Most businesses realize that they are simply a click away from any corner of the globe.

Abandoned Shopping Cart

Well, actually two if you include the Yahoo! search a potential customer does to access your shopping cart. What most businesses, unfortunately, do not realize is that their shopping cart is struggling to make it to the checkout counter.

Bill Dunlap, managing director of Global Reach, Inc. notes that:

“for every $2 million a site is doing in domestic sales, they’re leaving another $1 million on the table in international sales if they’re not making themselves easily available.”

To paraphrase the above, let me draw on a quote from Willy Brandt. The former West German chancellor is reported to have once said:

“If I’m selling to you, I speak your language. If I’m buying, dann muessen Sie Deutsch sprechen (then you must speak German).”

In economics this is referred to as opportunity cost — The cost of something in terms of an opportunity foregone. The opportunity cost of not speaking “German” is a whopping 50%! This simple truth is supported by statistics.

Donald A. DePalma reported in a study conducted for Forrester Research that:

• Visitors linger twice as long as they do at English-only URLs,
• Buyers are three times more likely to buy if addressed in their own language, and
• Customer service costs drop when instructions are displayed in the user’s language.

(Source: Donald A. DePalma, Strategies for Global Sites, 1998)

Another Forrester Research report, quoted in an article titled “Reasons for Success in International E-Commerce” (webpronews.com) provides statistics that indicate:

“over 55% of the online world accesses the Internet from countries where English is NOT the native language.”

English is the Lingua Franca of the World, But…

The message is loud and clear!

Do not assume that there is no reason to translate your marketing materials or that English is used in other countries! To be sure, English is the lingua franca of the world, and many people do have the ability to read English. But, faced with a choice, would you pull out your wallet for a company that caters to your needs in your non-native language, or your native language?

If translation and localization is not part of your global e-commerce strategy, then

You may be leaving money on the table!

Options for Hoisting a Shingle in the Domestic Market

There are a couple of options for entering the Japanese market:

• Develop in-house capabilities, and
• Use professional services.

Developing an inhouse capability is extremely expensive, and, even if you have deep pockets, it will not guarantee success in the Japan marketing.

(Coming soon: Follies of the DIY Set in Japan)

Professional services may be more affordable than imagined. For example, many services have options to optimize budgets with Japanese marketing translation solutions, as opposed to full blown localization.

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About the Author
Ivan Vandermerwe is the CEO of SAECULII YK, the owner of Tokyo based Localization Services Japan Visit SAECULII for the latest professional case studies, articles and news on Japanese Localization Services

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