July 31, 2000

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CRM Localization Tips

Assess your needs: Before embarking on a customer-relationship management project, conduct a strategic assessment of customers' needs to discover how they like to do business, what information they require, and where the company falls short. Align CRM implementation to these findings.

Tailor your content: People are more likely to buy when addressed in their own language, when vendors observe local business practices, and when legal requirements are followed. Figure out a workable method of tailoring online content to these regional variations.

Get help: Localization doesn't have to mean increasing the internal workload. An abundance of localization and translation products and services exist that let companies focus on core competencies.

Talk the talk: Site translation is not a one-time activity. Foreign-language content has to be updated regularly to keep it aligned with new products and services, as well as changes in company policy.

Target markets: The next three years will see an explosion in Internet usage overseas. Without localization, many of these potential customers will be out of reach.

Let go: Localization won't work well without some degree of regional autonomy. Try to achieve a balance between the economies of scale afforded by centralization and the improved customer penetration provided by localization.

Be realistic: Don't assume the rest of the world has a 500+-MHz processor or the latest browsers and applications. If you do, you risk alienating potential customers who might otherwise buy from you.

Return to main story, "Act Globally, Serve Locally."

Illustration by Aaron Thomas Roth

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