E-Commerce for Export Growth Training Course

Duration 10 days 19 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Export Managers, E-commerce Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-M-045

Before you join: Participants should have basic experience in marketing, sales, export operations or e-commerce and be comfortable discussing products, customers, prices and commercial targets.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Export businesses can now reach overseas buyers without appointing a distributor in every market, but cross-border e-commerce introduces difficult choices. Teams must identify viable markets, select suitable channels, localise product content, manage international payments and fulfilment, comply with customs and consumer rules, and measure whether acquisition spending produces profitable orders. A website that attracts traffic but cannot quote landed costs, process local payment methods or handle returns can damage margins and customer trust.

This course equips participants to plan, launch and improve an export-focused e-commerce operation. It covers market selection, buyer research, channel strategy, international website design, product information, search and paid media, marketplaces, social commerce, pricing, payments, cross-border logistics, customer service, analytics and commercial controls. Participants use practical methods including RACE planning, customer journey mapping, keyword research, conversion funnel analysis, landed-cost calculation, Incoterms 2020 and cohort analysis. They learn to connect commercial decisions with operational readiness rather than treating digital marketing as a separate activity.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings, international business cases, group analysis, channel and campaign simulations, and structured work on each participant's export proposition. From the first week, participants build a market-entry and e-commerce growth plan using their own organisation, a realistic case company or a supplied product category. They leave with a completed export e-commerce plan, channel scorecard, localisation brief, campaign plan, fulfilment checklist and measurement dashboard specification that can be adapted for internal approval and implementation.

The course suits export managers, digital marketers, sales leaders, business development staff, e-commerce managers and advisers supporting firms entering foreign markets. It is particularly relevant where organisations need a disciplined route from market opportunity to repeatable international online sales.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess export market attractiveness using demand, competition, channel and regulatory criteria
  • Build an international e-commerce value proposition for defined buyer segments
  • Select direct, marketplace and partner channels using a weighted channel scorecard
  • Develop localised product, pricing and checkout requirements for priority markets
  • Plan search, paid media, email and social acquisition campaigns using RACE
  • Calculate landed prices, contribution margins and return-cost scenarios for export orders
  • Configure a measurement plan using conversion funnels, cohorts and commercial KPIs
  • Present a complete export e-commerce growth plan with implementation priorities

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce a credible export e-commerce plan for internal review
  • Make channel choices using commercial and operational evidence
  • Brief agencies and technology suppliers with clearer requirements
  • Identify margin risks before launching international promotions
  • Report overseas digital performance using decision-ready commercial metrics

For your organisation

  • Reduces costly trial-and-error when entering online export markets
  • Improves alignment between marketing, sales, finance and fulfilment teams
  • Protects margins through disciplined landed-cost and returns planning
  • Creates repeatable standards for international product and campaign launches
  • Produces clearer evidence for prioritising export-market investment

Course modules

19 modules over 10 days

Participants can define an export e-commerce opportunity and the operating model required to serve it.

  • Cross-border e-commerce models: direct-to-consumer, business-to-business, marketplace and partner sales
  • Revenue architecture linking traffic, conversion, average order value and repeat purchase
  • Export readiness assessment across product, people, process, technology and finance
  • Digital route-to-market choices alongside distributors, agents and key-account sales
  • Operating-model decisions for ownership, approvals, customer data and service accountability
  • Commercial assumptions recorded in an export e-commerce opportunity statement

Participants can prioritise export markets using transparent commercial, digital and operational criteria.

  • Market screening criteria covering demand, purchasing power, competition and logistics
  • TAM, SAM and SOM estimates for defined overseas buyer segments
  • Google Trends and keyword volume signals interpreted with caution
  • Competitor benchmarking across assortment, price, delivery promise and customer reviews
  • Regulatory barriers, import restrictions and product-market fit assessed early
  • Weighted market-attractiveness matrix ranking initial and future export markets

Participants can define priority export buyer segments and their online purchasing needs.

  • Jobs to Be Done interviews identifying purchase triggers and barriers
  • Segmentation variables combining firmographics, demographics, behaviour and buying context
  • Buyer personas grounded in evidence rather than demographic stereotypes
  • Customer journey maps from discovery through delivery, use and repurchase
  • Search intent categories: informational, commercial investigation, transactional and navigational
  • Voice-of-customer evidence collected from reviews, enquiries and support records

Participants can create market-specific value propositions that distinguish their offer from alternatives.

  • Value Proposition Canvas linking customer pains, gains and product benefits
  • Positioning statement defining target customer, category, difference and supporting evidence
  • Reasons-to-believe drawn from specifications, certification, origin and service evidence
  • Message hierarchy separating primary promise, proof points and objections
  • Local competitive claims checked for accuracy, substantiation and cultural fit
  • Proposition test criteria covering relevance, differentiation, credibility and clarity

Participants can select channel combinations suited to target markets and commercial objectives.

  • Direct website, marketplace, social commerce and reseller channel characteristics
  • Channel scorecard comparing reach, control, cost, data access and margin
  • Marketplace selection using buyer traffic, category fit and seller requirements
  • Channel conflict rules for distributors, country sites and marketplace listings
  • Phased channel roadmap balancing speed to market with long-term control
  • Partner due diligence covering service levels, data rights and payment terms

Participants can specify website and checkout requirements that reduce friction for overseas buyers.

  • International information architecture based on market, language and product discovery
  • Product-page anatomy: benefits, specifications, proof, delivery and returns information
  • Local currency presentation, tax disclosure and landed-cost transparency requirements
  • Checkout friction audit covering forms, addresses, payment and trust signals
  • Mobile-first usability checks for product search, comparison and purchase
  • Accessibility considerations using WCAG 2.2 success criteria for core journeys

Participants can develop a controlled localisation brief for international product content.

  • Localisation scope covering language, units, imagery, terminology and legal claims
  • Translation memory and glossary controls for consistent product terminology
  • Cultural adaptation decisions separated from mandatory legal product information
  • Product information management fields aligned with channel listing requirements
  • Country-specific content brief defining audience, message, assets and approvals
  • Local review process for translation accuracy, search terms and claims

Participants can plan organic search and content activity for priority export markets.

  • Keyword research combining search volume, intent, difficulty and commercial relevance
  • Local-language keyword lists mapped to categories, products and content pages
  • On-page SEO elements: titles, headings, internal links and structured data
  • Content clusters built around buyer questions, comparison needs and objections
  • E-E-A-T signals strengthened through authorship, evidence and expert review
  • International SEO decisions for country domains, subdomains and hreflang tags

Participants can plan paid acquisition campaigns with testable objectives, budgets and conversion paths.

  • RACE planning connects reach, act, convert and engage objectives
  • Campaign objectives matched to awareness, lead, sale and retention outcomes
  • Audience targeting built from first-party data, intent and contextual signals
  • Media budget allocation using expected conversion rates and contribution margin
  • Creative testing matrix comparing propositions, formats, audiences and calls-to-action
  • UTM naming convention provides consistent campaign and source attribution

Participants can prepare profitable marketplace listings and retailer-media plans for export markets.

  • Marketplace listing quality factors: titles, attributes, images, bullets and reviews
  • Search ranking drivers distinguished from paid placement and promotional mechanics
  • Buy Box requirements examined for price, availability, fulfilment and seller performance
  • Retail media campaign structure linking keywords, products, bids and budgets
  • Marketplace fee model calculated against contribution margin and return rates
  • Review-management protocol covering solicitation, response standards and escalation

Participants can design retention communications that turn first export orders into repeat revenue.

  • Social commerce roles across discovery, proof, conversation and conversion
  • Creator selection criteria covering audience fit, disclosure and content rights
  • Lifecycle email flows for welcome, browse abandonment, purchase and replenishment
  • Consent capture and preference centres aligned with permission-based marketing
  • Customer segmentation using recency, frequency and monetary value analysis
  • Retention offers evaluated against margin, repeat rate and customer lifetime value

Participants can set export e-commerce prices using landed cost, margin and market evidence.

  • Landed-cost model includes product, freight, duty, tax, fees and returns
  • Incoterms 2020 responsibilities compared for direct-to-consumer export shipments
  • Price waterfall identifies discounts, channel fees and net revenue
  • Currency conversion policy addresses volatility, rounding and price updates
  • Competitive price index compares equivalent products, pack sizes and delivery
  • Contribution-margin scenarios test acquisition cost, returns and promotional discounts

Participants can identify payment, tax and compliance requirements affecting international online sales.

  • Local payment preferences assessed by market, buyer segment and device
  • Payment-service-provider selection criteria include currencies, fraud controls and settlement
  • VAT, GST and sales-tax obligations mapped before market launch
  • Consumer protection requirements cover pricing, cancellation, warranties and disclosures
  • Data processing obligations reviewed for consent, retention and international transfers
  • Restricted-party screening and export controls integrated into order workflows

Participants can design a fulfilment and returns model that supports the export promise.

  • Fulfilment options compare domestic dispatch, third-party logistics and local warehousing
  • Carrier scorecard assesses cost, coverage, tracking, delivery speed and claims
  • Customs documentation requirements include invoices, commodity codes and origin evidence
  • Delivery promise communicates transit times, duties, tracking and exceptions
  • Returns policy balances local consumer expectations, cost and resale options
  • Service-level agreements define dispatch accuracy, tracking events and resolution times

Participants can specify customer service standards for overseas digital buyers before and after purchase.

  • Service blueprint maps customer actions, frontline responses and back-office dependencies
  • Pre-purchase support covers sizing, compatibility, delivery and customs questions
  • Multilingual service model defines languages, hours, channels and escalation paths
  • Complaint handling workflow records issue type, owner, remedy and closure
  • Customer experience KPIs include response time, resolution rate and CSAT
  • Proactive delivery communications reduce enquiries during customs and carrier delays

Participants can build a measurement framework linking marketing activity to export revenue and margin.

  • Measurement framework links business objectives, KPIs, data sources and owners
  • Google Analytics 4 events map product views, carts, checkout and purchase
  • Conversion funnel analysis identifies abandonment points by market and device
  • Cohort analysis compares repeat purchase behaviour across acquisition periods
  • Attribution limits explained for paid media, marketplaces and privacy restrictions
  • Dashboard specification separates executive indicators from operational diagnostic metrics

Participants can prioritise and evaluate conversion improvements using disciplined testing methods.

  • Conversion research combines analytics, session recordings, surveys and support data
  • Friction hypotheses state audience, issue, proposed change and expected impact
  • ICE scoring prioritises experiments by impact, confidence and ease
  • A/B test design defines primary metric, audience, duration and guardrails
  • Statistical significance limitations considered before acting on observed differences
  • Experiment log records treatments, results, decisions and follow-up actions

Participants can organise an export e-commerce launch through accountable workstreams and risk controls.

  • RACI matrix assigns decisions, approvals, delivery responsibilities and consultation
  • Launch workstreams cover platform, content, payments, logistics, marketing and service
  • Risk register assesses likelihood, impact, owner, controls and contingencies
  • Data governance specifies access rights, quality checks and reporting cadence
  • Ninety-day implementation plan sequences dependencies, milestones and resource needs
  • Executive business case connects investment, assumptions, returns and decision gates

Participants can build, review and present a complete export e-commerce growth plan for a priority market.

  • Market priority justified through demand, competition, channel and feasibility evidence
  • Buyer segment, value proposition and localisation requirements presented clearly
  • Channel mix and acquisition plan linked to measurable commercial objectives
  • Landed-price model, fulfilment design and returns policy tested for viability
  • Measurement dashboard and experimentation backlog support post-launch management
  • Implementation roadmap assigns owners, milestones, risks and required decisions

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Export e-commerce market-attractiveness matrix
  2. International channel selection scorecard
  3. Country localisation and product-content brief
  4. Cross-border landed-cost and contribution-margin model
  5. RACE acquisition campaign plan
  6. Ninety-day export e-commerce implementation roadmap

Who should attend

  • Export Managers — need a practical route from target-market research to online revenue
  • E-commerce Managers — need to adapt domestic stores for international buyers and fulfilment
  • Digital Marketing Managers — need accountable acquisition plans for overseas customer segments
  • International Sales Managers — need digital channels that support distributor and direct-sales targets
  • Business Development Managers — need evidence-based market-entry choices and channel economics
  • Trade Promotion Advisers — need methods for advising exporters on cross-border online sales

Skills and tools covered

Export market selectionCross-border channel strategyInternational conversion optimisationLanded-cost pricingMarketplace managementE-commerce performance measurement

Tools and standards

RACE Planning Framework, Incoterms 2020, Google Analytics 4, Value Proposition Canvas

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by international cases, group exercises, channel comparisons and decision simulations. Participants apply each method to their own export proposition, a realistic case company or a supplied category. Work develops progressively from market selection through customer acquisition, fulfilment and measurement. Facilitated peer review tests assumptions about buyer demand, pricing, channels and operational capacity. The final sessions are structured around refining and presenting an implementation-ready export e-commerce plan.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic experience in marketing, sales, export operations or e-commerce and be comfortable discussing products, customers, prices and commercial targets. Familiarity with a company website, online marketplace or digital campaign reporting is useful, but specialist expertise is not assumed. Participants should bring information about a product, service or export market if they wish to apply course tools directly. Coding skills, website design skills, advanced data analysis, customs brokerage qualifications and prior marketplace seller experience are not required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need basic familiarity with marketing, sales, exports or e-commerce. The course does not assume coding, website development, customs brokerage or advanced analytics expertise.

Bring details of a product or service, target export markets, current sales channels and any available website or campaign data. Participants without a live business case can use a realistic supplied case company.

It suits people responsible for export growth, digital marketing, e-commerce, international sales and business development. It also suits advisers helping firms establish online routes to foreign buyers.

This course addresses the commercial and operational issues specific to exporting online, including market selection, local payments, duties, delivery, returns and international consumer requirements. Digital acquisition is taught as one part of an export sales system.

Participants develop an export e-commerce plan throughout the course and can adapt its templates to current market-entry decisions. The plan can support discussions with management, agencies, logistics providers and marketplace partners.

The first part develops market, customer, proposition and channel decisions, then participants build website, acquisition and marketplace plans. Later sessions address pricing, fulfilment, analytics, governance and a final capstone presentation; each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 with about 6.5 contact hours.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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