GANDT Fireside Chat #016 | “Businesses Nearby” from Facebook & Online Shop Internationalization with Fruugo

True to our motto “Working Out Loud”, we at GANDT Ventures exchange our thoughts and ideas on current news topics in the world of online marketing, digital retail, and e-commerce.
This helps us uncover opportunities that can be used for companies and our clients as part of our daily business.

But most of all, it is a lot of fun and a great way to share knowledge.
Our podcast-style chats are available to anyone who is interested to find out more about what Google, Facebook, Amazon and the likes are up to.

“Businesses Nearby” – now also on social media

Instagram is adding a new feature to help local businesses worldwide meet the challenges posed by the Covid-19 outbreak.
The new “Business Nearby” feature allows users to see the latest contributions from companies within a certain geographical radius.

In addition, information on opening hours, pick-up possibilities and a booking option are also to be integrated.

The addition of a special “Business” inbox in Instagram’s company profiles will make the communication with customers easier.
This allows business owners to use Messenger to answer questions that are sent to their Facebook page.

Both Facebook and Instagram will feature tools, tips and information about Covid-19 that companies can use in their business profiles.

In our Fireside Chat we talk about the prerequisites for using this new feature and to what extent new target groups can be developed here.
Click in and follow our discussion!

Google’s local product shopping

A new Googlefeature allows stationary retailers to mark their local inventory, which can also be picked up.
This feature currently only applies to paid shopping listings and is still in the beta phase. Therefore the feature is not yet visible.

From our point of view, however, the marking for Google My Business products is more exciting. Companies have been able to enter their products manually into the GMB profile for a long time.
Now these can also be provided with the note “Pick up before the shop”.

This enables customers to see transparently which local dealers offer available product for pick up. It is therefore an important feature, especially for German and Swiss companies who are now allowed to reopen their shops.

However, the shopping experience in retail is still not the same. With this small extension, it can be ensured that customers can order the goods and only have to pick them up in front of the store.

In today’s Fireside Chat we will discuss exactly how this works and what recommendations we give companies.

Internationalization via marketplaces like Fruugo

Internationalization is not an easy undertaking. There are many challenges to be mastered.
For this reason, there are marketplaces that can make it easier for companies to enter the international market.

These platforms take over the handling of the regulations in the different countries. So the retailer “only” has to upload a product feed to sell his products in the USA, Australia, UK or other countries.

The current post of etailment.de reports about the market place Fruugo.de. It offers interesting conditions and allows its traders to sell to 46 other markets without much effort.
There are no monthly costs, activation fees or other hidden costs, only the fixed fee per sale of 15% (excl. VAT). Retailers only need to provide a product feed to sell the products there.

Fruugo takes care of the automatic translation of the product descriptions, the conversion of the currency for the respective market and then the products are already displayed to the customers.

In summary, the offer sounds very tempting to test the internationalization. Which markets are interested in my products and in which country is it worth expanding?

However, the platform does not offer the possibility to present your own brand in a CD/CI compliant way. Products are shown with the most necessary information and the brand is left out. As a retailer you can only see if the products are sold but not and if there is an interest in the brand or the products.

In our Fireside Chat we discuss further possibilities how to approach internationalization and which other platforms are available.

Agenda | GANDT Fireside Chat Video #016