Channel Surfing: Options for Taking Your Consumer Electronics Brand to New Markets

Tech and consumer electronics are hot commodities. Whether it’s the newest release of a beloved product or a piece of equipment that will disrupt entire industries, demand is great and demand is global.??

Knowing there’s a market for your product in other countries, no one would blame you for choosing the sales channel that gets your merchandise in-market the fastest. And frankly, speed is key to winning new customers before your competitors do and building that customer lifetime value.?

But before you lock yourself into just one channel you should be aware of all the ways you can sell internationally. Which one is best? That depends on you, your brand and your goals. Based on my experience, a multi-channel approach gives you the biggest advantage.?

Let’s dive in.?

Direct to Consumer (DTC)?

No middleman. Just you and your customer. Selling DTC involves setting up an online store, deploying local marketing strategies and contracting with logistics providers. Selling DTC in global markets also means obtaining the proper permissions to do business and ensuring that you comply with all regulatory requirements and pay taxes on time.?

When deciding if or how to sell DTC, you’ll want to weigh the value of controlling the brand experience and owning customer data with the challenges of meeting regulatory requirements.?

Many, if not all, of the headaches associated with the legal and taxation and logistics parts of global DTC can be alleviated by engaging a merchant of record.??

Marketplace?

We all shop marketplaces. Where else can you buy a couch, a drone and seaweed crisps all in one place? Ok, maybe Costco, but you see what I’m saying. Marketplaces are highly convenient and can expose your brand to more potential customers than DTC alone.??

You can also customize your presence on a marketplace like Amazon by essentially setting up a store-within-a-store which gives you a bit more control over how shoppers perceive your brand. But at the end of the day, the shopper’s experience will be the marketplace’s experience.?

And do you get more exposure on a marketplace? Of course. And that exposure may lead to increased revenue. Just remember to factor in the transaction charges the marketplace will take and the fact that your products will appear next to your competition’s products.?

Distributor?

Distributors are an effective way to do business in a global market. They buy your products, store them and then leverage their in-country connections to re-sell your products. Their market experience means that they have the expertise to know who the best customer for your product is and how to get it to them.?

While you have some control over the process and experience, at the end of the day, the distributor owns your merchandise, and you may have very little say in how it is marketed or displayed in-store. And, you have access to virtually no customer data.?

Physical Retail??

Ecommerce has changed the retail landscape – no doubt about that – but it has not proved to be the death knell of physical retail as some thought it might be. So it makes sense, then, to consider a physical retail presence when taking your electronics brand global.??

Shoppers can see, feel and even test out how your product works. Physical retail is a great complement to online channels because you can create an omnichannel shopping journey where people can use digital and off-line channels to interact with you.??

Physical retail is also the slowest and most capital-intensive channel to establish.?

Your best option is...?

A combination. I’m not trying to avoid the question, but the truth of the matter is that there is no one right way for your electronics business to tackle international expansion. What you should do depends on which markets you want to be in, what you want to sell and your revenue and profitability goals.?

I would also say that your best option is to know what you want and then talk to experts about what it takes to get there. If you want to explore DTC, leave me a note or connect with me then send me a DM. We’ve helped brands like 罗技 expand into international markets, including Latin America and I’d love to talk about how we did it and what we can do for your brand.?