Do you want to ensure continuous growth for your online business? Don’t limit yourself to your local market. Expand to international markets. A well-planned expansion can bring a significant increase in your store’s revenue—sometimes by tens or even hundreds of percent. To achieve such results, a clear strategy and trusted partners are essential. We’ve put together a list of the most common mistakes online stores make when expanding hastily and without professional help.
Want to take your online business to the next level and outpace the competition in international markets?
Here are the most frequent mistakes made by online stores during expansion—and how to avoid or prevent them for better profitability and faster growth.
Table of Contents
-
What mistakes do online stores most often make when expanding without professional help?
-
How do we correct our clients’ mistakes?
-
What happens if these mistakes aren’t fixed?
-
Conclusion – professional advice
1. What Mistakes Do Online Stores Often Make During Unassisted Expansion?
Budget and Planning
The most common mistake is expanding without a concrete plan or clear budget. An online store should be financially stable and well-positioned in its local market before entering a new one. It’s important to account for unexpected costs. A well-structured strategy is the key to success.
Accurate Translations
Google Translate may be quick and convenient, but it lacks accuracy. Poor translations can seriously damage your online store’s credibility and conversion rate. It’s essential to ensure the homepage and key content are properly translated and localized.
Customer Support
A frequent error is the lack of a customer service team—or offering support only in English. Local, professional support builds trust and ensures quick issue resolution.
Returns and Complaints
Providing a return address in another country (e.g., Slovakia) is a common mistake. Customers often give up on returns due to high international shipping costs.
Clear Terms and Trust
Online stores must honor the terms and promises made to customers. Issues should be addressed with expert help. Properly defined commercial terms can prevent many financial and legal problems.
2. How Do We Correct Our Clients’ Mistakes?
We can’t directly influence the client’s budget, but during the initial consultation, we discuss their current financial situation and the performance of their store in the local market. We also check company data.
For translations, we use local translators who review and adapt the content for each market and audience segment.
For customer support, we provide native speakers from the target country who can communicate clearly and professionally with customers.
We also focus on returns and complaints—customers often check return policies before ordering, and a local return address increases the likelihood of completed purchases.
3. What Happens If These Mistakes Aren’t Fixed?
Planning and Budget
A store that’s not working well locally is not ready for international expansion, which brings added costs and challenges.
Translations
Automated translations generate distrust. Even a simple mistranslated sentence can harm your brand’s professional image.
Customer Support
Support offered in a foreign language—or with a hard-to-understand accent—may make the customer feel the store isn’t local or trustworthy.
Returns and Complaints
If customers discover after ordering that returns must be sent abroad, this leads to dissatisfaction, financial losses, and complaints.
4. Conclusion – Professional Advice
Make sure you’re ready to expand into international markets. Expansion can bring new customers and significant revenue growth—but only with careful planning and budgeting. For that, rely on professionals.
How do we prevent these mistakes?
At the first meeting, we gather as much information as possible about the client’s store to create a tailored strategy. We focus on local staff without foreign accents, and clear, effective solutions for returns and complaints.
Use the contact form to send us your question. We’ll respond to your email address.
