Charlie Cole is the Former Chief eCommerce Officer for Samsonite/TUMI and current CEO of FTD Flowers. Now, I love a good bouquet as much as the next guy but this talk isn't about me, or flowers, its about capturing real insights on how you can build and protect your brand on marketplaces and navigate the turbulent and often treacherous waters of Omni-Channel sales. And I don't know anyone more adept at doing so than Charlie Cole. He may not look impressive in the basement of his home, (he still looks tall & impressive even on Zoom) but make no mistake about it, COVID ain't getting this guy down. He is as effective and sharp as ever and I was lucky to catch him for a moment to bring you some nuggets of goodness.

Together we talk about:
- To Be or Not To Be on a marketplace?
- How do you protect your brand while selling your stuff on a marketplace?
- How do you use marketplaces to evaluate your competitive positioning internationally?
- What are the different advertising options within a marketplace?
- How to manage parallel shipping?
- Is regional pricing dead?

Charlie Cole: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliecole/

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WATCH NEXT:
Pandemic Pivot: From Cruise Industry to Building a Small Sportswear Brand Online: https://youtu.be/tBZ-86MJwJo
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FREE RESOURCES:
Government and Industry Support - Find all the global expansion tools, services and experts for your global journey here: www.export-connect.org

- Omni-Channel Guidebook by BigCommerce - https://www.bigcommerce.com/dm/omnichannel-strategic-guide/
- STEP Grants for Small Business Exporters: https://cainternationaltrade.org/step...​
- Market Entry Guides: https://cainternationaltrade.org/market-entry-guides/
- Free Duty and Tax Calculator: https://cainternationaltrade.org/tool​...
- Free Website Traffic Audit: https://cainternationaltrade.org/tool​...
- eCommerce Services: https://export-connect.org/en/categor​...
- Translation Tools: https://export-connect.org/en/categor​...
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PARTNER CONTENT
Check out the "Conversations from the Field" interviews I've done for my partner organizations:
- Latin America Covid Impact and eCommerce Entry with Linio Latam: https://cainternationaltrade.org/conv...​
- In Spanish: https://cainternationaltrade.org/estr...​
- Mexico Beauty Products eCommerce Entry with Linio Mexico: https://cainternationaltrade.org/conv...​
- In Spanish: https://cainternationaltrade.org/covi...​
- China eCommerce COVID Impact and eCommerce Entry with TMALL Global: https://cainternationaltrade.org/chin...​
- SBDC Los Angeles & EDC Loan Program - https://caexportconnect.org/en/organi...​
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WHY SUBSCRIBE TO VANBASSADOR?
This is a place where global-day-one entrepreneurs can learn from fellow sellers and real-world industry experts about the nuances of selling products and services online to consumers and businesses beyond their home market. This is about how you can seize this opportunity to use scalable tools to meet unprecedented online cross-border demand. Together we'll head out on the road in the VanBassador Sprinter Van to talk directly with local companies to uncover insights that put you far ahead of the competition.


Topics covered include:
- Website Localization
- Cross-border Digital Marketing
- Cross-border Fulfillment and Logistics
- Marketplace Optimization
- Financing for Exports
- Legal Protection
- Cross-border Payments
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BACKGROUND:
I am a former U.S. Commercial Diplomat who led the eCommerce, Luxury Goods, Cosmetics, Retail, Franchise, Marine and Auto Industry portfolios at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. I was asked under the Obama Administration to return to the U.S. to launch the U.S. Department of Commerce's eCommerce Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley. Subsequently, I created the public/private partnership called the Getting to Global Initiative (www.gettingtoglobal.org) to bring together funding, tools and support from private industry (Facebook, Google, eBay, Pitney Bowes) and government agencies (EXIM, SBA, USPS, Department of Commerce) in support of U.S. ecommerce exporters. This channel is unaffiliated and is my own private sanctuary where I share straight-talking input without compromise.