Before you can start marketing to other countries, it is important to learn about export policies, taxes, price structures, currency exchanges, etc. Your product may or may not be relevant in another country. Are there trade agreements for other countries? If so, which ones? Do your homework and find the answers to these and other questions. Don’t worry, we won’t leave you out in the cold with this task. We have some recommendations…

In researching “what’s out there”, there appear to be a multitude of resources to help you as you begin to explore international markets. To learn about national export policies, financing, and seminars/counseling available to help you get started, check out: www.sba.gov/oit. This is part of the Small Business Administration (SBA) web site. The link will take you to the Office of International Trade that has helpful information.

One of the more impressive government websites is the U.S. Commercial Service (www.export.gov/cs), which is committed to increasing the number of U.S. firms, especially small to medium-sized firms, that benefit from international trade. They have offices in more than 100 U.S. cities and at more than 80 overseas posts. They have a section called the Global Diversity Initiative (www.buyusa.gov/globaldiversity) that strives to expand women-owned and minority-owned businesses into overseas markets.

Another one to check out is: www.ita.doc.gov. This one boasts “answers to your export questions.”

If you are considering the language barrier and how to hurdle it, think about translation services. According to Global Reach statistics, the highest percentage of web users who are not speaking English as their first language are speaking Japanese (17.7%), Spanish (17.7%), and German (17.2%). It makes sense to translate your site in these languages first. Pace yourself. You do not have to do it all at once.

There are websites out there that can help you achieve customization and localization to the country or countries of your choice. Check out: Global Reach (www.glreach.com) and the Localization/Translation Services at www.wetranslate.com and www.welocalize.com.

What will this type of service cost you? As a ballpark estimate, Global Reach charges $0.20 per word translated for European languages and $0.28 for Asian words. Based on the fact that the average page contains between 250-300 words, each page will cost you somewhere between $50 and $85 to translate.

For easy translation of e-mails from other countries, check out: www.babelfish.altavista.com. Another resource is freetranslation.com, which is “an easy-to-use site for rapid translations where you can get the ‘gist’ of foreign language text and web pages.” It’s free and so you will get just what they say: “the gist”. Freetranslation.com also offers advanced services. I imagine the more you pay, the more accurate your translation. A word of caution here! The translation software and services that are available at little to no cost normally carry a certain degree of risk with them. They sound great until you hear that errors occur frequently when using this software, creating uncomfortable and even embarrassing situations for the business owner. Don’t cut corners when it comes to communication…it is the foundation of business success.

There are many other services available through online providers. Global Reach will put a whole marketing portfolio together for you and customize it to the country of your choice, including: accessing search engines, hosting bulletin boards/chat rooms, publishing press releases, etc. for your business.

When promoting e-commerce websites, be aware of the pricing structures, taxes, and currency exchanges in the international market. To help you with this, consult Thomas Cook’s Virtual Trading Desk (www.fx4business.com), an international travel and financial services group with a world-wide reputation.

If you are concerned about global security of your site and your products, check out Baltimore Securities at www.zergo.com. They have developed an expert range of professional services that can help you design and implement a comprehensive security solution.

I will leave you with two more websites to check out:

• World Trade Magazine Online (www.woldtrademag.com) – offers information, business news, information, and analysis on world trading.
• Blue Sky International Marketing (www.blueskyinc.com) – helps leading companies make decisions about where and how to gain competitive advantage in the international marketspace.

While researching international markets and how to access them takes time, the rewards are predicted to be great. Happy surfing!