in the target market would help the customer easily navigate the website. Thus, the purchase decision and transaction completion would be faster. A smooth checkout process would ensure repeat customers for further buys.
  7. All-in-one adaptation: One must remember not to restrict localization merely to linguistics or language translation. Localization strategy encompasses the entire gamut of content – text, pictures, currency, delivery channels, brand building, design and cultural alignment. The last would include aspects like avoiding selling products on the e-commerce website that hurt local sentiments. Researching the local market to create a native shopping experience is key to achieving success.
  8. Know the rules: Local regulations on consumer laws and data privacy should be considered before localization of the e-commerce platform. For example, some countries mandate the use of a privacy policy and a disclosure of cookies that store customer information. One must keep in mind the local taxes and other jurisdictional requirements that are to be complied with in the payment gateway process.

Localization of the e-commerce business, operating globally, would allow the message to go across clear to the customer, enabling higher sales conversion, beating competition and reaching out to a wider target audience.

5 years ago
Online marketplace vs e-commerce webpage – which one you should turn to?
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

Online marketplace vs e-commerce webpage – which one you should turn to?

With an increasing pressure to maintain a good digital presence, sellers are often faced with a dilemma. Whether to invest in one’s own e-commerce website or list products and services on an online marketplace for a fee? Though both are entirely based online, one must be well aware of the differences, pros and cons of both the options. This way, one can make a well-informed decision, best suited to one’s business model. The following are the features, advantages and disadvantages of each of the two options:

  1. Operating model: An online selling model wins hands down over the traditional brick and mortar shop by way of customer reach and access.
    • E-commerce webpage: An e-commerce website is an independent extension of one’s business i.e. an online store. The portal would host the entire product catalogue with brand details and pricing.
    • Online marketplace: On the other hand, an online marketplace is where one lists one’s products, along with many sellers, for potential customers to browse and buy. The website owner allows third party sellers to sell to customers in return for a fee.
  2. Cost dynamics: An e-commerce site needs to be running 24×7 and requires considerable monetary investment and set up time by way of development, design, selection of domain name, hosting services, integrating a shopping cart, content and can then take payments online. It requires hiring of skilled talent to maintain the site and resolve technical issues. There is minimal cost involved in a marketplace, as one can register, upload and sell the products via the digital platform.
  3. Winning customers: E-commerce requires marketing efforts to build a loyal customer base and ensure sales conversion. However, since it exclusively hosts in-house products, there is potential to earn better margins in case of higher traffic. Further, one can establish direct rapport with customers and send emails on product promotions, discounts or offers. This might result in higher repeat sales. Marketplaces are on the other hand, purely transaction based, and seek to match seller’s products with potential customers. However, since one is competing with several other sellers in the marketplace, one needs to have a good product differentiation or offer discounts to attract customers. In this case, the profit margins might take a hit.
  4. Brand building: E-commerce offers ample opportunities to develop one’s brand and offer customized products to customers. Marketplaces would uniformly promote all listed products and try to enhance website visitors. One might lose sales to competitor sellers. Thus, there are limited opportunities to engage with customers and develop leads. This is because the payment processing and transaction is handled by the online marketplace.
  5. Ease of navigation: An e-commerce website offers products based on separate categories. Hence a customer can easily filter the products or search based on a refined criterion to access the listings. Plus, the product universe would be relatively lesser compared to a marketplace, owing to being restricted to a single seller. In case of a marketplace, the products are organized as sets with multiple sellers. Owing to larger data set, the product selection might be a time-consuming process.
  6. Control aspect: In an e-commerce site, one can control all the aspects of design, content, templates, security aspects, payment mode and integration of payment gateways. There are no limitations on the character limits or guidelines to follow. One can create a unique customer experience and engage better with the customer. There is no flexibility of customization in a marketplace that functions as a one stop shop. Thus, the design, content and templates are as per the choice of the online platform owner. Further, to attract more customers, there may be multiple online payment platforms.

In conclusion, you need to remember that a one size fits all concept never works in business. An online marketplace might help increase sales conversion in case of a relatively new business. On the other hand, in case of a business with an established client base, it would make sense to operate an in-house e-commerce portal. One must take a suitable decision based on the vendors’ business model, nature of products, specific needs, client base and pricing model.

5 years ago
Boost sales conversion with the right payment integration strategy
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

Boost sales conversion with the right payment integration strategyWhile window shoppers are welcome to browse the e-commerce website, merchants are mainly concerned with serious buyers who proceed to the payment gateway after adding the products to the cart. We shall look at the various approaches of how to integrate a payment gateway and the best option to increase sales conversion.

  1. Redirect the customer: The online payment platform is hosted on an external third-party webpage. It is not integrated into the merchant’s own website. Thus, the customer is redirected to a website with a different URL.
    • Disadvantages: The merchant lacks control of the payment process as it is outsourced to an external vendor. The customer might not enjoy services of the same standard as those offered by the merchant. Poor server speed or any other payment processing error that hampers payment would adversely reflect on the brand image of the merchant.
    • For the merchant: The merchant has no control over the operational aspects like error message, back-end process and security levels. Further, there is no way for the merchant to confirm customers’ payments. In many cases, redirection can hurt sales. The customer might abandon the purchase on being directed to a separate website with different design and logo, owing to security concerns. One might even end up losing business to a rival that offers more convenient features in accepting payments.
    • For the customer: The time for the transaction to be completed depends on the speed of the third-party server. Generally, an online customer would prefer a transaction that takes minimum time until final checkout. The customer would like to see a confirmation of the order delivery on the merchant’s website after payment. It might not be possible to return to the e-commerce site after payment.
  2. I-frame based forms: The iframe feature allows one to add an external payment form to one’s website. This works like an appendage to one’s payment page, in return for a code received from the payment solutions company. However, the design is as per the payment provider. This would cause inconsistency with the layout of the webpages of one’s own website. Further, in case the third-party servers are down or operating slowly, the customer might face issues in making payments. One would not be in a position to offer much support and track the error in real time as the payment process is outsourced. Code changes might also have limited options. The delay might result in the customer cancelling the order or abandoning the cart. Payment management is difficult as the merchant lacks control over the process.
  3. Customized forms: The custom form is completely integrated into the merchant’s own website. Thus, the payments process is completely managed onsite. The input fields like the customer details to be entered within the HTML payment page can be entirely customised. The payment processor handles the security aspect of the payment gateway, ensuring it is compliant with the leading PCI certification. This ensures that the customer data is safe and confidential. Since the merchants obtain real-time information, they can offer live chat support to the customer in the event of any difficulty in making payments. With the customization feature, the merchant can design a payment form compatible in look and need with the rest of the website. The last option is a sure-shot way to boost sales conversion. The merchant has complete control of the transaction and there is no risk of any dilution in quality at any stage.

In online transactions, it’s best not to risk losing control of the business transaction to a third party at the crucial stage of payment processing. Hence, it’s best for a merchant to take complete ownership from start to end of each online transaction. This would entail having a seamlessly integrated, customized payments platform within one’s e-commerce site. Often, a crucial decision like payment integration can result in winning or losing customers.

5 years ago
How Offering Alternate Payment Methods Provides a Competitive Edge
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

How Offering Alternate Payment Methods Provides a Competitive Edge

With e-commerce gradually taking centre stage, online shopping is emerging to be a highly competitive space. Every merchant is keen to include differentiating factors based on customer convenience and choice to stand out from competition. One such feature is offering alternate payment methods to the customer. We shall look at how offering alternative payment methods can help one stay ahead of one’s business rivals.

  1. Let the customer choose: Just like with products, customers like to be presented with choice when it comes to payment methods. For a global e-commerce business, it is important to identify the locally preferred, accepted payment methods. This option varies among different geographies, regions, industries, age groups, and devices i.e. smartphone, tablet or laptop used to make the purchase. For example, it is not practical to enter card details in a mobile. In such a case, digital wallets might be popular. In another study, it has been found that millennials prefer text to talk in case of payment methods.
  2. Adapt to local tastes: There are several e-commerce payment options available like direct bank transfers, direct debit, digital wallets, cash on delivery, phone and mobile payments, prepaid cards, money order, online invoices, digital currencies and specific local payment modes. A payment solutions company with a global network would be able to provide valuable insight about the most commonly used payment option. The data analytics would enable higher sales conversion.
  3. Fraud risk evaluation: One can use digital solutions that provide real-time information on the most suitable payment method to be provided to a shopper, after an automated background verification of customer credentials. The shopper’s delivery address, device location and other specific data can be used to assess the risk profile by the time the customer reaches the payment page. This offers dual advantages of providing appropriate payment methods as well as reducing incidents of fraud.
  4. Customer recognition: It is best to provide customized payment options of at least 3 modes. This can be determined based on the past purchase trends like value, frequency and the use of a particular payment mode. This would help provide seamless payment processing based on intuitive data.
  5. Multi-currency support: It is best to opt for online payment platforms that support multiple currencies or provide an accurate currency conversion option. Often, a customer might be travelling internationally and would need to make a purchase from an e-commerce merchant. In such a case, a payment gateway that offers payment acceptance across payment modes in multiple currencies can be a huge advantage.
  6. Secure payment processing: To win the trust of the customer, it is vital to provide secure payment solutions that comply with the highest security standards. Only then would the customer be willing to save confidential details of payment modes like credit card or debit card on the e-commerce website. This saves time during the checkout process as the details will be pre-filled. Some modes like EMV chips can negate any scope for credit card fraud.
  7. Enhance value: One could offer frequent customers the option to pay with reward points or loyalty cards. Co-branded cards that offer rewards like discounts, etc would encourage higher spending with certain merchants. Certain digital wallets also enable the storage of ID cards issued by Government authorities.

Technology is redefining the way we think about payment modes. Gone are the days when one had limited options of cash, cards and net banking. A whole plethora of alternative payment methods are available to cater to the preferences of every wallet, demography, market and business type. A one-size-fits-all approach would prove counterproductive and might result in losing out valuable business to the competition. One needs to find the right payment mix that works best for the unique needs of each business segment and customer profile.

5 years ago
PayTabs embraces a data-driven strategy with KPI dashboards
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

PayTabs is a Saudi-based company that facilitates processing of online payments securely and efficiently, founded by Saudi entrepreneur Abdulaziz Al Jouf.

PayTabs caters to small, medium, and large enterprises via different business models. PayTabs offers their clients services allowing them to seamlessly ‘plug and play’ various features onto their websites. They pride themselves on offering simple and efficient invoicing services for merchants and professionals.

PayTabs was awarded the title of ‘Fintech Company of the Year 2018’ at the prestigious Arabian Business Achievement Awards. With dedicated offices in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and presence in Bahrain, India, and the Philippines, PayTabs is fast emerging as the preferred payment solution company.

Meet Monita…

Monita Pesumal is the PR, Events, and Communications Manager at PayTabs. It’s her job to handle public relations, media, corporate communications, branding, events, and manage the marketing team at PayTabs.

Tracking and observing company health

PayTabs embraces a data-driven strategy with KPI dashboards

*Image is for illustrative purpose only – not actual company data

PayTabs offers a smart dashboard to help their customers manage monitor their online business metrics as a part of their service suite. Before trying Klipfolio, PayTabs were using their own dashboard software to monitor the health of their company. However, they weren’t getting enough out of this approach and needed a more flexible and powerful dashboard solution.

“We had an analytics tool baked into our offering which was limited and we didn’t have the resources to build a full-blown analytics tool needed for the job. Building an all-in-one, in-house dashboard system would have been too time consuming for our existing team.”

The PayTabs team decided to work with Klifpolio mainly because of its robust variety of data source quick connectors and sophistocated API capabilities that support connection to their HRM and CRM services.

“Being able to customize our Klipfolio dashboards according to our requirements was a major plus!”

The team was able to get up and running with Klipfolio quickly and easily once they commited.

The ‘KPI Trifecta’: sales metrics, support metrics, and financial metrics

PayTabs embraces a data-driven strategy with KPI dashboards

*Image is for illustrative purpose only – not actual company data

PayTabs uses Klipfolio for tracking their company-wide KPIs. This is possible because Klipfolio allows you to connect to multiple data-source, mash them up, and have the information displayed all in one visualization.

“We’ve built Klipfolio dashboards for every department to help identify and analyze data relevant to them in addition to generating regular reports.”

*Image is for illustrative purpose only – not actual company data

The team has done a great job at defining their goals and targets, and they lean on their dashboards to observe and track how well their KPIs are doing against target on a daily basis.

The effectiveness and selection of each KPI should always depend on the business and marketing/sales/finance/HR models in place. Defining organizational KPIs. has been a real game changer for PayTabs.

Their KPIs are all likely to change as they gather new insights into the market and/or their offering, which means assessments are done both at the company and departmental levels.

PayTabs embraces a data-driven strategy with KPI dashboards

*Image is for illustrative purpose only – not actual company data

Overall, PayTabs is quite pleased with their Klipfolio dashboards.

“We love that Klipfolio is highly customizable, easy to integrate, and user friendly. What’s great is you don’t need to be a developer to use Klipfolio, almost anyone can build Klips.”

A big corporate culture done right

PayTabs is an equal opportunity employer. The company has over 20 nationalities represented in their office including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Philippines, Germany, UK, India, and Sri Lanka.

Like diversity, gender equality is also valued within the firm as they have an equal ratio of male to female employees. Some of the employees have been with the firm since its inception.

Employees at PayTabs say that the atmosphere has a ‘chilled and funky vibe’ with open floor plan offices, bean bags, a café, and a host of fun and engaging monthly activities that contribute to the positive work vibe.

Monita has some closing advice for anyone on the fence about taking a more data-driven approach to business:

“Take the plunge. Data is the new black.”

Source

5 years ago