What Is An International Website

Quick answers to…

Today’s question is:

What is an international website?

An International Website is slightly different to an Internationalized Website.

An International Website can be considered as a precursor to a Global Website.

Its communication is targeted to one unique international audience. One website for every country in the world.

An international website can also be a Regional Website, targeting a specific group of countries, if the regional message is more international than specific to that region.

Disadvantages

Targeting one broad range of countries limits your marketing effectiveness.

To get the best results you need to target your communication directly to each and every culture you sell to. This means several different websites. One localized website for each country you sell to.

Advantages

An international website is useful in the interim period before you know where to create your localized websites.

You can start international marketing efforts here, and plan for more localized websites as you get enough international business intelligence to do so.

And you can get international business intelligence using marketing tactics easily from your International Website.  In fact, this will probably be the main reason for setting up your International Website.

Another key advantage of an International Website is that you will “practice” and perfect many different aspects of doing international business online:

• Your website templates
• Your international communication
• The need for a company and industry specific glossary
• Online procedures covering all aspects of your business

This is a good choice for:

• Non-native English speaking companies
• Companies that know they want to expand to Localized Websites or country-specific sub domains.  These country specific sub domains or sub-categories can be attached to the International Website.

Again, you need to move from your International Website towards more culture and country specific communication for best international results.

• Sub-categories or sub domains on your International Website
• Country specific Localized Websites

Read More On Website Internationalization

Website Internationalization Guide • How easy is it to set up an international website?Read about your international communication platform options.

More To Plan Your International Business Development

Guide 2 - Plan Your International Sales Road Map

Pre-qualification - Not Prejudgment

One of the barriers to your international business success will be something on a personal level.

It is about the people, your team, that help you work towards your business expansion.

Cross-cultural communication and international blunders, big and small, often happen through human “mistakes”.

And you might not perceive these “mistakes” as real mistakes.  In other words, some of these “mistakes” would not be considered mistakes in your own business environment.

But cross-cultural differences make certain things come out wrong.

Prejudgment

It is very easy to let automatic assumptions pop into international business decisions and practices.

These automatic assumptions, or prejudgments, can:

• Slow your expansion process - it takes you longer to get it right
• Cost your business more money than necessary - through business mistakes and wasted time and effort.
• Interfere with your international success - what happens if you never correct your false assumptions?

The thing is, you may not even be aware of the prejudgments you have.  Your prejudgments and assumptions directly interfere with how you listen to your international markets.

And if you are not listening properly you will not always hear everything you need to hear to create the best international business development strategy for your business.

On a side note:

Have you ever taken the time to think about the association between prejudice and prejudgment?

We often think of prejudice when looking at differences between two cultural groups living in the same environment.

And… what about prejudice between two different cultures in two different countries?

And… going one step further, how does one country’s over exaggeration of its own national pride effect that culture’s prejudgment of other cultures?

There is something you need to recognize…

Everyone has prejudgments.

…Sure some of them may not be nice.

And some prejudgments have nothing to do with being nice or not.  They are just natural assumptions.

Prejudgment is part of our human nature.  It is also part of the culture we live in.  And no matter how hard we try, we cannot get rid of all of them.

So prejudgment is something employers cannot control in their employees.

The best international companies cultivate their staff to work together in a way that limits prejudgment.  These companies also stimulate  pre-qualification.

Let’s now have a look at…

Pre-qualification

But there is something you can do…

Something that will help you eliminate “mistakes” through prejudgment.

• Pre-qualification

Pre-qualification is absolutely essential in international business.  This is what you need to do, consistently, to get beyond your own assumptions and prejudgments.

…So what is pre-qualification?

It is rather simple…

Pre-qualification is simply how you:

• Check and cross-check your information
• Ask questions - lots of questions, from all sorts of angles
• Get feedback - as much as you can, and take note of even the smallest elements of feedback
• Look at what you do not have - absence often speaks louder than words
• Dig for truth, meaning - until you see the full picture

When going through all of the steps in your international business plan, you need to include pre-qualification throughout all of the different processes and before any decision you take.

• Pre-qualify all of the information you get
• Pre-qualify any decisions
• Pre-qualify your actions
• …All aspects of your international business

Some people go overboard and use pre-qualification as a form of procrastination.  Pre-qualification does require action.

In fact, you often need action before you can finish your pre-qualification process.

Now…

There are many times:

• When you will need to take action first
• Where you will need feedback first
• …Before you can do anything

This is fine.  This is actually to be expected.

When you have nothing to go on, you need to create something to go on.  You need to get feedback on something concrete.

…Yes, you might well get it wrong the first time.  This does not matter.  You now have feedback, information.  And you can start again.

Just make sure you verify your results and the feedback you get. Then use a process of pre-qualification to get where you want to go.

Pre-qualification is about asking questions, getting feedback, uncovering the real situation, needs, or facts.

Get The Right Mind-Set

Where prejudgment is based on personal outlooks, thoughts and beliefs…

…Pre-qualification is based on the truth outside of personal assessments.

This process of recognizing your own prejudgments and opening yourself up to taking pre-qualification actions systematically…

…It is all part of the right international mind-set you need for international success.

Read The Whole Story

This is part of the Get International Clients Business Guide 3 - Design Your International Visibility This is where you can read more on how to connect with your international markets.

More On International Market Research

International Market Research • Pre-qualification is actually part of your international market research Find out more here.

Your International Business Intelligence Management

Do you want fast profits from your actions in developing your international business?

Would you like open all of the international business opportunities available to your business?

Would you like your international viability analysis to be accurate?

I have written this article for beginners. I have had a few questions lately from small internet business owners who need to rationalize the risk in their international business development strategies.

Most experienced international businesses will have an international business intelligence management system that works. Some small businesses rely on one central person to juggle all of the information. Others have international teams that function well together.

Start With International Business Intelligence Management

International business development always involves risk. It is inherent to doing business in unfamiliar cultures. Businesses often have to adapt their current methods to fit in with foreign markets.

Starting a process for international business intelligence management will help you to rationalize these risks and make the best decisions.

You will never be able to get rid of the risk factor in international business. The beginning is always a challenge, and requires an intellectual balancing act to estimate the risk. Experience makes this process easier. You still need the information to make your decision. An international business intelligence management system or process gives you the information you need.

Your international business intelligence starts with your initial international market research.

This means that if you are using the web for international marketing and international market research, you should include a business intelligence management system right from the start.

It is easy to set up and use a simple monitoring and tracking system right from the start.

Small Companies Too

For small companies, or if you are starting out slowly, this could be a very simple system.

You simply need to gather information in such a way to be able to use all of the information you have later.

You will need to review all of your information to improve your international business development.

It is important to use a process to take advantage of your international business intelligence.

What Information Do You Need

You need to pay attention to your processes in international marketing, market research, communication and feedback from international contacts.

You need to bring all of the information you get during your market research,

• Specific country
• Specific industry
• Foreign competitors
• Domestic competitors in foreign country
• Domestic companies with similar target market already selling to your foreign market
• Online
• Telephone
• Association
• Government agency
• Foreign embassy

together with all of the information you receive from your foreign prospects and clients,

• Phone calls
• Information inquiries
• Emails
• Client orders
• Customer service contact
• Responses to each of your communications by email, website, article or other source
• Foreign event networking

into a process. This process will develop into your International Business Intelligence Management.

No matter how small, or limited your actions are, you will get more out of them if you bring all of your information together and use it in your international business development process.

In fact, you need to have a look at all of the information you can in order to make appropriate decisions.

How Your International Business Intelligence Helps You

It is your international business intelligence that will help you expand your business successfully into other countries.

You need to look at all of the information you have for several tasks key to your international success:

• Define your sales offer for a specific country
• Define how you adapt your product to your foreign market
• Create the right marketing plan for a specific market
• Analyze your business viability in a specific country
• Improve your international sales offer
• Identify new business opportunities

An Opportunity For Growth

Your international business intelligence will help your business grow no matter how small your business is when you start. It will continue to grow over time and you may need to look into different management processes or software more appropriate for your business.

As you get to know your international markets better you will also gain another more intimate type of market knowledge. If you compare business intelligence to being left brained, then your experience will give you a right brained intelligence about your international markets.

Combine your new right brain intelligence with solid business intelligence and your business will be in a strong playing position in your foreign markets.