just debit and credit cards internationally, in which case the banks that issued the cards will handle the conversion. The Universal Currency Converter (www.xe.com/ucc) is a good resource.
List dates, prices, times, and other numbers in international format. For instance, $1,000.00 would be written as $1,000,00 in Germany and other countries. Also, most European and Asian countries use the 24-hour clock, so list 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. as 8:00 to 17:00.
Consider the nonverbal elements. It might be the colors used in your packaging or marketing materials, for example. In Europe and Japan, color schemes tend to be more pastel-oriented and less formal. A Website with a lot of black and white may be effective in the U.S., but in Asia, it looks like a funeral invitation.
Promote and advertise your product. How do you attract customers from other countries once you have translated your Web pages? Banner ads? Magazine ads? Web-based discussion groups? iKobo uses 10,000 affiliates (top 10 Websites for that country), as well as search engines, to drive traffic.
Don’t send the wrong message. Be sure not to portray offensive products or ideas (like showing alcohol or pork in Muslim countries). When Chevrolet rolled out a new car called the Nova, the company marketed it all over the world. Still, they couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t selling in South America. Well, “No va” means “Don’t go” in Spanish.
