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The great thing
about online businesses is that you have the opportunity
to reach more customers than you can in a traditional
physical store. But with that extended reach, you need
to remember that you also need to create your site with
international visitors in mind. There are many things
you should never do on your website when you are trying
to bring in international business. Here are four of the
biggest mistakes you could make when dealing with your
global customer base.
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Use Clichés
and Slang
When it comes to getting lost in translation, clichés
and slang are the two things that you need to avoid.
While you might think that you are being clever on your
website, these phrases can often be interpreted as
disrespectful and even crass to some international
visitors. Your website should contain plain and simple
English that will be simple to translate and to
understand. Your sentences should be short and filled
with basic words, but still rich with descriptions of
your business and your products.
If you are writing your own website content, you will
want to go back to reread what you have written down to
be sure that everything is easy to read in a literal
sense. For example, if it's not actually 'raining cats
and dogs,' don't say that it is. Have a few people read
your site before you post it up on the internet to be
sure you are being as clear as possible.
Use Other Languages Improperly
The next mistake that many people make with their
international website is to try to use a few languages
from various cultures they cater to – but this can be
disastrous. If you haven't taken the time to be fluent
in the foreign language, you should not be using it on
your site. The only way that you should use a foreign
language on your site is to have a native speaker write
the site for you. It's simply better if you avoid trying
to add in other languages too because you don't want any
international customers to feel 'left out' because their
language isn't used.
Not Have a Translation Page
When you don't have a way for your page to be translated
for your customers, this can spell problems for your
business. True, there are websites that profess to be
able to translate pages for you, but they're not always
reliable. What you will want to do is create a simple
English website and then hire a translator to translate
it into the languages that you want your site in. That
way, you can have customers click onto a new link to get
the site in their native language. When you don't offer
this, it can look as though you're simply not interested
in helping your non-English speaking contingent.
Forget about Currency Exchange Rates
Of course, if you are selling anything, you need to be
able to price things as the customers will be paying for
them. Have a currency exchange calculator built into
your shopping cart experience so that you can easily
help your customers. That way, you can get the money in
the currency you wish to be paid in and your customers
have a clear idea as to how much they will be spending.
You might also want to have a currency exchange
calculator on the pages with your products if you don't
have the prices clearly adjusted.
When you are trying to woo international customers, you
need to make sure you have everything they need for the
transaction to go smoothly and respectfully.
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