“Second Place is just the first place loser” – Dale Earnhardt
When you enter a new market with your online shop, you can chose if you aim at becoming #1 or not. Thes two models to enter new markets:
- Enter as many market as possible as cheap as possible and make your shop reachable for anybody who want buy your products.
- Enter each market as a champion, with the aim to become #1 in you category.
If you ask me, I recommend that you enter like a champ!
And this is why: Everybody remember the winner in a race. And it is the same for customers, they return to Amazon because Amazon is #1. And E-commerce is about returning customer. Anything done mediocre in business or e-commerce is losing. And in 2012, it is not enough just to make your products available to everybody, you have to serve then too.
So how should you enter a new market. You should enter in steps. Nobody become winner overnight and it can be really expensive to “go all” in on a new market you don’t know as well as your home market. Start your shop abroad, when you believe you have a chance to make the first sale, keep improving and localizing you shop. Even if you start as last new shop in the market, keep aiming for the first place. If you don’t have the resources (Money AND time) to become number #1, then don’t even try. It will be a waste and drain your energy and efforts in your domestic market.
I write this post because I see a lot of e-commerce companies who enter new markets, just to enter the new market. It is like, the more flags your shop have the better you are in e-commerce, but if you don’t take the foreigns customers place and aim at being their #1 servant, then you will fail abroad. #1 reason E-commerce companies don’t succeed abroad, is because they don´t listen and serve their foreign customers as well as in their home market. Do you have the resources to do that?
NB – if you are selling a total unique product, and therefore have no competitors abroad, then go for entering as many new markets as possible, as cheap as possible, but for companies that have competition aim to become #1.





























Jobb på Ehandel.se