By: Anton Stoutjesdijk

The world is continuously evolving it is amazing just how things grow and change in order to survive. Evolution has long been seen as an important natural process however it is amazing just how much of this applies to the business world. Businesses are growing in size in every country all around the world. There are now thousands of huge multinational firms. These multinational firms are able to sell their own products in several international markets. As a result of globalization the competition in virtually every market sector has increased substantially. Businesses are finding that they have to quickly evolve in order to stay in the game. They are in fact evolving to cope with international market conditions and the numerous changes and challenges this brings with it.

Methods of Coping with Intense International Competition

Most businesses play down the importance of intellectual capital however it is in fact almost certainly the most valuable asset your business owns. Intellectual capital cannot be imitated by any other business, it is completely unique. Businesses are starting to realize that in order to make juicy profits they need to start concentrating on selling to international markets rather than just their domestic markets. It is now easier than ever to buy products from all around the world. Just by taking a trip to your local home electronics store you will find hundreds of foreign products. It can be very difficult for businesses to get a slice of this international pie, considerably more if they are unable to speak the customer’s language. Multilingual website marketing is a very effective way to increase a business’s market share. International marketing strategies are becoming increasingly important to even domestic businesses.

There are hundreds of different firms from many different countries which are all competing for the same market. It’s just not good enough to sell to a domestic market, in order to be efficient and benefit from economies of scale you have to supply a much larger market. Consider the car market as an example, this used to be a very domestic based market where you would buy domestically built cars. However many of the major car companies are now moving into the international market. This is because in order to compete with them you would have to produce 1,000 cars a day which is far too many for a new start up company to even consider.

Large companies were only traditionally concerned with selling to countries which spoke English, however now many businesses are starting to see the importance of targeting the whole world. All of these businesses are competing with an amazing force which goes to show how determined they are to dominate the market. There are several problems concerned with businesses selling in foreign markets. First you will be dealing with foreign currency which will leave you open to Exchange Rate Risk. Most importantly there are also language barriers; believe it or not everybody doesn’t speak English. Unless you can speak the native language then people probably won’t be aware of exactly what you are selling.

The internet has made it much easier to enter foreign markets you can create a website in a foreign language at a fraction of the cost of hiring a native speaker in order to sell your products. The key is to create a website that is interesting and suitable to the country which you are targeting.

Multilingual website marketing is a very popular business strategy because by being able to promote your products in several different languages you are increasing the numbers of potential customers dramatically. When people search the internet 93% typically use their own native language to find information they want, they will probably also use their own native search engines. For example the Chinese equivalent of Google is baidu.com and is extremely popular! There are an estimated 412 million people that cannot speak English who use the internet a multilingual website can increase your chances of getting them to purchase from you. By getting more people to visit your website you can safely assume that you will also have more customers which should convert to a higher profit level.

One important reason for using multilingual website marketing is that when a user is confronted by a website in their own language then they are twice as likely to stay and continue reading your site. They are also four times more likely to buy from your site than if it was in a foreign language.

Businesses which realize the importance of every single potential customer are going to be the ones that survive. Now even our high streets are dominated by international brands, there’s no escaping international business. It can take quite a long time to come up with multilingual promotion strategies, however it is possible. It’s important to carefully consider the cultures of the countries as you create the websites; you don’t want to offend anyone. For example in China the number 8 is very lucky, prices ending in an 8 are considered very lucky and are therefore more popular. In America prices like 7.99 may be popular however in china 7.88 would be much more popular. By considering the culture and language you can develop a very successful international marketing strategy which should hopefully give you a leg up over your competitors.

Globalization has drastically changed the business world and made it very important for businesses to find customers in multiple markets around the world. Multilingual website marketing is a successful method at selling to these far flung corners of the world without having to pay a fortune to do so. Many firms are struggling to come to terms with the huge power of multilingual advertising. It’s completely different to other conventional business practices and so it’s something which traditional firms are having a hard time to get their head around. As a direct result of globalization it is now much easier to target the whole world instead of just your domestic market. In order for businesses to remain competitive they need to start considering investing in multilingual marketing.

Recent market research has indicated that there are now many more non-English speaking users of the internet than there are English speaking users. This is why multilingual websites are such an important method of promoting your business. Globalization has made companies consider selling to other countries other than just the United Kingdom or America. A significant number of businesses are trying to enter markets in countries such as China, India, Brazil and Eastern Europe. If any business is targeting any of these countries then multilingual advertising is absolutely essential in order to succeed. The consumers in these emerging economies value dealing with companies that can speak their native language. A business wants to sell their products to these countries, so the least they can do is make it easy. Japan and Western Europe are considered as the two e-commerce powerhouses. These countries have paid special attention to developing multilingual advertising strategies. Multilingual advertising and multilingual marketing are quickly becoming two of the most important elements for international businesses.

There are many different challenges which are changing how modern-day businesses and organizations can operate. Websites are actually a fairly new concept, few businesses will know how to set-up and successfully promote it themselves. This means that this particular business will almost certainly have to pay for another business to design and promote the websites for them – unless it is preformed in-house. There are also costs associated with website maintenance, hosting and translating; all of these costs were previously unknown to businesses. Websites are one of the best and least expensive ways of using multilingual advertising in comparison to in-house establishment and operation. The method of outsourced multilingual promotion is much less expensive than advertising in each country. These websites traditionally are able to offer content rich information in a number of different languages for native speakers to read. Each of these websites should be uniquely designed and customized to suit the specific market with cultural sensitivities and unique ways of selling under serious consideration. We mentioned the prices in china before, but this is where they are important. When in Rome you should do as the Romans do! You need to behave like native speakers to gain respect and a reputation, you need to understand what is popular, acceptable and engaging to the reader. These websites can also contain content which can be optimized for certain keywords which will allow you to improve your websites ranking in the search engines if you utilize SEO techniques. It’s worth bearing in mind that many countries have their own favorite search engine. Your site should be submitted to all of these search engines. If you are selling to China for example then Baidu.com is a very important search engine.

Learn from the Pioneers of International Marketing

Google is very keen on international marketing strategy they have a very good understanding of the significance and importance of these practices. Google is currently available in a staggering 97 different languages. There are literally hundreds of other global businesses such as Apple, Microsoft, eBay, Amazon, and Coca-Cola who have used international internet marketing practices very successfully. Multilingual website marketing is a fantastic way to get in contact with many more people. These people might include partners, suppliers and of course potential customers. The internet has made it so much easier to establish your brand on a global scale. Many popular examples include Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Multilingual website marketing is very important to consider when a business is developing an international marketing strategy, and is excellent way of testing a new market.

International internet marketing is fairly inexpensive but it instantly allows you to be in contact with consumers in foreign markets without having to invest in physical property and in some cases inventory or logistics. Multilingual marketing simplifies the methods needed to sell to people other than those in your domestic market. There are many advantages that businesses will experience by creating multilingual websites. Creating a website in the native language of the country you are targeting then you will make the target audience feel much more secure and clear that you are a credible source.

If you want to buy something then you will either go out to a shop or buy it on the internet. Either way you will expect all communication to be English. So how would it be any different for other markets? Chinese people for example will want to buy Products and services in Chinese.

It’s only sensible to assume that if you want to buy something then you will search the internet in English. Even if you could speak Chinese surely these products would be located in china, so it’s pointless. You should use two websites, one of which is targeted for specific markets. Websites are very important methods which can be used to generate sales, 98% of customers will visit the website before they decide which product they plan on purchasing. For companies that are interested in international growth they should pay special attention to the wants of their customers, this will vary depending on the country they are selling to. International marketing strategy is very important when developing multilingual website marketing techniques. There are many advantages when a company uses international internet marketing compared to many other strategies.

• E-commerce works by selling products through content, you convince people to buy from you using international marketing strategy. You can actually sell all of your products 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
• International internet marketing is a great way to save money on international business. You don’t really need to hire people that speak the language in order to sell to that market. This makes it possible to maximize your profit margin.
• Multilingual marketing makes your company more credible for the various markets which a business is targeting. More people will trust businesses which publish websites in their own language you might even be able to use this to build an international brand name.

Multilingual advertising is an extremely important form of business marketing which is often overlooked by many businesses. Hundreds of different organizations are using multilingual marketing such as Wal-Mart and GM. These firms are using multilingual marketing in order to keep themselves head and shoulders above their competition.

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