Randall Castillo Ortega explains how to prepare a national company for international export

There are many challenges to overcome when opening up foreign markets for small businesses. Despite this, thanks to technology and the Internet, it is possible for any business to open up markets abroad even if its marketing budget is modest. In fact, one of the most effective ways to cross borders is the easiest of all: using the company’s own website, either through e-commerce or as a generation platform. leads. Randall Castillo Ortega, entrepreneur and expert in import and export operations, offers advice on preparing a company’s website for the overseas market.

The chances of buying on the web increase if the site is in the customer’s language. Says Castillo, “For a small business, generating content in other languages ​​can be particularly expensive. One way to keep these costs under control is to use English as your first language to translate and only translate the languages ​​of the markets where you have more interests. Translation companies are responding to this need and some, like Gala, already offer ad hoc web content translation services. In the event that the company’s site contains multimedia, we will consider the use of subtitles, at least in English.

In addition to the simple translation, it is necessary to take into account the cultural differences of each country or continent. For example, the way of creating commercial promotional messages in Asia can be very different from that in Europe.

If the budget is not sufficient to completely translate the website into other languages, we can handle other alternatives such as translating only landing pages with a clear marketing purpose, such as downloading a brochure or generating leads. Another option ?? who should not worsen the image of the company ?? is to link the content to the Google translation tool. Machine translation is not a substitute for human translation, but it can improve the experience of the foreign user when visiting the web.

Starting an export activity leads to new cost models that must be taken into account. The logistics and those associated with possible currency changes are the most obvious. But it will also be necessary to consider the possible customs or tax costs that a buyer will have to bear depending on each country. Certain international logistics operators facilitate these procedures and calculations within the framework of their software tools which they make available to their customers.

Google operates different sites for each geographic market. Keyword tracking, tracking and optimization ?? whether SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or SEM (Search Engine Marketing) ?? should be extended to regional portals where we have an interest. This work can be approached by purchasing different regional domain names for each of the countries, using keywords in other languages ​​and segmenting geographically through Google’s Webmaster tools.

To export most goods or services, you do not need any authorization in most cases. However, there may be restrictions on the export or import of certain products such as defense equipment, firearms, seeds, organic products, food, etc. Once the existing restrictions are known, they should appear in some form on the company’s website. ; especially if we have an e-commerce system. In the event that it is not possible to ship to certain countries or if there are restrictions of any kind. The rights and obligations of consumers of a service provider may vary from country to country. International organizations such as the OECD have published guidelines for companies operating on the Internet internationally, ?? adds Castillo.

In marketing, good segmentation always comes at a price. This is why it is highly recommended to complete the action on the web with marketing actions of segmented databases on the same markets / segments where we have oriented the web. In the case where the company is B2B, one source for obtaining these records is GRS, a data segmentation and exportation tool offered by Informa D&B which provides access to 220 million companies worldwide. In such a case, you can execute a simple and effective strategy that combines email prospecting and telemarketing. If the segmentation is adequate, the impacts of this action will lead to searches in Internet search engines which will direct prospects to the Web previously prepared for this market.

About Randall Castillo Ortega

Randall Castillo Ortega has been involved in the financial space virtually his entire professional career. Besides having founded the financial loan company RACO, he is also an avid outdoorsman and, along with his family, is a big supporter of the community. He regularly participates in community ceremonies and events organized to foster a better environment for children and families.