GoGlobalJam

71% of firms find working with multiple partners to manage in-country commerce infrastructure difficult or somewhat difficult

Integration, integration, integration. Very tough to do.

. @ScottHeimes what is the global retail playbook for a company looking to go fast now #greenfield

The challenge is maintaining brand and experience consistency across all the regions when different partners are creating localized strategies in isolation of a broader corporate governance strategy.

Companies have all had that experience from their ERP implementations. Too many cooks in the kitchen = problems, customization, and lots of consulting hours to untangle the hairball.

@furrier 1. Leverage a partner who has a global Commerce Business Infrastructure to manage the risk of compliance, tax, fraud and customer services around the globe.

I'd add consistency of customer experience (store design, messaging, etc.), customer service alignment, and catalog management. All operational issues, but they can add up in opex costs if you are not careful.

@furrier 2. Tackle a discrete set of countries in one region that are experiencing high rates of ecommerce growth

@furrier 3. Invest in a performance marketing program featuring search, email, affiliate, display with strong analytics to drive demand

@eCommB2BGuide Completely agree on the importance of cusotmer experience -- the worlds of ecommerce and digital experience are slowly but surely becoming integrated, as the recent DXP Wave from Forrester clarifies

Agree #3 Test, Measure, Implement, Repeat.

> Like the 1,2,3 approach

they want to fail fast - Get in, test and if it doesn't work get out again with relatively little risk or upfront investment

global commerce is complex, so they're also looking to manage the risk.

. @DigitalRiverInc I hear that merchants want to "stand up" ecommerce as fast as they can stand up servers in the #cloud being agile is key but completely secure

How quickly would they want to test?

@ScottHeimes What are some of the risk?

@peter_sheldon > Is that even possible? Easy and quick "test the watters?"

risks include staying compliant with local laws, managing tax and handling fraud

most firms want to see positive revenue generation within 12 months of project kickoff, so time to market is key.

@JeffFrick the key is to be able to get into a market quickly and not procrastinate over the potential opportunity.

@JeffFrick Digital River offers a standard implementation of our Global Commerce platform in as little as 30 days!

in addition to risk mitigation, a real risk is believing it's "build it and they will come". You need to back up expansion plans with a strong demand generation plan and digital marketing expertise in region

@peter_sheldon > I imagine most look to partnering as a method. Is that more risky than doing it alone? How to weigh the pros / cons?

@eCommB2BGuide You're absolutely right. You have to invest in getting it right locally and create a local experience.

@eCommB2BGuide You are 100% right -- a global expansion strategy will not succeed without a clear plan to acquire, convert and retain customers through direct response marketing

@eCommB2BGuide absolutely - you need to prioritize the markets with the biggest potential - focus on the markets where others have already seen success. Don't expand too fast.

@JeffFrick There are pros / cons - It should'nt be an either / or decision. You can (and probably should) augment your your own expertise with external expertise as needed to de-risk, but outsourcing everything is likely overkill.

@JeffFrick we partnered with @DigitalRiverInc and since we had other channels, we used in country knowledge to assist (resellers, affiliates, local copy editors) to name a range of assets

social should be a channel within your broader commerce performance marketing strategy - it's a powerful layer on a broader acquisition and retention strategy

social platforms enable very precise segmentation and targeting, which of leads to higher conversion rates when executed well

I'm loving how creative some brands are getting with #SocialCommerce. Pinterest has opened up a whole world of possibilities for eCommerce.

How does first party data differ from clickstream data in the aspect of driving to real time persona information; retailers want to offer personalization in real time. thoughts?

@DigitalMktgGirl totally agree on that point; social is all about global and standing up content fast with people then converting in a new way

The merchant of record is the org that is held financially liable by an acquiring bank for customer returns and chargebacks.

@peter_sheldon what about the seller of record?

The Seller of Record indicates which legal entity or person is identified as selling a specific product to the end consumer.

and outsourcing to a partner that provides MOR solutions enables businesses to also outsource the risk of legal entities, tax and fraud -- dramatically reducing risk.

. @DigitalRiverInc great question: how does this relate to systems of engagement?

@furrier The two (MOR and systems of engagement) are separate entities. The nice thing about outsourcing MOR is that a firm can do this and still own and operate their own systems of engagement in-house.

. @DigitalRiverInc Asia is top market and support for Unicode and UTF8

@furrier For sure, localizing all content is key in Asia including having the correct character sets and translations.

we see the classic BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) as offering significant promise, but also countries like Turkey, Poland and the Nordics.

. @DigitalRiverInc @ScottHeimes when should a firm engage a local resource if any for translation services; is that something needed to get rolling or can enterprises wait?

67% of firms consider international expansion in the next 12 months a critical or high priority. Only 8% have no strategy

. @DigitalRiverInc @peter_sheldon what are the dependencies if any #MWC15 is touting interoperable devices & networks does that impact expansion capabilities & speed?

@peter_sheldon > Seems like there would be two pieces. 1) Doing business globally, then 2) putting people on the ground globally

Our customers consistently rank global expansion their 1st or 2nd priority in 2015 -- especially in the high-growth countries

Many firms already have people on the ground in these markets - the key is to get them to take on new digital & eComm responsibilities.

@JeffFrick leveraging a partner with legal entities, local marketing and operations resources, and knowledge of local laws and tax requirements can dramatically accelerate time-to-market