Questions to ask before entering an emerging market
Here’s my latest post for client Pitney Bowes: For companies in search of global growth, emerging markets are hard to resist. But like the California gold fields of the 1850s, …
Web Globalization
Pricing for good luck in Asia
I’ve written an article for client Pitney Bowes on pricing strategies in Asia. Here, for example, is how the iPad mini is priced in China: All those 8s are no coincidence. Find …
On creating your own Web Globalization Report Card
I first published the Web Globalization Report Card about 10 years ago. Since then, a number of companies have developed their own internal Report Cards (and I’ve assisted with several). Adobe, in …
Taking the Great American Pastime Global
I was raised a Cardinals fan. But I don’t live in St. Louis anymore so I must follow the team virtually. Fortunately there’s the MLB mobile app. Now I can listen …
Chevrolet wants a consistent global brand — hopefully a consistent website will follow
Interesting article in the WSJ (sub. required) about Alan Batey, the new global brand chief of Chevrolet. From the article: Mr. Batey says he wants to unify the brand’s strategy. “We used to …
Five tips for successful, global web surveys
It seems like everyone is running a web survey these days. While I appreciate the importance of asking your website visitors what they think, too many of these surveys are …
Cisco Systems: The Best Global Enterprise Technology Website
We studied 12 enterprise technology websites for the 2013 Web Globalization Report Card. The Web Globalization Report Card is an annual benchmark of how effectively companies internationalize and localize their websites …
Living in a post-PC world
The latest data from IDC show the sharpest decline in PC sales on record. From the release: “Although the reduction in shipments was not a surprise, the magnitude of the …
Bienvenido: Using language negotiation to support bilingual US websites
During my work for the Web Globalization Report Card I encountered a number of US-focused websites relying on language negotiation (also known as language detection) to make their Spanish-language websites …
WhatsApp adds Thai
WhatsApp is now supporting 16 languages with the addition of Thai, shown here: I noted earlier how much I admired their global gateway. Simple and effective.
Samsung: The best consumer technology website of 2013
We studied 18 consumer technology websites for the 2013 Web Globalization Report Card. The Web Globalization Report Card is an annual benchmark of how effectively companies internationalize and localize their …
Apple’s China apology and the value of a flexible global template
Here is the image used on Apple’s China home page to announce Tim Cook’s apology letter regarding Apple repair and warranty “misunderstandings.” Here is The Wall Street Journal take on …
Free Webinar: The Leading Global Retailers (and why)
I hope you’ll join me on Wednesday for a free one-hour webinar (sponsored by Lionbridge). I will talk about my research on the retail industry, focusing on companies like Amazon, …
BMW: The best global automotive website of 2013
We included 14 automotive and supplier websites in the 2013 Web Globalization Report Card. The Web Globalization Report Card is an annual benchmark of how effectively companies internationalize and localize …
On Square and localization: Keep an eye on your local websites
I use Square. I love Square. But if I were a French-speaking Canadian I might not feel quite the same. Because if you select the French/Canada option from the Square …