Imagine that you are driving a car in a Chinese city, in the middle of the summer, with two passengers who are dying of thirst. You know you should offer them water, but everything you see around is in the Chinese language. Which of these signs point to a coffee shop or supermarket? You stop the car and walk from door to door hoping that you'll find what you need.
Well, this story shows a common problem in business. How many business opportunities did you miss because the potential buyers were unable to find you - in a language they understand!
If your company has a website, then you are connected with everyone. People all around the world - in Europe, the United States, Asia or Africa can find you. However, it frequently happens that many of potential customers do not speak or understand Croatian or English to a sufficient extent. John Yunker recently conducted a study which analyzed 250 global web pages of large global companies to found that the average number of languages used was- 23.
International media and investors observe economic development, keep an eye on talented managers and politicians, and information about social stability. Croatia is exporting, with a strong tourism sector, and the foreign investors want to invest. Well, it is time to start talking in the language of our potential foreign buyers. But how do we do that?
SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA AND THE REGION
A survey of 241 Croatian companies conducted by Ciklopea's team found that most of the websites are in Croatian and English.
It was found that 232 companies (96%) have a website, 9 companies (4%) do not have a website, or it was under construction. In addition, 146 companies (61%) have translated the website into a foreign language, and the other 95 (39%) have not. Most websites are translated in English - 65 company websites (42%), followed by English and German - 14 companies (9%). Translation of the website into 3-5 languages was performed by 28 companies (18%), 6-10 languages by 9 companies (6%), and more than 10 languages by 25 companies (16%).
We can draw out the conclusion that the approach of the companies with headquarters in Croatia or the region significantly differs from the approach applied by global corporations and we can say that website globalization is still in its initial phase. As we can see from the above data, the vast majority of websites of companies from Croatia and the region has been translated into one language (English), and there are no websites with a summary in any foreign language, which means that they cannot be found by internet search engines and social networks in some language versions. This conclusion does not apply to branches of global corporations where access to translations, i.e. localization of websites has been implemented in accordance with international standards. However, a significant number of these websites still do not present any regional language variant, and, if we consider that 90% of the population prefer to browse the Internet in their mother tongue (data from surveys conducted by Eurobarometer, an agency for public opinion analysis in the EU member states), ultimately leads us to the same conclusion. For companies and organizations which translated their websites into more than 10 languages (25 of them or 16%) we can say that they have an adequate website globalization and localization strategy and, accordingly, have been significantly frequently found by global search engines and social networks, meaning that they have secured the access to potential customers. For all other companies (216 or 84%) we can say that the website globalization and localization strategy is not adequate and that there is still plenty of potential to achieve growth and access to potential customers.
ANALYSIS AND GROWTH STRATEGY
Analyse global tenders. See how companies in Europe and the United States communicate with their potential customers. See in which countries they are present. Pay attention how their phone numbers are displayed so that they could be easily reached from overseas. And, finally, have a look at how many languages they have translated their websites. Analyse your web traffic. From which countries your website visitors come? If your website has not been visited by anyone outside of Croatia, it's because your company cannot be found on global network search engines. Set the international communication strategy. You do not need to translate the site into 23 languages immediately. It is necessary to invest time and money into a good translation. Create a summary of your company website and translate into the selected language(s). A landing page which shortly presents the company will cost less than translation of the entire website, and it is a good start. Your goal is to be found! Translate about 100 words about your business into several languages, place them on your website and promote it on Google Adwords. This initiative will attract traffic to your website and help in finding of new potential markets.
EXPERTISE
To save money, in company website and brochure translation avoid using online tools like Google Translate simply because they are free. A machine translation will provide a general idea about the text, but it is far from the qualities necessary to conduct a successful business. Find a translation company, give the text to an expert who speaks a foreign language equally good as the mother tongue. If a client does not understand what he reads and watches, he will not buy your product, even if interested in it. The world is becoming a global village, and there are fewer and fewer barriers to international trade. But in terms of communication, the world is increasingly turning toward small communities and local languages that have been gaining in importance. To sum it up, economic growth implies the use of the customer's language!
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