There seem to be diverging opinions about how to market internationally on the Internet these days, and I'd like to address the central issue at stake. One hardly ever sees a U.S. Website in several languages, except for the largest company's Websites. And yet there are many European Websites that address their visitors in several languages (and sometimes even in Japanese). What gives?

Europeans have always had to deal with many languages in doing business between themselves, so it is more second-nature to be experienced in international business than U.S. companies. American companies have always had the luxury of having a home market that is so huge that they did not have to worry about foreign markets in order to make indecent profits. However, now that the Internet is replacing the traditional style of doing business, the globalization of business is a factor that will change traditional business practices.

I have asked countless U.S. companies about having their Website translated and promoted overseas, so as to take advantage of the global reach of doing business online. But always the same refrain: "Oh, most everyone on the Internet reads English." This remark clearly misses the very issue at the core of what marketing is. The main purpose of marketing is to get people's attention and convince them to spend a minute or two looking into a given product or service.

There are two very, very different concepts here:

(1) getting the Web surfer's attention in the first place, and

(2) convincing them to spend time looking into a given product/service (in this discussion, this is done by the Website)

Getting someone's attention, if they live in a non-Anglophone country, must take place in their own language. No two ways around this. Once their attention and interest are aroused, the next 30 seconds, when a product or service are described, can indeed take place either in their own language or in English. If they do not respond to English, too bad, they click elsewhere.

But -- the main point here -- online marketing depends entirely on the Web surfer coming to a particular Website in the first place: concept (1) above. If you cannot attract their attention in the first place, they will never be aware of your company's Website.

An example will make this clear. Certainly most everyone online in Holland and in Sweden can also read English. But top Internet marketers from both countries state categorically that people in their country do not, in fact, surf the Web in English. They access the Web in Dutch and Swedish. No big surprise. After all, the Web is a media like any other, and people always access media in their own language, not in English... even in Holland and in Sweden (probably the most English literate countries in Europe). No one would ever think of producing content or advertising in print media in English in these countries, nor in any non-Anglophone country. Nor would it be thinkable to advertise in English on TV or radio in non-Anglophone countries. Nor would one ever waste one's money in sending out a direct mailing in English in these countries. So why should the idea ever be entertained to use English in another marketing medium -- the Web -- to reach people in non-Anglophone countries?

The decisive point here is that:

Marketing always takes place in the language of a country, not in English.

Sales figures: How much is the non-American market worth?
With all the fuss involved in Web site globalization and localization, some busy Web strategists might wonder if the return is worth the effort. They say that Website statistics show that for every 10 U.S. visitors to their Website, there are 2-3 visitors from outside the U.S., who find their way spontaneously to their Website. But this is not marketing, just sitting back and waiting for non-Anglophones to chance upon their Website. International marketing is quite direct and quite segmented (according to language). Efforts have to be taken to draw the Japanese, Germans, French, etc. into one's Website... and each approach has to be customized in their own language. In the above example, for every 10 Americans visiting a given Website, there should be 20-30 non-Americans visiting the site for every 10 American visitors, not 2 or 3. That is the real potential of the worldwide reach of the Internet. But it takes making an effort in each of the languages.

And in terms of sales, in this example, without making an effort, a company can expect $0.15-.20 of international sales for every dollar of U.S. sales. But the real potential of international sales is over ten times greater than this: A mature company makes $2 or more outside the U.S. for each $1 it makes within the U.S.

If a company has a product or service that could be sold abroad as well as at home, they had better get busy in developing their international markets, even though they claim that they are making good money on just the local domestic U.S. market. There really is no choice. If they do not "go global", their competitors will, and before long these competitors will grow to the size of a world-class company, leaving the domestic-only company back in the dust. And these days, competition may not come from another American company -- it could just as well come from Europe or the Pacific Rim, where international business is more part of their business culture.

Taking the international markets seriously is unfortunately still a future realization for most small and medium U.S. companies. I have been in the business of taking Silicon Valley companies to Europe since the early '80s, and have heard countless international marketing managers lament how little attention their management gives the international markets (and budgets). Even today, it's like pulling teeth to get a decent marketing budget for international, whereas domestic marketing budget takes a giant share of the overall budget.

Internationalizing a Website as a future trend.
There is often a "fad effect" for each new development in business, whether it is the coming of the "micro-computer" (as they were called in the early '80s), the fax, email, etc. Back in 1992, many people knew about email but did not use it. Yet by 1995-96, if you did not use email to communicate, you were a dinosaur. It's a matter of critical mass: when enough people start using a new technology, or thinking in a certain way, it catches on like wildfire. (That critical mass figure is probably around 30%.) I have a hunch that this same pattern will apply to realizing how important international markets are.

What will it take for American companies to pull out of their island mentality and see the necessity of taking international markets most seriously? Probably some more stories like the recent "Mercedes buys Chrysler".

Written by Bill Dunlap, Managing Director
Euro-Marketing Associates
ema@euromktg.com

Last revised on 14 July, 1998
URL: http://www.euromktg.com/eng/ed/art/rep-eur8.html