CONVINCING GERMAN COMPANIES TO EXPAND

Many German companies with an internet presence who are selling immaterial goods or services have never seen themselves as capable of moving beyond their own borders. But it begs the question in this internet age...why on earth not? Perhaps they are just afraid to dip their feet into an unknown environment, and of incurring the losses which would certainly accompany any venture into unknown territories.

But the advantages of doing just that are clear, particularly if their product can be distributed via the internet. More customers from a wider market means more sales in the end. The fixed costs of any business are low when immaterial goods or services are distributed. the most significant investment is in advertising.    

Almost all companies with a German focus provide no payment options for services apart from money transfer (Überweisung), which though normal in Germany is costly especially in anglo-saxon economies where each transfer can cost the payer upwards of 9 pounds (yes, even in the days of the SEPA which was supposed to eliminate these kinds of charges). This is more or less the hallmark of a company that wants to retain a German clientelle and not go international...namely, under no account take credit cards!

The Germans have always had a problem with credit cards, and it is a cultural phenomenon. Even in tourist traps many bars and restaurants still refuse to take them. They are blind to the common effect that many anglo-saxons on holiday would rather spend invisible money than real, paper money. To them the idea of paying trader commissions outweighs the benefits of having customers stay and spend longer, or perhaps they are just not aware of that kind of spending behaviour in their own culture.

But the real point is that if you don't provide an option to pay this way, you lose custom on the internet. I am fortunate enough to understand German very well, and as I was plowing my way through the internet in  search of a broker for german toll-free numbers, I was struck by the fact that if I bought in Germany I could get a much better deal than I could from international suppliers. But then when it came to paying...bang...only Kontoüberweisung was accepted as a paying method. In the end, after checking 7 or 8 German providers, I gave up and went for a more expensive international solution.    

This scenario provides a unique opportunity for localisers and translators with good IT skills. The mother tongue translator knows his own country's sensitivities, and can provide valuable advice about reaching the desired customer. Germans love to be talked to in officialese and overbloated sentences. It gives them the sense they are talking to someone professional who knows what he is doing, and he can be trusted to get the job done.  But take that line with an Englishman or an American and the back button will be used more often than not. Entertainment and familiarity (even when it patently is not there) seem to be the order of the day. It obviously depends on the goods or services you are offering, and there are plenty of sectors where familiarity and entertainment would be inappropriate in the anglo-saxon setting, but that is definitely a trend and it is good to know that. Conversely, the Germans are not as humourless as their stereotypes seem to dictate, and there are plenty of occasions whery they enjoy a familiar and entertaining approach. In the end, its all about finding the right balance and exercising some Fingerspitzgefühl. 

So perhaps a model for the future is for transators and localizers to offer that they translate and localise websites for foreign companies that might otherwise be reluctant to expand.  In return for doing it for free or at low cost, they could earn commissions on sales from an exclusive affiliate program.

I shall keep you posted