The report, 'Understanding Your New Global Customer: 10 things you need to know about search and conversion when marketing to an overseas audience', highlights the often poorly understood cultural nuances that can have a dramatic impact on online businesses.
EMarketer estimates that global retail sales will grow 6.4 per cent in 2015 to $23.927tn, with e-commerce accounting for $1.592tn, or 6.7 per cent of that total, up nearly 21 per cent on 2014.
With this booming international ecommerce market, brands are increasingly eyeing overseas markets to reach new customers.
However, there are numerous pitfalls for the unwary when marketing to international customers.
The Oban report summarises the top 10 things brands need to know when planning their international expansion and how to avoid such pitfalls.
According to Oban, when a white goods etailer was launching in Germany, for example, it found the typical English term ‘slimline’ wasn’t used by German consumers, who woud instead generally search using precise measurements.
The way people consume content in different cultures can also have an important impact on how brands market themselves.
Oban worked with a Premier League football club in the UK that wanted to engage fans across India, Mexico, Thailand and the UK on social media.
It found large differences in how consumers in each territory preferred to consume and share social media content.
In India, for instance, people were far less likely than those in other countries to react to Facebook posts or tweets while the match was on, and for hours after.
The Oban report includes insight and top tips on areas including; why customer demand differs by market – and its effect on search and conversion; nations ‘divided’ by a common language; why localisation is so much more than an industry buzzword; and the nuts and bolts of localisation.