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Global Online Marketing Article 2

This may come as a surprise to some who believe that because they're moving at "web speed," the traditional rules somehow don't apply. Perhaps the most widely known example is the clothing company Lands End's recent run-in with the German government, which declared the company's "lifetime" guarantee on its products to be illegal within Germany (14 days is the maximum there). Another example concerns legal mandates, such as those in French-speaking Canada, which state that French should not only be available, but also be the dominant language on all publications and signage.

However it's not just conforming to local laws and language but to local customs that should concern contemporary web publishers. Many traditional publishers are already aware of the necessity of creating separate editions for global markets, and even though English is the language of the Web, that doesn't mean that readers will stay if an alternative is available. Forrester Research recently reported that people are twice as likely to stay at a website if it was written in their native language. While language translation programs might be adequate (an 80-90% accuracy rate is generally reported), most serious web publishers are discovering that that content must be completely rewritten in the native language of the surfing consumer.

Unfortunately, there is no simple way to translate graphics and visual elements and to ensure that they will represent the same meaning in other cultures. In the US, for example, orange is considered a warm color, but in Japan it's cool. In some cultures it may be more appropriate to show the product owned by a single individual, to emphasize individualism and individual choice. In others, it may be more effective to show a group of people enjoying or surrounding the product to emphasize collective appreciation. Here the message is to buy the product because then you can stay part of the group, or join it.

Allowing content to be controlled locally can help ensure that viewers get a cogent message (which is the whole point of publishing). But this has the potential to raise havoc with establishing or maintaining a clear corporate image or message. In addition, the integrity of data may not be maintained consistently. Information may be released in the US on Monday, but not translated for one country until Tuesday or for another until Thursday. On the other hand, it's a competitive world out there and the website that best gets the message across first wins.

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