Most websites owners only think of catering to their local or national audiences. That's fine if you want to limit your market to your domestic market. But if you want to get sales outside of your current domestic market you must look at how well your website is communicating with others.
There are more non-native English speakers online. The question is whether your website is written for all of your international readers.
If your website is well targeted to your local domestic markets, the chances are it does not communicate well outside of that market. And even worse, it may even be pushing your international clients away.
There are things you can do to make your domestic website friendlier to everyone. This is called website internationalization.
You also have the option of creating a separate international website for all of your international visitors.
In both cases here are the first things you can do to...
Stop Pushing Your Foreign Visitors Away
How many of your international visitors are you turning away without realizing it?
Here are 7 tips on how to keep your website friendly for international visitors.
1. Make Your Website Easy To Read For All Of Your Readers
The majority of internet users world-wide are non-native English speakers. Your web site visitors may have more difficulty in reading English than you do.
Make your website easy to read by people from all different cultures and with different language skill levels.
Do you know if all of your readers understand your website?
2. Be Reachable By Phone To Everyone
Cross cultural blunders happen even with phone communication.
One of the first blunders here is not clearly indicating a phone numbers international callers can reach you on.
Do you tell all of your readers how they can reach you by phone?
3. Show The World Your Location
Foreign visitors are curious about who they do business with. They like to know and be able to visualize where you are.
Clearly stating your real address helps build trust in your international readers. No easy to find address often puts up an immediate barrier of distrust.
Do you let everyone know where you are located?
4. Create Clarity With A Consistent Vocabulary
A consistent vocabulary makes it easier for your readers to understand you. It also makes your website faster to read and navigate.
Inconsistent vocabulary easily leads in cross cultural communication blunders.
A consistent vocabulary creates clarity and this reinforces trust.
Does the vocabulary used on your website communicate with clarity?
5. Use The Right Order Forms For International Sales
This is still an important source of difficulty in international sales. Sales are easily lost on the order page. Your international visitor may simply not know how to fill it out because it is not in an appropriate format.
As the payment platforms improve this should create less problems. Be aware of the problems your international clients have with your order forms and help them use it or find other options.
Do you have an order form appropriate for all of your international sales?
6. Publish A Glossary For Clarity And Consistency
A glossary can be a wonderful communication tool for your international visitors. It is especially useful if the glossary is easy to read and very simple in format with clear explanations.
It is highly recommended in certain industries where specific vocabulary requires expert translations. Simply explain words with utmost simplicity, clarity and accuracy. This is almost always much better than translations
Glossaries are also appreciated in non-technical areas too. Cultural habits differ. People can use vocabulary differently. Glossaries provide insight into how you communicate and provide a base for cross-cultural dialog.
Do you have a glossary explaining industry terms?
7. Welcome Your International Visitors
Creating a relationship with international visitors can be as simple as "We welcome international clients" in the right place.
You are inviting your international visitors to dialog with you.
- They may feel hesitant to call or contact you because their language skills are not that great.
- They may feel embarrassed to call knowing it will take them 5 minutes to talk to know when it would take them 1 minute in their own language.
Do your international clients feel welcome?
Internationalize Your Communication For More International Sales
With fluctuations in international exchange rate, you want to be ready to make more international sales.
Don't lose international sales with a website that pushes your international prospects away.
Follow these tips for a friendlier website for all of your visitors.
Are you committed to speeding up your international sales cycles?
Learn how to combine cross-cultural marketing tools and international sales strategies for faster sales.
Join us on the International Sales Road Map
Would you like to develop your international business?
Are you a beginner at international sales and marketing?
Read the Beginners Guide Discover Your International Business
Cindy King is a Cross-Cultural eMarketer & International Sales Specialist, aligning businesses with different cultures. She has over 25 years field experience in international business development and helps mid-sized business owners create international business development strategies that shorten time to profitability.
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