On Top Of The World The Web can bring the world to your door - but your site had better be foreign-friendly.

Armed with little more than a modem and access to the Internet,today's homebased entrepreneur can become an instant contenderin the international marketplace. But it takes more than a modemand a Web site to become an instant success in thatmarketplace.

Pitching your products to the international community involvesthe same marketing issues you're concerned with domestically:What concepts, images or slogans will attract customers? Whatstrategies will work best in this market? Unless you're at oncea linguist, an anthropologist and a diplomat, you may find thesequestions difficult to answer. Successful international marketingdemands an understanding of language as well as cultural issues,sensitivities and symbolism. Something as simple as the colors ofyour Web site can mean the difference between a sale and a culturalfaux pas.

One solution: "Localize" your Web site and any othermaterials you intend to distribute to the international marketplace(including brochures, sales literature and product documentation).Localization means more than acquiring a word-for-word translationof your materials; it means developing a marketing approach that isboth internationally effective and culturally correct.

Moira Allen is an author and former technical writer wholives in Olympia, Washington.

Start At The Beginning

Though localization agents are often listed in the Yellow Pagesunder "Translation Services," the key difference betweenlocalizers and translators is the point at which they begin.Typically, traditional translation can take place only afteryou've developed such materials as product documentation, salesbrochures or a Web site. The problem with this approach is that itcan only "make over" materials that were designedprimarily for U.S. or other English-speaking markets.

What is appropriate for U.S. customers, however, may beineffective or even offensive in other countries. Many Americanphrases, concepts and images make no sense at all abroad. Forexample, Sol Squire, president and CEO of Twin Dragons SoftwareInc. in Gloucester, Massachusetts, cites KFC's disastrousattempt to translate "finger-lickin' good" intoChinese: "It's good enough that you'll eat yourfingers off." At best, a word-for-word translation can soundstiff and unnatural; at worst, it can create costly blunders.

The solution is to address cultural issues before you engineeran international marketing strategy. Cultural awareness, say mostlocalizers, should be addressed early in the planning process. Inaddition, it should be addressed by someone who understands notonly your target market but the product or service you'retrying to sell. "We require any translator to have a minimumof 10 years' experience with the subject matter," saysGerry Carson, senior vice president of Pan-American Access Inc., afull-service translation and localization company in Atlanta.

Squire agrees: "You wouldn't hire someone off thestreet to write marketing materials just because the person spokeEnglish. So why hire someone to develop or translate your technicaland sales documents just because of [his or her] languageability?"

The Right Stuff

An effective localizer, says Squire, should ask marketingquestions at every stage of the process: "What are the `hotbuttons' of your target market? Who is your competition? Howdoes your product differ from the competition's?"Different countries have different expectations, and manylocalizers offer specialized testing to determine whether theproduct meets those expectations.

Localizing your approach from the beginning also enhancesconsistency. "Every industry has its own terminology,"Carson points out. "That terminology needs to be consistent inall your materials." Carson's firm employs an "activeterminology recognition" database that stores a lexicon ofphrases and terms used in documents, so that every piece ofliterature will be translated consistently.

Avoiding Pitfalls

The perils of poor translation are obvious, even ludicrous. Whocan forget Chevrolet's failure to realize that, in Spanish,"no va" means "does not go"? Other issues,however, are more subtle.

For example, it's not enough to simply decide you want yourmaterials or Web site translated into Spanish. Which part of theSpanish-speaking world do you want to target? The terms and idiomsused in South America are very different from those used in Spainor Mexico. Similarly, according to Carson, the French-speakingQuébecois do not respond well to marketing materials writtenin "Parisian" French.

George Hallak, president of AramediA Group, an Arabic softwarefirm in Boston, points out that there are at least 22 Arabicnations and dialects; an experienced localizer should know that theaccepted business standard for the region is "Modern StandardArabic." To further confuse matters, some languages also haveformal and informal versions. Make sure the localizer you chooseunderstands cultural idioms and regional variations of thelanguage.

Your problems compound when you seek to tap markets that usenon-English, Roman alphabetic languages (e.g., western European);non-Roman alphabetic languages (e.g., Arabic, Greek or Russian); ornonalphabetic languages (e.g., Asian). To use any non-Englishlanguage on your Web site, you must ensure your browser supportslanguage fonts containing accents, diacritical marks and specialcharacters. Putting an Arabic or Hebrew translation on your Website is even more complicated because these languages are read fromright to left.

The complications involved in using Asian languages on your Website exceed the capabilities of most homebased offices. The fontsneeded for these languages contain more than 7,000 characters. Astandard PC doesn't have the screen resolution to display suchfonts, and most standard servers can't handle the systemrequirements of such languages; a double-byte operating system isneeded.

One solution to this problem, according to Carson, is toincorporate your translated material as an image rather than astext. Too many complex graphics, however, can increase the downloadtime required to access your site. If you want to post a lot ofmaterial, another alternative is to have your Web site hosted bythe localization agency's server or by an ISP.

Nor is language the only issue you must address. If you'resetting up a Web site, you'll also need to make culturallysensitive decisions regarding graphics, icons, interfaces and eventhe colors you use. Squire relates the tale of Euro-Disney, whosedesigner loved purple and used it lavishly throughout the themepark. Unfortunately, to the French, purple suggests funerals andfuneral parlors. Similarly, while red is considered stimulating inthe United States, it is regarded as restful in China. Whitesymbolizes death in most Asian countries, while "yellow shouldbe avoided pretty much altogether," Squire says, as it oftenhas negative connotations.

Combining colors in a graphic can also be a problem, saysCarson--if those colors represent the hues of a rival country'sflag. While such concerns might seem trivial to a U.S. audience,it's important to remember many countries are embroiled inintense rivalries. "If you're marketing a product toChile," Carson cautions, "you don't want your Website colors to represent the flag of Brazil."

What Price Correctness?

Besides looking in the Yellow Pages, you can search on theInternet for localization agents under "localization" or"translation." Be sure to inquire about the agency'sknowledge of your target country's culture, its familiaritywith regional dialects or language variations, its understanding ofyour business, and its expertise in developing internationalmarketing strategies.

Costs vary widely from agency to agency and depend on theproject. Translation is generally billed at a rate of 18 cents to25 cents per word, says Carson, and is based either on the originalword count or the translation word count. More extensiveservices--such as Web site consultation or development--aregenerally billed by the hour.

The cost of localization may seem high, but you must ask whetherthat cost is balanced by the potential for sales in aninternational market. "Ignoring cultural details will keepU.S. products from competing in the internationalmarketplace," says Squire. Overseas customers won'ttolerate badly translated materials or repackaged English-languageproducts. The key to an effective marketing strategy is the same inany language: Know your market.

A Site Of Many Colors

As you develop a multilingual Web site, remember that not allcountries use the same equipment or standards. In many countries,time is billed by the minute, which means a site that is slow todownload or difficult to navigate will cost your clients money. Toavoid problems--and to increase your site's internationalaccessibility--try the following:

*Keep images to a minimum. They increase download time--andimages that are effective in the U.S. marketplace may bemisunderstood or considered offensive in other countries. Also,offer a link to a text-only version of your site.

*Make sure your site can be navigated easily. "Don'ttry to dazzle the user with your cleverness," warns GerryCarson, senior vice president of Pan-American Access Inc., afull-service translation and localization company in Atlanta.Provide clear instructions, and don't bury those instructionswithin images; provide text guidelines as well.

*Use international formats for dates, times and currencies. Inmost European countries, for example, "3:30 p.m." wouldbe written as 15:30, while "July 4, 1776," would bewritten as 4.7.76.

*Develop an e-mail response form that includes automated options(such as radio buttons, where users can click on their choices froma list of options), thus minimizing the amount of translationrequired.

*Instead of displaying all your material on your Web site, makeit easy for customers to request information via e---mail.

Contact Sources

AramediA Group, 761 Adam St., Boston, MA 02122-1919,http://members.aol.com/gnhbos/aramedia.htm

Pan-American Access Inc., (404) 239-0595, fax: (404)239-1858

Twin Dragons Software Inc., (800) 453-2277, squire@twindragons.com