Website Internationalization
Let us review the first steps to website internationalization in detail. Can everyone reach you by phone? Are you making the phone process easy so that everyone can actually call you?
This may sound like a strange question. But have you ever found yourself in a situation abroad, desperately trying to reach someone else and just not being able to get through.
Cross cultural miscommunication happens often enough between people. Other factors come into play.
Time differences complicate international communication.
Different national holidays complicate international communication.
Even different work weeks complicate international communication.
And so do different telephone systems and habits throughout the world.
I have two examples of major frustration in not being able to establish contact by phone with the right person.
I was contacted by two French company executives desperate to place a large order with a well known American sportswear company. The French company had been trying for many weeks to speak to the appropriate person and simply could not get through the sophisticated phone system. They did speak English having lived for several years in North America. But they are French and used to doing business with people face to face. They like contact and wanted to speak to the right sales person in the American company.
These French executives just kept getting caught up in miscommunication errors in the fancy American telephone system. If the American company had known how much business was at stake and the different communication preferences in different cultures they make it easier for international clients to get through to the right person quickly.
Another true story happened a short while ago. I looked for tickets online from a major airline. They had no direct sales office here in France and I was told I had to go online. I did as instructed and I soon found a convenient flight at a competitive rate. For some reason I had to speak to their reservations staff by phone.
This North American airline company had outsourced all phone calls to India. Communications were bad. There were several phone conversations within a 30 minute time frame. Each time I spoke to a different person and only to be given different rates that continued to increase until they were totally out of the price range in the original offer I had seen online 30 minutes before. Needless to say it will be years before I waste my time with that airline company again.
These are very aggravating situations and can leave long term customer dissatisfaction without you ever realizing it. If a foreign visitor is motivated to actually call your company it can represent a bigger effort on his part than one of your local visitors. You can recognize this extra effort by making it as easy as possible for him.
There is little you can do to prevent some of these incidences. You can learn to pick up the warning signs early enough and learn how to handle them better.
But there are a few things you can do to facilitate easy phone communication. They will also help your web site to make a good first impression.
Remember, toll free numbers are only accessible from within your own country. There are still many web sites that only think about placing this number prominently.
Does your have a company have an automated computer call center? Will your international clients be able to get through to right person quickly even if their question doesn’t quite fit into your system?
Remember, if you hide your office telephone number somewhere in small print, your international users may not find it. And if they do they will assume your international clients are few and far between, or that you do not really want any foreign clients.
If you have your phone numbers clearly indicated, presented in a way that catches the eye, you will show the world you are happy to greet everyone no matter what their preferred method of contacting you is.
Can your international clients reach you easily by phone?
If you follow these tips your web site will be friendlier for all of your international visitors.
Don’t miss the business guide on Get International Clients
-Website Internationalization 101
Here are a few more Website Internationalization articles:
- How To Get Your Communication Platform Ready For International Marketing
- Why I Am Creating An Information Product On Website Internationalization
- Write A Better International Website
- Buying Logos For International Websites
- Design Websites For Speed In International Internet Marketing
- First Transition To A Global Market Internet Business
- Stop Pushing Your Foreign Visitors Away
- Easy Content For All Of Your Web Site Readers
- Show The World Your Location
- An Easy To Read Website For Your International Visitors First Impression
- Is Your Website Sabotaging Your International Business Development?
- Small Business International Development In Three Easy Steps - First Transition To A Global Market Internet Business
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Cindy King is a Cross-Cultural Marketer and International Sales Specialist, with over 25 years field experience in international business development.
Learn how you can get more international sales |
