To begin, research previous orders and customer data. Do you see orders from other countries? Have orders from a particular country increased for before. Review previous orders or customer data to identify any overseas customers to whom you have already sold goods or services. Make a list of the countries where these customers reside and tally sales.
Other early research approaches can include talking to your local chamber of commerce for tips on starting global e-commerce or getting information from other small business owners who are conducting international about how they got started with global e-commerce.
Next, you want to consider which language groups you would like to market to – for instance, do you speak Spanish and would you like to use that skill to market goods or services to a country in Latin America? Do you feel more comfortable marketing to English-speaking countries?
Consider your general interest in certain areas of the world – do these interests provide realistic options as target markets?
Make a list of places where you have traveled or would like to travel – are these the countries you would most likely consider for expanding to global e-commerce?