Global marketplace optimization is a critical part of international business strategy. The ability to reach new customers, increase brand visibility, and maximize sales potential requires careful consideration.
In 2018, 54% of product searches were initially conducted on Amazon, representing an alternative to search engines.
The rise of Ecommerce has seen global eCommerce revenue reach $3.5 trillion in 2019, of which 67.2% is projected to come from mobile product searches, many of which often result in a purchase within an hour.
Ecommerce marketplaces benefit from having sophisticated applications that provide customers with features including fast performance, convenience, product comparisons, and high security.
As Google is becoming more difficult for gaining organic brand awareness on SERPs, online marketplaces become a viable alternative. They allow brands a platform to engage with customers when they are ready to purchase goods or services. Here are three points that should help properly optimize this strategy.
Three Keys To Consider
Here are three key factors to consider when optimizing your global marketplace:
- Engage with customers
- Identify the ideal marketplace for you
- Integrate your strategy
Engage With Customers
When marketplaces around the world become more accessible, local consumer behavior becomes increasingly more important. Understanding regional trends and preferences can help you better customize your approach in order to engage existing users and attract new ones. Additionally, familiarity with competitors ensures that you stay ahead of the game in terms of product innovation and pricing strategies.
Across Western Europe and the United States, 42% of consumers either already have or plan to purchase a smart device such as an Amazon Echo. These devices, powered by virtual assistants like Alexa or Google Home, enable customers to place orders without comparison through voice commands, more than a third of virtual assistant users have already taken advantage of this feature.
This implies an adjustment to your marketplace optimization strategy, as you’ll have to optimize the content for customer interaction through this new method, similar to voice search.
A revolution is dawning in smart speaker marketing! Say hello to radio-style ads, branded product suggestions and – get this – even interactive ads that answer back. The marketplace optimization options for smart speakers are almost endless, so start optimizing your content for voice today and keep an eye on the developing landscape. You don’t want to miss a second of this exciting conversation!
Identify The Ideal Marketplace For You
When it comes to optimizing your presence in the global marketplace, one of the key considerations is to identify the ideal marketplace for you. While there are many potential options out there, it’s important to evaluate each one against your specific needs and objectives.
First, look at the size and scope of the marketplace. Are you looking for a large global market or something more localized? Do you want to target a wide range of demographics or focus on specific buyer personas? Are you looking for markets with high levels of conversions or ones that have low barriers to entry?
Once you’ve identified the ideal marketplace, it’s time to start optimizing. This includes setting up and optimizing your store page, optimizing your product pages, building out a content and promotion strategy.
For example in Japan, Rakuten and Amazon have a roughly equal share of the e-commerce market, both holding around 20%. Rakuten has expanded into foreign markets including the United States in recent years.
In 2018, Amazon held a large portion of eCommerce sales in the US (49%) and UK (33.5%), significantly larger than that of other marketplaces such as eBay (6.6% in the US). This serves as an important factor to consider when optimizing marketplaces in these countries.
While in China, Alibaba holds a majority of the market share compared to Amazon’s lower figures.
In addition, international marketplaces such as Etsy are also worth exploring. The landscape of international markets can also vary greatly.
In the United Kingdom, eBay is the most popular platform for sales and comes in second place. Thus, it is essential to carefully choose a marketplace if they wish to maximize their sales percentage.
In order to gain more insight into customer preferences, obtaining feedback, conducting surveys and reviewing past purchases may be beneficial. It is not recommended to dedicate resources to a website which has limited visitor traffic as it may result in inefficient use of time and funds.
To choose the right marketplace for your organization, you first need to make a priority market list. Later, narrow down this list according to customer preferences that agree with your list and choose the best among them. Also, keep in mind to choose a platform that offers the best customer service experience and support as this can improve the number of customers and help preserve the existing ones.
When crafting a global strategy, researching priority markets and adapting for local markets with the most growth potential is essential.
Integrate Your Strategy
Integrating a global marketplace optimization strategy is essential to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness in the multiple marketplaces around the world. Companies must be aware of the differences in customer preferences, regulations, competitive landscape and other factors that can affect their success rate. All these elements must be taken into account when developing an integrated strategy for global marketplace optimization.
The first step to integrating a strategy is to define your organization’s objectives. It is important to have a clear understanding of the goals you wish to achieve and the target audiences you wish to reach.
One of the most important steps in global marketplace optimization is to establish a strong digital presence. Having an effective website with thorough information about products or services helps build trust between your company and international customers.
Furthermore, utilizing multi-language capabilities tailored for specific markets will give your brand an edge over competitors who may not have invested in such localized content.
An internal global readiness team is essential in planning strategies that leverage emerging opportunities while providing insight into potential challenges associated with entering new markets. Having a dedicated group enhances communication among departments while empowering teams to make proactive decisions based on their expertise in regional culture, social norms, local regulations, etc.
Assembling a multicultural team gives insight into cultural differences which allows decision makers to approach foreign partners accordingly and avoid potential issues due to communication gaps or poor etiquette.
Understanding your customers is paramount for success! If you don’t deliver on their expectations, your sale rate can suffer. Every market has its own unique needs – be sure to keep them in mind.
While in China, optimizing a marketplace involves more than just optimizing for keywords, product listings, and ads. Customers appreciate good customer service and direct contact with sellers.
In Asia, eCommerce growth is driving tech innovation, and its effects on US consumer behavior are evident.
In China, mobile payments are widely adopted and eWallets are becoming increasingly popular, with 47% of phone owners using them. Therefore, providing this payment option is essential in the Chinese market.
Just 17% of US consumers use e-wallets, which is less than in other countries. This could change; 2 million more people started using them between 2017 and 2019. Companies like Alibaba and Tencent are becoming popular, offering a combination of social media, eCommerce, and banking functions. 37% of global consumers use social sites for purchase advice. UK businesses like Harrods, Selfridges and the Savoy accept Alipay as payment.
Once these objectives are established, create a comprehensive plan that outlines each step that must be taken in order to meet them. This plan should include an analysis of current market trends, customer preferences, competitive landscape and other relevant data points.
Conclusion
Overall, global marketplace optimization is essential for increasing success in international markets as it provides ready access to new customers while also opening doors for potential partnerships.
Now’s the time to join the global marketplace boom! With online sales rocketing up 60%, it’s never been easier to grow your business – but success doesn’t come without a plan.
It is important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and use them strategically. To achieve this, it is critical to have an understanding of customer needs and what works best for your brand, and then make optimizations accordingly. Be ready and monitor future advancements in this area.
