E-export Needs Developing

E-commerce is a growing trend in Estonia. However, the results of the study conducted by Praxis in 2016 show that Estonian companies are still unable to take advantage of the possibilities offered by e-marketing to grow the exports of their company. E-exports are mainly hindered by the lack of knowledge of entrepreneurs regarding different delivery solutions, payments systems, regulative requirements and e-marketing.

Estonian business are using various e-solutions and the social media to promote their products and services, but they do not take full advantage of all possibilities offered by e-commerce and e-marketing when exporting. “As in the rest of the world, there is an increasing number of companies dedicated to e-commerce. However, many of them have not yet cracked the nut of how to make e-commerce function efficiently,” said Piret Potisepp, Director of Services of the Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to the classic support of export growth it is necessary to grow e-exports among Estonian entrepreneurs. For that purpose, Enterprise Estonia (EAS) in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce is organising trainings focusing on e-export and product development. “E-commerce very much depends on the specifics of the product/service segment, but there are many universal tricks and practical tips that are applicable for e-commerce activities irrespective of the sector. These practical recommendations are what we are focusing on during our future trainings,” said Potisepp.

Eivor Maiväli, CEO of the Estonian jewellery company Roman Tavast OÜ said that almost all of the potential customers come to them through their homepage. “Naturally, active and personal sales work continues after a client has sent their query through the homepage, but in order to find new and potential clients, we are using homepage marketing in search engines and social media. This rules applies in Estonia, Finland as well as the UK,” said Maiväli, who is one of the practitioners speaking during the trainings organised by the EAS and Chamber.

Involving speakers with practical experience in the training agenda is very important for the entrepreneurs interested in developing e-exports. These people have real experience, which encourages others to test new solutions and learn from the success and failure of others. The trainings started on 12 September and will be focusing on different topics developing exports and e-exports.