Marketing Management, Millenium Edition - epiheirimatikotita.gr

M A R K E T I N GmemoMaking Your WebSite Worldwide andWorldly Wise376Many companies that would never dreamof launching an exporting initiative withoutcareful planning are launching Web sitesthat are actually damaging their image withglobal customers. It may be something asseemingly innocuous as using address fieldsthat don’t allow for European postal codesor as major as not providing translation fora site you are aiming at Japanese customers.Here, then, is a list of do’s and don’ts for creatingan export-friendly Web site:■ Be sure international customers canview your Web page at adequatespeeds: In some countries, Internet accessis still limited to 9,600 bps. It mayhelp to have your Web site hosted ormirrored overseas.The closer your datais to your customers, the better ableyou are to ensure fast, reliable transmission.Youshould also consider settingup a text-only version. Ratherthan forcing overseas customers towait for bandwidth-hogging graphicsto download, design a parallel path oftext-based information.■ Make sure every customer in marketsyou are approaching can experienceyour Web site and order products in thelanguage, custom, and culture withwhich he or she feels comfortable: Becauseevery country is assigned aunique URL address, you can set upe-commerce software to autodetectan international customer the momenthe or she logs on.Then you can automaticallyset up a dedicated countrypage, written in the language of thatcountry. It’s also possible to link yourWeb site to a currency conversion calculatorand recalculate prices everyday, every hour, or even with everytransaction in the home currencyof the visitor. Finally, for apparel(continued)investment banking operation. E-Trade’s agreement with the Israeli firm is part ofa strategy to form licensing agreements and international joint ventures in an effortto bring its brand of no-frills investing to people abroad. E-Trade has alreadycreated E-Trade Australia and has announced plans to form E-Trade Germany andE-Trade Central Europe. 15Licensing has some potential disadvantages. The licensor has less control over thelicensee than if it had set up its own production and sales facilities. Furthermore, ifthe licensee is very successful, the firm has given up profits; and if and when the contractends, the company might find that it has created a competitor. To avoid this,the licensor usually supplies some proprietary ingredients or components needed inthe product (as Coca-Cola does). But the best strategy is for the licensor to lead in innovationso that the licensee will continue to depend on the licensor.There are several variations on a licensing arrangement. Companies such as Hyattand Marriot sell management contracts to owners of foreign hotels to manage thesebusinesses for a fee. The management firm may even be given the option to purchasesome share in the managed company within a stated period.Another variation is contract manufacturing, in which the firm hires local manufacturersto produce the product. When Sears opened department stores in Mexicoand Spain, it found qualified local manufacturers to produce many of its products.Contract manufacturing has the drawback of giving the company less control overthe manufacturing process and the loss of potential profits on manufacturing. HowpartthreeDevelopingMarketingStrategies