Globalization Gold

Going global is not as simple as opening up a company branch in another country. The web's global reach makes it look easier than it actually is. As numerous companies have discovered, a host of unforeseen differences can muddy the waters.

For instance, catalog biggie Lands' End wondered why international customers seemed reluctant to order clothing. Finally, they realized why - international shipping charges are much higher than shipping costs within the US. When they began allowing customers to consolidate big purchases for one major mail-out instead of many smaller ones, Lands' End saw an upturn in their fortunes.

AltaVista faced cultural challenges when the company went global. Once only a search engine company in the US, AltaVista has transitioned to publishing various information services in different languages. CEO Rod Schrock explains how AltaVista jumped the globalization hurdles.

Be There or Be Square

It's difficult to launch, say, a site that appeals to the Japanese when your roots are firmly in America. A global branch should actually be in the country it's targeting.

"Our philosophy is that we are not a US company that has global subsidiaries," says Schrock. "We are a true global company. [Our branches] are physically there."

Just as you wouldn't want to carry on a love affair from afar, neither should you do business that way.

Give Your Branches Some Self-Control

Schrock believes once your company has a global branch, it should be largely autonomous.

"We fully empower the organization in each region to optimize their business totally in tune with their local needs. So we have a European organization that includes an engineering group and a sales and marketing organization," he says. "They're empowered to design their site for their market."

AltaVista's European branch doesn't have to wait for orders from the States. Instead, they're given the go-ahead to create their own sites in their own market.

"We hold global strategy sessions," Schrock says. "Other than that, they are empowered to carry forward with a consistency of brand identity."

It's wonderful to have autonomous global company branches, as long as the entire company is working with one vision. But it's not always possible. In those cases, Schrock recommends picking appropriate global partners.

"There are ebusinesses that are in tune with local markets and there are local companies that are working within that realm wanting to get into an ebusiness area. Both of them make good partnership candidates," Schrock says.

Speak to the Local Market

It's important to develop a product or service needed in the market you're entering. The same proposition won't work for the US, Europe and Japan.

"Make sure the team is very focused on developing a unique value proposition for that market and insure that they have the potential for being a category leader in that country. If you're developing an ebusiness, make sure the value proposition works for the local market. Make sure that you're not number ten in line in entering that market," Schrock says.

It may seem to you that a good value or service is good anywhere, but that's just not the case. A company offering to pick up groceries for 9-5 workers may do well in major US metropolitan areas but fail miserably in Italy, where the daily market stop is both an entrenched tradition and a pleasure the locals are loathe to give up.

"It has to be a value proposition that resonates with that market," Schrock says.

Going global is a lot more difficult than just translating a web site. But with some attention paid to the local market, picking local partners and giving power to your global branches, it can be part of your recipe for success. After all, the World Wide Web is just that - worldwide. Shouldn't your business be also?