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What are the B2B sites with the best localization strategies?
Hello! Thanks for your question about B2B sites with the best localization strategies. The most useful sources I found to answer your question are corporate websites of the companies evaluated, together with Brand Quarterly and the KA Post. The short version is that with few exceptions each of the companies that we identified offer localized services tailored to the different languages of different regions. Beyond that, however, the strategies employed by these companies do not presently go deeper into the nuances associated with individual countries or regions. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS
To answer this question, we first identified the largest technology companies and then moved on to review their corporate websites, concentrating upon B2B offerings. We also reviewed consulting websites to identify what they maintain should be included in B2B marketing in order to be successful. We did this because, frankly, a fabulous effort to localize will be useless if the overall site is subpar. There are also websites (e.g. Webawards, New Breed Marketing, ECommerce&B2B and Vintage) that evaluate B2B websites and rank them according to their overall design. We reviewed those sites as well, and there are technology companies that made their lists (e.g. Quid and Dropbox), but ironically, none of the top technology companies (in particular those with revenues exceeding $5 billion) received awards for their designs. That being the case, we reviewed the top technology companies that met the revenue requirements and evaluated them against the recommendations provided on the design consulting websites.
The recommendations that we found among consultants were rather straightforward. They are also numerous. But in scouring the sites we found that they typically lead to the same general advice. They suggest, for example, that it is important for corporate B2B sites to not only bring in traffic, but rather, they must also engage the customer and ultimately convert those customers into useful leads. This is typically accomplished by creating clear navigation tools on the site that do not lead to dead-ends. Individual pages should be cross-linked. It is also important that the site be adaptive in the sense that it is viewable on multiple devices. And they should also direct the customer to a landing page that can be used in generating leads. In e-commerce it is also becoming increasingly important that the company also have a social media presence for its B2B operations. If the site is to be successful it is recommended that it be designed to work across multiple social media platforms.
The companies listed below all have B2B portals that, to varying degrees, offered easy navigation. All of them had clearly made good use of keywords, evident from the fact that the Google searches that we performed immediately retrieved their pages at (or very near) the top of the results. Each of them clearly explained their strengths to the customer. Most of them included "About Us" pages, but frankly these companies are so big that name recognition is not as much of a factor as it would be for smaller start-up companies.
LOCALIZATION STRATEGIES
In terms of localization strategies, we found that all but three of the companies, Samsung, Intel and Comcast, offer basic localization abilities. The localization strategies employed are all the same, i.e. the companies give the customers the ability to narrow the review of the companies' products according to the global region in which they live. When the customer clicks on individual regions the companies that allow for localization provide a new webpage in the language of the region/country in question. The companies' localization efforts all centered around the types of products that they make available for various regions. Where blogs are included, e.g. Oracle, they are tailored to articles in the customer's language.
We were unable to locate any differentiation in strategies concerning such things as shipping or payments. In fact, what we found was a very simplified process that almost presumes that all countries/regions are to be treated the same. We also saw no signs of efforts to include local content or advertisements on webpages directed to other non-English regions. And they do not, so far as we can tell, go deeper into the problems encountered, e.g. cultural or religious issues, around the world. Problems can arise if a company is selling a product that goes against cultural norms in the target company.
With the above in mind, we should point out that these are technology companies that, for the most part, are selling business services that are nowadays thought of as global in nature. And many of those services do not include the need for such things as shipping that would be necessary for other vendors. There is arguably a difference in that type of product and a product that is more directly associated with individual countries, e.g. food or building supplies. In that regard, each of the companies provided the customer with the necessities, such as the ability to narrow his or her site review to products offered in their region in the customer's language.
We have provided a list of the companies that we identified, together with a review of their individual portals. Our search did not uncover the strategies employed by the individual companies, except to show how those strategies are manifested on their websites. We suspect that this is in large part because these strategies may well be considered proprietary in nature and thus not disclosed to the general public. As indicated above, those companies that provided localization abilities all handled the issue in the same manner, thus making further discussion of them redundant.
1. IBM
IBM's revenue is currently reported as over $82 billion. IBM's B2B approach is to have its entire B2B commerce operation localized according to the customer's country. By selecting the appropriate country, the customer can then see what products IBM is offering to them. The company offers the customer the ability to drill down to view all the products offered, or only those concerned with digital selling or field selling. The customer is also given the opportunity to download the products that are offered.
The IBM website clearly has the benefit of name recognition in addition to a certain amount of trust that the customer has in the company. The IBM website does not, however, bring all its B2B operations on one page so that the customer would see all its B2B services. For example, the company has its B2B commerce on one page, its cloud services on another and integration on another. In terms of localization it is true that the customer is able to focus on specific regions; but, with respect to U.S. customers there is no ability to drill down further to a state level. Finally, there is no social media linkage either.
2. MICROSOFT
This multi-billion dollar company begins by asking the customer to identify the region in which the customer is interested. After clicking on the region, the website walks the customer through steps designed to lead to answers that solve the customer's problems. The customer is also invited to sign up for a company newsletter. The site is further capable of segmentation according to the customer's specific industry needs. And finally, the customer is invited to follow the company on social media platforms. During this entire time the customer is offered the ability to conduct an online chat with a company representative.
3. CISCO
Cisco is one of Fortune 500s top technology giants. From its initial, worldwide B2B site the customer can choose to move to a specific region. By clicking on a specific region, e.g. the U.S., the customer is taken to a new page that begins by asking the customer to register with the company, thus helping in lead generation. From there the company provides multiple videos that explain the company's products, as well as offering the customer the ability to choose to view those products. On the bottom of the page the customer is given the option of liking the company on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
4. HP
HP is another major technology company that is involved in B2B commerce. This is a company that has taken the issue of lead generation to heart. Traffic that goes to its main B2B portal is given a general overview of the benefits of HP's enterprise offerings. But to actually view the product line the customer must first fill in a contact information form. We tried to access the actual product page in other ways but the result was always the same. The company does provide for localization abilities, however - an ability we only found by conducting another search. HP does have social media integration with all major social media sites.
5. SAMSUNG
Fortune 500 lists Samsung as one of the top technology leaders in the world. Samsung offers B2B Workplace as its B2B product line. Traffic that reaches this page is immediately given the opportunity to learn more about these products. However, when the link is clicked, the customer is taken immediately to a sign-up page. If this is not completed the customer is not given the opportunity to really explore the full offerings. In addition, the website does not clearly offer localization. The only ability to localize is to go to the bottom of the page and to then select the appropriate sales site based upon region. The B2B page itself does offer the customer the ability to partner with Samsung and, in general, the company is very mobile friendly. The website also offers social media linkage.
6. ORACLE
Oracle is yet another major technology company that Fortune 500 lists as being highly successful. The company has also entered into the B2B side of commerce with its dedicated website. The main page provides the customer with an overview of Oracle B2B that includes data sheets, download information, news links and related products. More importantly, from this website the customer can choose the region of choice. Clicking on a region, e.g. U.S., takes the customer to a new page that is dedicated to that region and the products offered. The products are segmented according to interest and links offer further insight into the product line. News articles from the region are also offered. There are also connections to major social media platforms. In addition, information is provided on how to contact sales personnel. Unlike HP and Samsung, the product line is not kept behind a sign-up page.
7. AMAZON
Amazon is clearly one of the top technology companies in terms of revenue. It is also a relative newcomer to the B2B marketplace. It launched its Amazon Business division in April 2015 and that division alone saw $1 billion in sales in the first year. It's B2B portal offers over 9 million business products. The B2B portal is a comprehensive site that offers customers a means of localizing the experience by clicking on an icon in the upper right-hand portion of the page and then selecting the appropriate region. Upon selecting the customer's region, the customer is shown a page that teaches the customer how they can sell products with Amazon, have orders fulfilled by Amazon and sponsor products with Amazon using keywords. Creation of an account is also highlighted as an option. Other topics such as benefits, and pricing are covered as well. The only significant tool that is lacking is a link to social media integration.
8. INTEL
Intel is a multi-billion dollar company that has been in the B2B marketplace since 2001. The company's business portal is similar to those of HP and Samsung in that it does not allow the customer a comprehensive review of its products until the customer registers with the company. There is no ability to isolate specific regions, at least not without completing the registration process. There is also no cross-linkage to other Intel divisions and there is no social media integration of any kind.
9. COMCAST
Comcast is a top technology company that is enjoying significant growth at the present. The company has a B2B portal that is comprised of two pages. The first is an overall descriptor page that provides the customer with options to choose products according to the size of the customer's business. This page cleanly describes the various options available to the customer and gives the customer the ability to further research those offerings. In addition, the page offers the customer the ability to obtain quotes based upon the customer's location (including the customer's specific address). Existing customers are given a link to access their accounts. The page also includes social media integration.
The second main B2B portal for Comcast is its Cloud Solutions portal. This portal offers customers the ability to purchase individual apps from different vendors, principally Microsoft Office products. Unlike the main B2B page, there is little opportunity for the customer to customize the page to meet their individual needs. There is no localization and no social media integration.
10. VERIZON
Verizon is another major technology company with a B2B presence. It's B2B portal offers customers the opportunity to learn about the company's products, including the ability to attend webinars sponsored by Verizon. The page also includes announcements about the program, as well as a blog dedicated to small businesses. There is also significant integration with all major social media sites. Linkage to other products (not just business related products) is provided at the bottom of the page, as are support services. There is a limited ability to localize the service by clicking on the "Enter Your Location" tab at the top of the page; however, it is not clear that this is dedicated to B2B customers.
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CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, the companies that we identified (with a few exceptions) each had dedicated B2B portals that provided the customer with an overview of their products, while all but Samsung, Intel and Comcast provided methods for localizing the experience. The localization strategies are all based upon taking the customer to the global region in which the customer is interested and using the language associated with that region.
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