Taking your Business across Borders with your Website
Written by Smartt Team on October 20, 2009
Moving your company from the local to the national or international marketplace is a dream for many businesses. It’s much easier to tap into the local market, but the local market can only take you so far- there is a cap on how much you can grow. National and international markets, however, offer an abundance of opportunities that simply aren’t available in the local arena. But the problem, for most companies, is how to tap into this virtually unlimited market.
The solution lies with the World Wide Web. Since the invention of the Internet, the world has gotten much smaller and it’s gotten ever easier for companies to cross traditional borders. The process is simple, but it does require a bit of planning to effectively break into the larger world marketplace.
Target your International Market
The first step involved with breaking into the global marketplace is to do your research. Just as you had to research your local market, you will have to research the markets in EVERY country you wish to do business in. Start by analyzing the market to make sure it has a place and a need for your product. Oftentimes you’ll have to do a little additional research to allow for cultural differences. What works well in one country, may not be applicable in other countries. Make sure you don’t offend your potential buyers due to an innocent mistake that could have been easily avoided by doing a little research.
Assess your Website Communication
Before you can successfully break into another market, you need to make sure your communication is clear. As a general rule write as though you’re writing for an eight year-old. Working in this way ensures that your sentences are simple, easy to read and easy to understand. Using one specific word to describe something makes it easier for foreigners to understand what you’re talking about. For example, choose between “bike” and “motorcycle,” but don’t use both interchangeably, this confuses communication.
Check your order forms to make sure they’re adaptable to people in other countries who format their addresses differently. Forms should be optimized so that anyone from anywhere in the world can fill in the form without it freezing up on them. If your website makes reference to any specific national holidays, this is something that should be changed- holidays differ from country to country and these cultural details should be kept in mind.
Create Localized Websites
Once your main website is optimized for international business, it’s time to target each region specifically. The first step for many companies is to translate their website into 5 major languages: Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, French and German. This is a good step only if your company is large enough and has the resources to support a project of this size. Otherwise, take it slowly. Research where your product is likely to take off and start by translating your site into that language. Be mindful of any cultural differences and make sure you play to those differences on your site. What’s funny in English may not be funny in Japanese, so make sure your site reflects cultural standards.
Now it’s time to create a second website that is specifically targeting your new market. This website should have the same feel as the main website except that it’s targeting a different group of people. It’s up to you if you want to host your site locally or in the region you’re targeting. Either way, you’ll submit your site to the foreign directories and submit your articles to a foreign submission service.
Use your main website as a starting point to create the look and feel of your localized site but make sure it still reflects the values in your foreign market. Continue researching your foreign market and use that information to continue your marketing campaign.
Market Internationally
When your localized website is up and running it’s time to kick up your marketing efforts. Use the same e-marketing strategies in your foreign market as you would in your local market. Strategies for effective e-marketing include:
- Article writing campaigns
- Directory submission
- Informative content on your website
- Blogs
- Videos
- Surveys
- Contests
- and Webinars
All of these strategies used in conjunction with your website will allow you to break into an international market using nothing but the Internet.
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