Not quite sure what you mean by ‘harder to crack’. Of course ultimately this means sales but to get there we need visibility, hits, conversions loyalty and so on. You could be having problems with any one or all of these. I am also not an expert in the US market so cannot compare. Not doing very well so far am I? OK here are a few guesses.
- Your visibility in other markets depends on where you are hosted. Consider a remote US server and you will then look like you are over there.
- The language you use on your site is very important. You need to speak like them if you are going to trade with them. Americans speak a distant version of English. I have no idea if ‘collectables’ or ‘crafts’ resonate with them or not. See what language your US competition uses.
- The US sites are designed differently. Bet you are sometimes turned off by what we feel is yucky. You need to look like them if you are going to trade with them. Have to say I am not desperate about your site in terms of immediacy and impact (sorry). Why not copy the look and feel of successful US sites offering similar products. Maybe they like to see some pics on the front page. I wonder what your bounce rate is – bet it is high.
- People are less likely to buy cross boarder. That is why the large ecommerce companies have in country operations
- Shipping is always a problem and people do wonder if the yak milk churn (goodness knows where I got that from?) is going to arrive from Outer Mongolia
OK the web might be a global phenomenon but it actually operates locally. If you have US customers why not ask them how to succeed in their market? Finally attracting any audience takes considerable understanding and attention to detail. Maybe you need to think more carefully about your audience in the US and also in the UK.
I hope this is helpful
Chris Kaday
Business Mentor
Linear Mode
