Email Marketing for International eCommerce

There are many nuances to international eCommerce. Therefore, it may be hard to point out what is missing if you have not handled such a project before. One of the many details includes multicurrency and multilingual capabilities throughout the eCommerce platform.

So, everything from the content of the website to other information like shipping information needs to be translated. It should match the preferred language of the end-user. Even things like text messages and email need to be accurately translated, keeping the local dialect of the country or region in mind.

Essentially, translating the email content of your international eCommerce platform is just as crucial if you want to attract an audience that speaks a different language. Make sure every aspect of your email template-from product and purchase information to currency and images- is converted to match the local dialect. It will allow you to target the audience more effectively. So, how can you achieve this?

In this article, we talk about the steps you need to configure the email content of your platform for international audiences.

Email Templates Offered by the eCommerce Platform

First of all, you need to make sure you choose an international eCommerce platform that delivers content in the languages you are planning to target. Another thing you have to make sure is whether the platform provides suitable email templates as well. If it does not, then it might be significantly limiting from a customer satisfaction perspective. Especially if you are planning to grow your business and target more regions.

Therefore, we encourage you to look into the features different eCommerce platforms are offering. After all, email is not just there to inform customers about their transactions or shipments. It is also crucial to building a positive customer experience. And emails following the tone and dialect expected in the end user's region are going to help with that.

Customizing Email Content

The second step is customizing and catering to the email content for your target audience. You need to translate each part of the template and change any region-specific images according to the targeted locale.

You may also benefit from having particular local imagery and branding within the email content itself.

Now, this can be very subjective, depending on the target region. Therefore, you must do a lot of planning and strategize beforehand. You first have to determine the areas you want to target. After that, you can put your time and energy into generating email content for those specific locales.

We recommend looking at the basics first. So for an order confirmation email, you may translate the main labels. These may include "order confirmed," "delivery timeline," "shipping/billing information," as well as the agreed-upon terms and conditions.

For an account set-up email, you can translate the labels welcoming the new customer to your site. Many international eCommerce platforms offer these features off-the-shelf. We encourage opting for one that does. Merely creating a baseline of standard emails is a lot of work.

So, the emails an international eCommerce platform generally sends out include order emails, shipment emails, and refund emails. However, there might be a situation that requires receipt confirmation or allows the client to cancel an order or lodge a complaint/concern. All these situations would require separate email templates too.

Once you have built out all the core content, you are good to go if you are working with an international eCommerce platform that provides the ability to modify the labeling. Every time an international email goes out, it is automatically going to follow the style of the email templates. The only thing that will change is the content and imagery according to the region being catered.

Generating Unique Dynamic Content

The next thing you need to focus on is the concept of dynamic content. After you have built out email templates for the different scenarios, it is time to configure your platform to generate dynamic content for users. For instance, some users might forget they have something in their cart so that they might appreciate a little reminder. Or some might forget about your site, so you may give them a special coupon or inform them about discounts during a special event. There are many reasons to send out emails besides providing customers with transaction details.

It can be beneficial to send out well-timed, targeted information to your customers. Many businesses take advantage of special events to boost their sales. For instance, many flower shops send reminders to their customers. They ask them to place an order several weeks ahead of Valentine's Day. The same thing can conceptually apply to international eCommerce.

So, there might be items that are going out of inventory soon, or they are going on sale. Or there might be a pattern where people in a particular region who looked at a specific item. But ended up purchasing an XYZ item. Using this information, you can form a correlation between a particular user and what they are viewing. You can determine what they might be interested in based on what other similar users purchase. So, you want to provide value to your audience by reminding them of these important dates and relevant products. Even sending useful resources can be beneficial. For instance, you may send out helpful guides for an item the user might be interested in buying.

Clarity International eCommerce Experts

To conclude, you need to customize email templates to have very specific content in them. The branding, language, and currency needs to be modified according to the region being targeted. You have to determine and cater to your niche or market to ensure a positive response.

If you have any more questions related to this topic, we encourage you to reach out to our experienced team. They can provide a complimentary analysis. Or answer any questions about the next step in the process of expanding your eCommerce platform internationally. We certainly look forward to answering your question and talking with you about your upcoming international eCommerce project.

As you plan how to expand your eCommerce platform internationally, we encourage you to go through the resources below. Some of these can be helpful for your project.