Topics in this newsletter:
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12 million Germans have Internet access
Geldkarte Invades France
"They all speak English, don't they?"
European e-commerce figures
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12 million Germans have Internet access
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Advertising on the web is accepted
During the last six months, the number of internet users in Germany
has grown by about 33 per cent, according to the GfK-Online-
Monitor, published by Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK, a
German consumer development company). More than 12 million have
internet access and the average user bears a closer resemblance to
the average citizen than in previous surveys. People between 20 and
39 form the largest group of users and people with higher incomes
also dominate.
The survey of the German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF has
reached similar figures. The private home user in particular is
becoming increasingly common. While in 1997, about 59 per cent of
users had only had access in their office or college, this year
only 36 per cent are using the internet at work. This is good news
for the online market, because as long as office-users dominate,
the online market could be hard hit if big companies start to
impose controls and analyse the costs and advantages of online-
surfing.
Another study revealed that more Germans are accepting of
commercial and advertising activities in the web. About 54 per cent
claimed that they like banner advertisements if they lead to
additional web content. Thirty nine per cent don't like online
advertising, especially if it is placed in unexpected areas.
According to a study by Markenartikel magazine, successful ads are
either funny and entertaining or specialised on information.
Sources: Die Welt September 17 1998; Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung September 22 1998, Media
Perspektiven August 1998
(http://www.europemedia.com/emgermany/28.9.98.html#second)
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Geldkarte Invades France
------------------------
During the first half of 1999, French banks BNP and Credit Agricole
will start testing an electronic wallet solution based on smart
cards. The initial test will take place in the city of Tours, with
40,000 people and a thousand shops expected to participate. Users
will be able to make purchases of less than FF100 ($18) thanks to
the integrated chip, just by inserting their card in the shopıs
terminal. No code or signature will be required, and no pre-
authorization is requested from the bankıs central. The technology
is based on the German Geldkarte, which was developed by bank
association ZKA.
http://www.bnp.fr/actu/actuin.htm (in French)
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"They all speak English, don't they?"
-------------------------------------
Marc Walker details his Website localisation work with export-
minded companies to ensure that they fully utilise the power of the
Internet if they are to succeed overseas on a long term basis.
Local what? - you may be asking.
The next month is the most crucial so far on the road to EMU. The
final convergence reports issued in March 1998, prepared by both
the European Monetary Institute and the European.
Still overlooked by a significant proportion of companies is the
question of localising export marketing messages through the
Website. Yet, the power of taking on board another country's
language, its people and customs when tackling overseas markets
should not be underestimated.
Whether your company is an established giant with subsidiaries
around the world, or a small company preparing to make that all-
important first step on the export trail, a well co-ordinated
international sales and marketing effort is critical for success.
Localisation represents an integral part of that effort and in the
ever-changing information technology industry, high-quality
localisation is best accomplished by working with a committed
partner.But what is localisation? It is certainly much more than a
simple linguistic translation - it means the customisation of all
components of a product for a particular target market. These
components can include the user interface, help system, printed or
online documentation, the Web Site, advertising campaigns, plus any
marketing communication material or collateral that accompanies the
product.
Thus, a product or document can be converted from the language,
functionality and format requirements of one market into those of
another with specific considerations for the Web given on deciding
the market, graphics creation plus back-end issues like databases,
forms and email.
If the above elements are successfully localised, then a
prospective overseas customer will see that your product has been
specifically created in and for the target market. Long gone are
the days when anyone can afford to ask: "well, they all speak
English in Europe, don't they?"
That potential sales contract will be more likely in the bag, if
the individual(s) involved see you have produced a seamless, fully
functioning marketing effort in their own native language. The
response is almost certainly to be a favourable one, especially if
culturally inappropriate examples are avoided, and when appropriate
language use and grammar is in evidence.
On a multilingual Website, originally the World Wide Web was used
principally as a method by which researchers and engineers shared
data via a network of computers. Then, content was available
primarily in English. Regardless of what native language was
involved users spoke and - presumably - understood English as a
global language. However, by the early 1990s, the market
experienced what amounted to an explosion in growth of this medium
as millions of people around the world began to use the Internet
and WWW as a vehicle for communication, marketing and commerce.
Global usage continues to skyrocket as the world approaches the
Millennium and a burning question NOW is: Is it important to
consider one's customer base beyond one's country borders?
A sobering thought is that as Internet home and overseas business
market penetration increases the percentage of those who speak and
understand English is in reality decreasing. It is common knowledge
in the software industry, that localised software products are
better accepted than their English counterparts.
In fact: Creating and maintaining a multilingual Website maximises
a company's return on investments. If a firm is already actively
targeting overseas customers such a site can provide them with
company information, marketing material and customer service
support in the native language involved. Alternately, by creating a
multilingual site, a company demonstrates a strong commitment to a
specific market(s), even if it isn't yet ready to open an
international office. Most companies already realise the cost
savings involved through the provision of product and company
information on the Web, like print costs and the ability to
instantaneously update information - the same benefits hold true on
a multilingual site.
My daily Website localisation work involves helping a company first
of all to identify those areas that are most critical to its
business goals. Determining how an international customer is
targeted will help to define the formation and foundation of a
localisation plan.
It may only be necessary to provide some basic translated marketing
material to draw the international Website visitor into the
company's site. On the other hand, it may be integral to the site
that a firm allows for multilingual online ordering capabilities
and email interaction. Once priority areas are localised and
analysed for success a company can take the plunge with confidence
and work towards a completely localised Website.
Treating the process as yet another step in the development of a
company's Website should be viewed as one longterm goal in a
business plan by demonstrating commitment to a potential or
established international customer whilst projecting a truly global
image. "We are very satisfied by the growth of our national
European sites," said Heather Killen, managing director of European
operations for Yahoo! "The positive user response we have seen in
France, Germany and the U.K. clearly demonstrates that the Yahoo!
approach to web navigation is striking a chord with European users,
and that we are able to deliver a growing audience to local and
international advertisers."
The Yahoo! global network of properties and its European sites
enable advertisers to reach important, targeted audiences in key
markets throughout the world," said Jeff Mallett, Yahoo!'s senior
vice president of business operations. "The audience reach of our
European sites has grown rapidly in a short period of time, and
we're pleased with the number of advertisers that have already
signed up to leverage these properties."
Yahoo!'s European advertisers include British Airways, British Sky
Broadcasting, Guinness, Nescafe, Opel, and IBM. Yahoo! Inc.
recently announced that IBM Corporation, one of the top three Web
advertisers, has selected the Yahoo! Network to launch the world's
first global, multinational Internet advertising programme, which
includes the European sites.
IBM is also Yahoo!'s exclusive technical partner in Europe,
providing server and desktop technology.Yahoo! Europe also recently
announced a number of important content relationships, including
Deutsche Presse Agentur, Agence France Presse, Four11 Corporation,
and Reuters.
"We are continuing to build media relationships in the key areas of
news, weather, sports, entertainment, and financial information,"
said Killen.
--by Marc Walker (EuroBuro)
(http://www.euroburo.com/euonline/onl1.html)
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European e-commerce figures
---------------------------
At the annual European Information Technology Forum in Paris, IDC
announced that although one year ago Europe was nearly 2 years
behind the US, this year it is less than one year behind the US.
Among other findings, IDC says that European revenue from e-
commerce will be up from $32 billion this year to $425 billion by
2002.
http://www.idcresearch.com
http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?service=view_survey&survey_number=967&rel=no
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The editor is at bill@euromktg.com, if you would like to give feedback or submit an article. We hope you find these articles to be useful and of interest to you. The "Internet Times" is published on the 1st and 15th of every month, and is available here on the Web and by autoresponder. To have the latest copy sent to you by email, click on the "news" image here (please click only once).
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COPYRIGHT: This newsletter is copyright 1998 by Bill Dunlap, Euro-Marketing Associates, or by other individuals or organizations who have written the original articles. Permission to redistribute this newsletter electronically is granted as long as you quote the source for the article that immediately follows each article. All brand names and companies mentioned in this newsletter are trademarks of their respective holders.
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Last revised on 22 October, 1998
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