When and why did you go into the Australian market?
It was a natural progression for us to launch StarShipIt in the Australian market at the start of the year. We already had a strong client base in New Zealand with some well-known brands, but our goal is to provide a world-class shipping platform and you need to look outside New Zealand to fully understand the requirements of that.
In retrospect, we should have started in the Australian market from the beginning. We found no barrier to entry and the larger market made establishing the initial key customers easier. Also, we found distance can be used to your advantage. Setup and support costs can be reduced as users are less inclined to get on the phone if they think they are using an international service as opposed to a local one.
What's the current state of your business in Australia?
With the continued growth in online shopping, ecommerce is our focus. We automate shipping and packaging processes and a big part of that is integrating ecommerce or inventory systems with courier companies.
We added support for Australia Post at the request of one of the largest online retailers in Australia. Their seamless rollout of our solution, at a fraction of their budgeted cost, brought us to the attention of AusPost who dominate the Australian market. In the last few months 70 per cent of our new business is coming from Australia and we are still adding more Australian carriers.
What strategies have worked well for you in terms of gaining traction in Australia?
Our strategies for Australia are the same as in New Zealand. Firstly, we aim to get key customers as that gives credibility. We showcase our solution to leaders in that field - in our case that's leading bloggers and consultants in the ecommerce space. We also target web agencies and developers, and the courier companies themselves.
Secondly, when selling directly we don't promote that we're a New Zealand-based company, but once you open a conversation location becomes irrelevant. Once they see the benefit to their business they are eager to jump on board, and often expect less support than if you are down the road.
What have been some of the difficulties?