Global E-Commerce

1. Global E-Commerce Cultural Marketing: Issues, Concerns, and Solutions

2. What is Global E-commerce? • Allowing businesses and customers to buy, sell, finance, pay, and settle in on an online environment that incorporates trust, identity validation, and risk management • Expanding market potential worldwide for products and services.

3. Who is Participating in global e-commerce? • Business to Business • Business to Customer • Customer to Customer • Government to Business • Government to Public • Government to Both Suppliers and Consumer

4. Global e-commerce hype • Estimates have indicated that approx 60,000-70,000 end users per day join the Internet • Estimates claim that 1.2 servers are connected to the Internet each minute • 60% of all global companies access the Internet with continual growth

5. Continued…. • Over 90% of the world’s population is outside the United States • More than 50% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) is generated from emerging markets. • Economic growth rates in the emerging markets are 3-10 times that of the United States

6. Global e-commerce benefits • Expanded Sales Universe • Additional Sales Channel • More Targeted Marketing • Reduced Cost of Sales • Shorter Purchasing Cycles • Communities of Interest • Pricing Alternatives

7. Global prediction by: Forrester Research

8. Cultural Preferences International Telecommunications Customs Security Transactions Privacy Issues Bookkeeping Problems Localization Lack of Standards Congestion Network Quality Issues Technological Issues Governmental Restrictions and Laws Taxes and Duties Global e-commerce issues

9. 3 Key Issues to focus upon • Financial Issues • Currency • taxation • Legal Issues • Government and Law • Market Access Issues • Language • Culture • distribution

10. Global prediction by: Computer Economics

11. Internationlization restructuring software used by your ebusiness to process foreign languages, currencies, date formats, other variations www.unicode.org localization translation and cultural adaptation of your content and presentation www.transparentlanguage.com www.logos.it adapting icons understandable currency research culture www.etranslate.com Internationalization & Localization

12. Language Concerns • All languages should have an Internet presence. • A company should provide for content translation. • A technological solution should be 100% accurate.

13. The Babel Site – Joint project to internationalize the Internet. HTML – Internationalization http://babel.alis.com:8080/web_ml/index.html ISO 10646 & Unicoding 30,000 character sets Windows 2000 Multilingual Capabilities 23 localized languages Demographic Tables Language Issues

14. Possible Language Solutions • Software translators - Language Force • Computer Aided Translations –Systran • Localization tools - Language partners International • LOCAL PARTNER OR STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

15. Financial Issues • Taxation • -Taxes and/or duties should not hinder commerce • -Tax laws should be capable of capturing revenues, be easy to implement, and minimize record keeping and costs for all parties • -Tax system developed that will be used by everyone (the United States and all international partners) • http://www.ecommercetax.com/VAT.htm value added tax – European Union • -Electronic payment systems via the Internet

16. Currency Concerns • To get paid in a convertible currency. • Protection from fluctuating rates. • To simplify the payment of the customer. • To speed the payment process.

17. Currency Solutions • Pacific Exchange Rate Service lists 222 countries with convertible currencies. • Electronic Payment Systems lists 134 sites for payment mechanisms designed for the internet. • LETSystems money is information. • The Universal Currency Converter(tm) – Place on web site to assist in currency conversion.

18. AMOUNT SPENT BY LOCATION

19. Legal Issues • The UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) - contractual relationships between both parties - rules regarding technology (existing and future) - modification of rules as changes occur • Taxation and Legal issues • www.abanet.org/buslaw/cyber/initiatives/prospect.html • international legal issues introduced by the Internet and global e-commerce

20. Legal Issues continued… • Intellectual Property Protection - Copyrights - Patents - Trademarks - Domain Names • Privacy • Security

21. Market Access Issues • Telecommunications infrastructure and information technology • Content of transmissions • www.the-net-effect.com/articles/multiculture.html • Technical Standards

22. Developing Marketing Strategies • Superior Customer Service • Customization of Products and Services • Maximized Buying Convenience • Giveaway Programs • Free Trial Periods • Interactivity

23. Global E-commerce Solutions • Connectivity (developing international telecommunication access) • Data Centers (reliable infrastructure) • Applications (utility applications) • Professional Services (customer service support)

24. Successful business solutions • Businesses must customize information for the international user. Customized forms, tax, date and time structures, contact information, payment methods, text entry, pertinent information, and a host of culturally sensitive details must be implemented appropriately for different countries even if the language does not change. The human touch in the sales process must be present at all times.

25. Global Suggestions (Solutions) • Local partner or strategic alliance. • Local marketing research.Made For China • Product localization and indegenisination. Fiat India. • Create Mirror Web Sites Amazon in Germany • before you begin processing sales in another country, investigate international tax laws in that country as they apply to Internet sales and the specific products you wish to market

26. Sources: • “About a Framework for Global Electronic Commerce”, The White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/Commerce/about.html • Banham, Russ, “Servicing Global E-Commerce”, World Trade Magazine, http://www.worldtrademag.com/archives/0700story01.html • Engler, Natalie, “Global E-Commerce: How products and services help sites expand worldwide” InformationWeek.com, http://informationweek.com/755/global.htm • Fellenstein, Craig, “Exploring E-Commerce, Global E-Business, and E-Societies, 1/E”, http://www.phptr.com/ptrbooks/preface/ptr_pref_0130848468p.html

27. Sources continued… • Freij, Nabil, “Successful Global E-Commerce: Art or Science?”, http://www.ecommercetimes.net/news/special_reports/globalvision.shtml • Global Business Strategies, http://www.g7e.com • “Selected Tax Policy Implications of Global Electronic Commerce”, Department of Treasury, November 1996, http://ustreas.gov/taxpolicy/internet.html • “The Legal Challenges of Global E-Commerce”, http://www.designshops.com/pace/ds/pub/2000/07/global072400.html • “Trusted E-Commerce Solutions from Global Commerce Systems”, Global Commerce Systems, http://www.commerce.com/solutions_index.html

28. Sources continued… • Veitch, Russ, “Global vs Local Marketing Strategies”, http://www.I-m.com/archives/latest/0047.html • Ykrkdlg@computerauthor.com, “Global vs Local Marketing Strategies”, http://www.I-m.com/archives/latest/0089.html