Transcript decent budget - International Jewellery London

Expanding Online:
Translating your Brand for Overseas Markets
September 2014
Kiyan Foroughi – CEO & Co-Founder
Background: Boticca
•
Boticca is the world’s online destination for
jewellery, bags and fashion accessories made
by carefully sourced independent designers
and small & medium brands from across the
world
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Some facts & figures:
– 300 brands from 40+ different countries
– Over 10,000 different pieces for sale on
the website
– Nearly 700,000 email subscribers
– Curated marketplace business model
– Customers in 60 different countries on a
monthly basis
– Websites in UK, US, France and
Australia
– Launch in September 2010 and venturebacked
#boticca
Background: Who am I?
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Kiyan Foroughi: CEO and Founder of Boticca
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3rd generation in the jewellery industry (4th generation in luxury)
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Early career in investment banking (Jefferies) and private equity (TA
Associates)
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Active angel investor and advisor in such companies as Ometria, Boppl,
PayPlug, Watsi, Fotolia and AVG Technologies
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Tufts University Graduate – (BA) Economics & Entrepreneurial Leadership
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Have lived in Boston, New York and London & grew up between Paris and
Dubai
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Speak fluent French, Italian, Farsi and English – learning Japanese
#boticca
Why Expand Overseas?
• Some of the reasons are obvious:
– Ambition
– Growth
– Product / market fit
• And some are less obvious:
– Skilled personnel
– Taking advantage of technology
#boticca
When Is The Right Time?
• When you’ve achieved critical mass in one market and are looking for
growth in the next
• When you’ve demonstrated some traction and potential in a market
and you’re looking to capitalise on it
• When you have the internal resources and bandwidth
• When you have the budget to do it properly
Beware if you don’t satisfy the last two points, you can seriously waste
time, resources and funds on an unsuccessful expansion
#boticca
Doing the Research: How to Pick the Right Market
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Product + market fit
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Competitive analysis
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Attractive market size and potential
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Similar buying patterns and philosophy
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Clear formulaic marketing channels that can be scaled and will be
profitable in the long-run
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Legal check: trademarks etc.
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Name / branding?
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Logistics
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Payment methods
#boticca
Doing the Research: Run a Little Test
• Why not?
• Launch a landing page with a
few products translated and that
you think will work with a
specific market
• Make sure the purchase funnel
is also translated and offers the
right payment methods
• Test and analyze data
• Solicit customer feedback
#boticca
Tailoring your Offer
• No two markets and its customers are the same
• You need to tailor your offer accordingly:
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Product mix
Onsite merchandising
Look and feel of the website
Marketing channels
Communications and tone of voice
Customer service
Browsers and devices supported
#boticca
Tailoring your Offer: Example
• For example, if you’re thinking of expanding to Japan, you’ll have to
re-think your website layout as they like things denser
#boticca
Tailoring your Offer: Example (Cont’d)
• Before: MakeLeaps’ EN site
#boticca
Tailoring your Offer: Example (Cont’d)
• After: MakeLeaps’ JP site
#boticca
Preparing Your Launch: Performance Marketing
• Set aside a decent budget
• Performance marketing plan by channel:
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SEM
SEO, Content Marketing & Social
Email Marketing
Affiliate Marketing
Retargeting
#boticca
Preparing Your Launch: Brand Marketing
• Set aside a decent budget here as well
• Works hand-in-hand with performance marketing and cannot be
underestimated
• Brand Marketing
– PR & Bloggers campaign
– For better results and if budgets permit, couple the performance
marketing with brand equity investments (outdoor, print, broadcast
advertising)
• Beware: It is costly and does take a little bit of time to get going
#boticca
You’ve launched: now what?
• Give yourself 3 months (minimum) to 6 months (ideal) to test your
international expansion
– It takes several months to start seeing the return on your marketing (and
brand) investment
• Keep an eye on the data and let it guide your changes and
optimisations on-site and product-wise
• On performance marketing, let the numbers be your guide again and
optimise the channels that seem the most promising, profitable and
scalable
– Test some other channels you haven’t thought about
• Incorporate customer feedback when possible
#boticca
Mistakes Made / Lessons Learnt
• Too much time and resources put into expanding overseas that is not
supported by enough marketing and brand investment
• Not enough prior research into the market
• No adequate tailoring of the offering
• The wrong tone of voice
• Some basic legal and logistical checks… oops.
#boticca
Conclusion
• In an increasingly global and connected world with so many tools at
our disposal, international expansion may seem easy…
• … but its not.
• It is easy to do it the wrong way but it’s hard to do it the right way.
• You need to:
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Pick your market(s) carefully
Do your research
Run some early tests
Adjust your offering accordingly
Have the right marketing plan to back up the launch
Do some brand investment alongside it (ideally)
#boticca
Any questions?
[email protected]
Thank you!