1. 10 DOs and DON'Ts
for foreign e-commerce companies
selling to Russia
By Leighton Peter Prabhu
Partner in Interstice Consulting LLP, Head of the Russian office
Member of the Moscow Board of CERBA
Member of the expert alumni panel on Global Strategy & Leadership
of McGill University, Montreal
Friday, June 15, 2012

2. 1
DON'T assume that your brand has any
goodwill or name recognition in Russia,
unless you are Amazon or eBay
While your purchasing synergies and supply chain may provide some
carryover economic benefits from your existing operations, in all other
respects you are a startup operation in Russia and should approach the
market with this mindset.
Friday, June 15, 2012

3. 2
DO invest in professional translation of your
website and other marketing materials, both
upon entry and with ongoing updates
A Russian-language website is a necessity - less than 10% of Russians
speak a foreign language, and even fewer would consider transacting
on a non-Russian website. Google Translate doesn't count: it's woefully
inadequate in translating the nuances of Russian, even for simple
phrases. Automated translation is a dead giveaway that a foreign
company has not put much thought into localizing for Russia.
Friday, June 15, 2012

4. 3
DO adjust your social media strategy to the unique
features of the Russian market
Russians are the most avid users of social networks in the world, but
they use Russia-specific networks like VK and Odnoklassniki, which
have different features compared to Facebook. Facebook is the 4th
most popular social network in Russia, and trails the others badly. And
they are not making up ground.
Friday, June 15, 2012

5. 4
DO adapt your online advertising and SEM
campaigns to the popular Russian platforms
Yandex has twice the market share of Google and is an entrenched
competitor with enough resources and innovations to fend off Google.
They are bigger and closer to the market.
Friday, June 15, 2012

6. 5
DO establish a specific Russian customer
service function
Russian consumers expect to be able to connect to a real person either
by telephone or online chat, and in the Russian language. The most
successful websites display their toll-free numbers prominently, in their
headers.
Friday, June 15, 2012

7. 6
DO adapt your product offerings to Russia.
Recognize the extreme seasonality, cultural differences, and fashion
predelictions. There's no point to feature sandals in February – a faux
pas that one of my clients managed to pull off recently.
Friday, June 15, 2012

8. 7
DON'T assume e-commerce conversion rates
will be on par with developed markets from
the outset
Russian consumers are wary of new companies and brands, and
require multiple reinforcement of marketing messages before
becoming comfortable enough to buy. Testimonials from Russian
customers, Russian blogger reviews, Russian PR placements and
other Russian-specific marketing efforts will encourage such
confidence. Once established, the conversion rates are on equal
footing with other markets.
Friday, June 15, 2012

9. 8
DO offer multiple payment options
There are upwards of 50 payment methods in Russia, with the most
popular being cash on delivery. Russian consumers are wary to part
with cash before physically inspecting the goods. However, on the flip
side, return rates are much lower than international norms.
Friday, June 15, 2012

10. 9
DO expect that your business model will be
copied
If you're late to the game, it may be too late to secure market
leadership. Google, Facebook, eBay, PayPal, Airbnb, Pinterest and a
host of other global titans all trail their Russian counterparts, who have
entered the market earlier with targeted, Russian-specific business
models "inspired" by the originals.
Friday, June 15, 2012

11. 10
DO have patience
While it's true that Russia has a larger online population than Germany,
it's also true that only a small fraction of Russian users are active e-
commerce consumers. However, retail in Russia is certainly more
lucrative than in many other markets, and the expected growth in e-
commerce is several times higher than can be expected in the
developed markets of Europe and North America. Come to Russia for
the future, not the present. Brands take time to build.
Friday, June 15, 2012

12. Resources
Russia e-commerce blog:
http://intersticeconsulting.com/russia/e-commerce/
Contact us:
http://www.intersticeconsulting.com
moscow@intersticeconsulting.com
Friday, June 15, 2012

13. Thank you!
Friday, June 15, 2012