Time to Domicile! Say what?

I have to what? I have to domicile where?

I have been in on several conversations where plans to sell aggressive globally halt at this point. The reality is that some countries may require you to have a local, physical presence in order to do e-business.

Ouch.

If a country doesn’t require you to setup shop there, it will probably be necessary at some point, because you will benefit from lower merchant fees and more favorable interchange rates.

Another point to consider is that if you do not have a local acquiring (bank) relationship you may be missing out on a significant amount of potential card business. I know from my own experience that with Carte Bleue in France you will not be able to process about 30% of the cards if you don’t have the correct local banking relationship set up.

The good news is that you may be able to create regional relationships that cover a swath of countries like in the European Union.

As always I would say it is best to consult with an international business consultant. But where can you find one of those? Hmmm…. Just ask and I can get you in touch with the right people.

(BTW: My definition of a global web business is that you have setup marketing, sales and payment systems to support the country you are selling to)

Xin Baby! Xin!

“Xin” (trustworthiness) is an important philosophy among Chinese consumers. Our business Xin is key to online sales, especially when dealing with international e-commerce.

What are the top three items to consider when building trustworthiness globally? I don’t know. But here are three that come to mind.

Culture correctness – Understanding cultural values and distinct no-no’s can make or break your e-commerce efforts. Doing business in China? Pictures of clocks may symbolize death. Tell you what – stay away from clocks for now. Also, stay away from the numbers 4 and 7 which may relate to death. Death – I say!

Available payment options – In general, providing at least three payment options increases conversion at checkout by up to 20%. This is especially true in the global market. In Germany Direct Debit and Real Time Banking (like Giropay) are preferred payment options over credit card. According to the Bank of international Payments, 60% of online payments in Germany are via Direct Debit. Not offering Direct Debit solutions in Germany is like not offering cards at a US coffee shop. Not going in there again! What does this have to do with trustworthiness? Let’s just say not everyone in the world trusts credit cards and leave it at that.

Language – Translating your site can be a pain in the #$%. However, if you are serious about attracting business from a specific market, it can make all of the difference in the world. According to Overture France, the French consumer will look for information on the web in the French language approximately 94% of the time. They are not attracted to English advertisements. You think you can sell to China, Japan and Brazil without language translation? OK.

Please share with us your comments on trustworthiness in the global e-commerce market…