No matter how paradoxical it may sound, but  in the period of  crisis  (2009 - 2011) the market of catalogue trade in Ukraine doubled.

It was developing not only due to the growth of increased volumes of already working players on the market but also  due to arrival of new operators Europe.

Recently, Western companies more and more frequently consider starting their business on the Ukrainian market.  The reasons for this are clear: long-distance and unsaturation retail, full infrastructure (logistics, contact centers, and letershops and  fulfillment, payment system) prepossessing features of the mentality of consumption, effective channels of recruitment, and consumer generated media market, the legislative regulation of transparent playing field for market.

The main advantage that makes Ukraine to a certain extent  unique  is a possible to organize the shipment of goods from the central office in Europe under the scheme of consignment (shipment worth up to EUR 300 are exempt from taxes and customs duties, and most of the goods do not require certification) and remotely manage all business processes (without opening a representative office), thanks to reliable partners.

Companies such as Bon prix, Yver Rocher, WITT, Cellbes, etc. have already started operating under the following scheme. In the earlier editions of the digest, we have described the detailed features of the logistic component of the work on consignment, but the purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive picture of the remote control to the business of distance selling in Ukraine.

Partner in Ukraine on behalf of a client may organize and carry out a full cycle of the processes necessary for successful business in Ukraine.

We would like to attract your attention to several details worth mentioning:

1. Consulting

The successful start of company depends on the properly elaborated strategy of its  appearance and  positioning of brand on the market. As Ukraine is rather a peculiar country, so it is pretty hazardous to blindly copy other markets conceptions of work without preliminary adaptation. Mentality of Ukrainians, which greatly influences the consumer consumption, is something mingled between the image of the Eastern European consumer (for example, polish) and the Russian one. For this reason it is important for a partner to be able to prepare the high-quality review of market, define the image of a consumer, study what and why he (consumer) wants to buy. And last but not the least, it is essential that the company process all the documents in obedience to the requirements of the Ukrainian legislation.

3. Management

A high-quality management is a head stone in distance-selling business. Clear planning of tasks, their proper implementation, minimization of risks, wrong steps in marketing and service of consumers, due to the experience of the Ukrainian partners, will enable to considerably minimize the expenses on realization of the whole project. It is of special significance to point out such features as, for example, the ability to co-operate with state organs by enterprises, what foreign companies find difficult to deal with, even at the working associated company in Ukraine.  What could really help to avoid such difficulties is the worked out mechanisms of partners already functioning in this sphere for a long time.

4. Marketing

One more important factor of success on the market (apart from the presence of all the necessary infrastructure mentioned above) is the choice of vector of marketing policy on the market. In Ukraine all standard methods of recruitment function well but the years of crisis had a good impetus for companies, attracting their attention to various kinds of partnership programs that can be arranged at minimal cost. Having a partner who could make a base platform for the implementation of cross-project, is highly important from the standpoint of the safe use of personal data.

5. Financial transactions

It is difficult for a non-resident from a legal point of view  to carry out financial transactions (such as a refund to the consumer). It is rather expensive to implement B2C payments directly from Europe. Partner in the country will be able to systematically serve customers (processing all complaints from consumers as well as from inspection bodies) and to adjust the cash flows in Ukraine within the required timeframe.

6. Customer Service Center

What makes the  Ukrainian market so peculiar  is the fact that about 60% of orders made through the website, are accompanied by calls. Ukrainian people still do not have a sufficient level of trust in online services and are looking for human contact, that is why the contact center remains to be still an indispensable tool for communicating with customers. Due to a clear prediction of load lines, the standardization of all processes  and system work with operators taking calls it is possible to  minimize the cost of contact center. Taking calls,   operators in terminal access put in the  into the CRM-system and is able to inform  the consumer on-line about the product availability and approximate delivery time. It is vitally important to remember that the service center is the face of the company in Ukraine, and the quality of its operators impacts the client's experience of working with the company.

7. Lettershop&fulfillment

With its own manufacturing facility Lettershop & fulfillment, a partner company in Ukraine is able to offer good quality services: customization and personalization  of items, organizing mailings, self-mailer, equipment of parcels. When choosing a partner in this issue it is necessary to pay attention rather to experience of the successful organization of large-circulation of stamps and mail shipments within the given timeframe than price.

If all of these above mentioned services can be realized by one partner company by means of  the combination of its resources, doing business remotely becomes less costly in terms of  time and money.

Source: Pavlenko Yuliya, Ukrainian Association of direct marketing.