Avoid having multiple sites outside the US. Overseas offices often localise marketing for very good reasons. But I recommend that you don't let it happen with your web site. One UK marketing manager recently confessed that updating and managing his local UK site was taking 25% of his time. The feedback from the European press and early adopters is that they go straight to the US site because that is where the core information is held. Work with your subsidiaries to get input and make sure that your site is truly international and working for all your prospects and customers - worldwide.

How to make your site international? First, check that it reflects a global company both in content and spirit. A site I recently visited listed offices in Munich, Berlin, Bonn, Spain, France, USA. The message here is that this company doesn't know the difference between a German city and a country. We've all made these mistakes but on the web they are far more exposed.

Tell your international visitors where they should direct their enquiries. You've got offices in US, France, Italy. Great. What do I do if I'm from South America? So designate one of your addresses as the repository for international enquiries and tell your international visitors. But before that, tell the office you have designated that they can expect international enquires, how they should respond and what to do with them. Don't forget to tell your visitors your site is international because, accordingly to Culpepper Associates in Atlanta, over 90% are not.

I can't count the number of times I've wanted to check an event that a company is attending in another country. I go into the corporate site, click on 'Events' and there are lots of trade shows and seminars listed, but only for the country the company is headquartered in. This doesn't look like an international company. As soon as the international shows and events are added it starts to look like a global company. It's that simple, and that effective.

Second, at a more detailed level :

* International phone and fax numbers. List these with international codes - and that includes America which is +1. Remember that 0800 and 888 numbers may not be toll free outside the US so give your regular number. As a lot of sites don't list regular addresses. this will also help people in different time zones work out when to try and call you. Phrases like 'toll free' mean nothing to most people outside the US.

* Jargon. Most sites use too much. Remember how you speak when you are addressing a group of international prospects - you choose your words more carefully, you explain more.

* Tell front line folk. Make sure that the investment you make in your web site is leveraged by telling all your front line people - everywhere. They may not be as technically literate as your US people. I recently phoned Fedex here in the UK to find out how I could check something through their internet tracking system. 'I haven't got a clue' the call centre operator replied! Poor Jim Barksdale, all the effort that went into that fabulous tracking system fails at the point of contact with the customer, because nobody had explained it to the operator.

* Translations. If you have had any material translated into, say, German then load it up. Let German visitors know that there is German material for them to look at. And tell them in German! Don't forget that the German language is also read by Austrians and some Swiss so let them know as well.

* Watch your language! Georgia Tech Lorraine SA, a French company which offers courses in English in France, was cited by the French government for failing to translate English language pages on its Internet server. So, if you are addressing a particular market with your site, especially in France, then take advice.

* Beware of pricing. Historically in the IT business it's been UKŁ1 for US$1 and that has been more or less accepted but people are unhappy when they see it staring at them from a screen. Another thing that people have had problems with is special offers in the US but not in Europe. A major new European customer goes to the US web site and sees that the product they've just bought is on special offer in the US. The net means homogeneity, and that includes pricing unless you can show added value.

* Consider your customers' aspirations. Even if you have no choice and you have to sell in only one country because you are a reseller and that is your patch, then I would still ask you to reconsider the international importance of your site.

When I worked for Movex, a reseller of Swedish manufacturing software here in the UK, they felt strongly that they were a British company, selling to British customers. But I did an analysis of their sales and found that 80% of their customers were part of an international group and had chosen Movex because the software was available across Europe.

So, please don't lose opportunities - even in your home market - by ignoring the global dimension of the web and the international aspirations of your customers.

The other night I had to get some really simple information off about twenty web sites - address of the company, phone number and name of the CEO. I was astonished how many sites did not show this. It obviously isn't confidential and eventually, having waited for the right time of day, and getting the numbers via Information, I got all the details. But why don't we put it on our sites?

The problem is that too often web sites are designed by people who do not understand the global company's business goals and key messages.

International Marketing is the only European marketing communications consultancy to specialise in marketing services for software companies. Sally Goodsell thus offers a highly focused service to clients addressing the British, European and American software markets.

International clients include British Telecom, Computer Associates (based in Geneva, Switzerland), Digital Research, Eidos, IBM, Informatica, Information Management Associates, Micro Focus (based in Palo Alto, Ca, USA), MSA / Dun & Bradstreet, Siemens Nixdorf (in Germany), Software 2000 and X/Open. In addition to working for the industry majors, Sally Goodsell has a proven track record in helping emerging software companies.
'Marketing Tips' is a series of bulletins designed to help software companies operating in the international environment. Further information from Sally Goodsell, International Marketing, Garden House, l32 Alderney Street, London SWlV 4HA, UK. Telephone 0ll +44 (0) 20 7834 4874, fax 0ll +44 (0) 20 7834 5955, email sg@international-marketing.co.uk