International shipping charges
should not be a deterrent to global marketing.
Lots of manufacturers and distributors in the U.S. have been hesitant about marketing their products internationally when considering the shipping rates.
Of course, shipping internationally involves a much steeper charge than when sending goods domestically. However, those marketing products and services internationally should consider that their rate card is in U.S. dollars. For instance, if you were trying to market a product to the European community (let's not forget that Europe has close to 100 million more users than North American), the Euro has been consistently stronger than the U.S. dollar over the last five years and today is about 35% stronger than the U.S. dollar. Furthermore, the average sales tax in Europe is about 20%. Such sales tax does not exist on international orders.
In other terms, a potential buyer in Europe would save 35% just on the rate of exchange and another 20% from not paying sales tax.
Another point to consider is the fact that shipping rates in Europe are close to 20-30% higher than those of the U.S. Postal Service. (If you feel like complaining about postal rate increases, move to Paris or London and start thinking about how lucky you were in the U.S.!) Try to think of the international rates minus 20% (postal rates difference from European rates) minus 35% on the rate of exchange + another 20% savings from no sales tax...Truly, such financial consideration puts international marketing in a different light.
The fraud factor has contributed, as well, to slowing down international marketing endeavors. Oftentimes, people will question the payment gateway available when doing business internationally. This is a legitimate concern. Of course, there are the infamous "kings of chargebacks" and "emperors of stolen credit cards" (Nigeria, Indonesia, Israel...just to name a few), but even in those "high risk markets", you can have a special requirement. For example, you can demand a copy of their passport or a government ID to be faxed along with the credit card information... Where someone in Switzerland would take offense for such requirement, someone ordering from Pakistan would perfectly understand! In other terms, along with your order form, you could post a list of countries where a government ID/passport copy is required with the order.
In spite of all the logistics involved when marketing globally, in no way should international shipping charges be considered as a deterrent. Companies like eBay make most of their revenue from their foreign markets combined together...Google reports over 50% of its traffic comes from multilingual platforms...Start marketing internationally and benefit from the global economy factor!
In an absurd effort to fight foreign trade deficits, the Federal Reserve has managed embarrassingly to maintain the dollar for years at a record low...I am not here to comment politically nor ethically on such situation, but rather as an international online marketing specialist. I am just saying, "USA, it is time to take advantage of such financial situation!" With some of the most competitive products in the marketplace and a strong business reputation, the shattered dollar will play to your advantage on international markets. There are too many reasons why you should diversify by going global: Do not even think about international shipping rates as an objection!! International shipping charges should not be a deterrent to global marketing.
Mathias Levarek, Ph.D.
SEO Consultant for http://www.mseo.com
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