Cultural Customizing Web Sites Part I

Culturally Customizing Web SitesPart I

Presented by Dr. Nitish Singh

Moderated by Paula Shannon

October 2009

Company confidential – distribution prohibited without permission

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Introductions

Dr. Nitish Singh

Assistant Professor of International Business at Boeing Institute of International Business at Saint Louis University

[email protected]

Dr. Singh is also the co-author of the critically acclaimed book: The Culturally Customized Web Site: Customizing Websites for the Global Marketplace. He holds a Ph.D. in Marketing and International Business from Saint Louis University and an MBA and MA from Universities in India and the UK. More recently he has co-authored Proliferation of the Internet Economy

Paula Shannon

CSO, SVP and General Manager, Lionbridge

[email protected]

More than 23 years experience in the translation and localization industry

Responsible for sites in 26+ countries, driving new services and sustainable solutions, ensuring the continued delivery of innovation and execution excellence to a broad range of Global 1000 customers

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.theculturallycustomizedwebsite.com/



http://www.professornitishsingh.org/13301.html



About Lionbridge

Global Scale

4,600 employees 26 countries• Global network of 25,000 translators

Market Leadership

Leader in $14B services industry

• Translation and adaptation of products

and content for international markets

Global Clients

Recurring relationships with 500+

global clients• 80% of revenue comes from recurring clients

• 12 of the Fortune 20 companies are client

Hosted Technology

Web-based language technology

platform• Enhances competitive advantage

• Drives efficiency


Global Web Statistics

Global e-commerce sales will reach $12.8 trillion

US will account for less than 58% of total global online sales

US only accounts for 185 million internet users today

Global internet population is 1.08 billion users; by 2010 it will reach 1.8 billion.

65 % of Global internet users are non-English speakers


Born Global!

Web sites are global from inception

To target global online consumers you have to speak in their language and culture

Culture impacts how we perceive, process, and interpret information

“People cannot act or interact in any meaningful way except through the medium of culture.” E.T. Hall


Communication which

reflects complete “immersion” in the culture of the target market

addresses three levels of cultural adaptation: perception, symbolism, and behavior

goes beyond simple translation and cosmetic adaptation when targeting different countries and/or cultures

What is Culturally Customized?

Cultural customization begins where basic “localization” ends


Is your website translated?

Yes

No

Poll Question


Western and Eastern people look at the world in different ways.

Researchers compared the way Chinese and US students viewed photographs

Perception of Images

What is a Culturally Customized Website?

What is a Culturally Customized Website?

Perception of Symbols




Do you actually consider the importance of culture?

Yes

No

Poll Question:


Higher web site usability, accessibility, and interactivity

A more favorable attitude toward the site

A state of “flow” and browsing comfort

Increased purchase intentions which eventually impact you ROI

The Biggest Blunder!

The BIGGEST communication blunder is to ignore the importance of

culture in communications.

Cultural Customization Levels of Web Site

High Medium Low

Italy

Attitude Toward Site 3.60 3.57 3.34

Purchase Intention 3.06 3.10 2.68

India



Netherlands



Switzerland



Spain



It is Not a Luxury!

An Experiment with 400 Brazilian, French, German and Taiwanese Online Conusmers Measures Web Sites Low on CC Web Sites High on CC F-Value (n: 1823) (n: 636) (Means) (Means) Ease of Use 3.45 3.82 216.2** Perceived Usefulness 3.31 3.65 159.8** Attitude Toward site 2.89 3.45 422.6** Purchase Intention 2.41 2.86 219.8** **p-value<.001

It is Not a Luxury!


Culture and Disaster


Vocabulary Equivalence

An example is the Japanese response (or lack of) to the Potsdam Declaration in July 1945 which lead to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The Japanese Premier announced that the Cabinet had taken a stance of “mokusatsu”

which has no exact meaning in English

It can be translated as “making no comment” or “ignoring”

The Japanese Cabinet intended the former meaning

“making no comment” and not the latter “ignoring”

they wanted more time to discuss and decide their response, which included a surrender…….

1.

• The tipping point at which a content element stretches the limits of the intended context, changing the content from “safe” to potentially “offensive”.

2.

• The panic zone in which a lack of time, knowledge, and/or process results in an unwanted content controversy.

3. • A place of opportunity where various positive outcomes

are possible, if proactive.

Geocultural Edge (noun) (T.Edwards):

Discerning the Geocultural Edge

Geocultural Edge

Consumer/gov’t support

Positive image

Strong revenue

High customer loyalty

Consumer/gov’t inquiry

Questionable image

Decreased revenue

Waning customer loyalty

Gov’t/punitive actions

Negative image

Low/negative revenue

Low customer loyalty

Product is “Safe” Product at Risk


Loss of consumer trust in your delivery of a positive experience

Brand erosion with negative PR and customer backlash

Loss of revenue and market share

Loss of political position, possible punitive legislation and litigation

Punitive government actions against local subsidiary staff (Adapted: T. Edwards)

Consequences - Going over the Geocultural Edge

The key is finding the ‘tipping point’ at which any content type can remain marginally acceptable. It will be different for every product and every locale.


Graphics

elements with text

human body elements and body language

humor, puns, and slang

physical environments

ethnic, racial, political, and religious environments

gender-specific elements

images of animals

sexual and violent elements

regional conventions, such as reading direction, date/time, and monetary elements

Content to Avoid

Issues with Human Representation

Exposed feet is a problem in the Middle East

A bit too revealing for

some cultures

Use of 4 fingers with human figures in Japan

Gestures are very context-

dependent

In 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt designs caused much protest

Retail Product Design and Marketing

In 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt designs caused much protest.

They were quickly discontinued.

Retail Product Design and Marketing

Excite Japan: Devoted exclusively to women (www.excite.co.jp).

www.toshiba.co.jp


Executive Education Program


Culturally Customized Website –PART II

SESSION II: Hands-on cultural customization tool-kit

November 5, 2009 12:00PM EST

http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=162134&s=1&k=E1F5F4F22C9C0D651E5D2248B6E28444

By attending Session Two, you will learn:

How to read cultural maps

The cultural customization tool kit

Best practices and examples of culturally customized web content

Few slides were adapted from Tom Edwards Principal Consultant/Founder, Englobe IncContent was adapted from Prof Singh’s lecture notesAll content is for non-commercial use only

Credits




Knowledge Center

• The Art and Science of Global Navigation

• The Best Global Web Sites (and Why)

• Mastering Multilingual Marketing

View Webinars On-Demand

• Building Stronger Brands Around the World: A Guide to Effective Global Marketing

• Strengthening Global Brands: Key Steps for Meaningful Communications around the World

• Building a Global Web Strategy: Best Practices for Developing your International Online Brand

Download White Papers


Questions?

Lionbridgewww.lionbridge.com

http://blog.lionbridge.com

http://twitter.com/Lionbridge

Dr. Nitish Singh

[email protected]

www.globalizationexecutive.com

Paula Shannon

[email protected]

http://twitter.com/pbshanz

http://www.lionbridge.com/

http://blog.lionbridge.com/

http://twitter.com/Lionbridge


http://www.globalizationexecutive.com/


http://twitter.com/pbshanz

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