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Global/Multilingual Website Solutions
Issues related to the Multilingual Websites of Japanese Companies as Seen through the Japanese Sites of Foreign-affiliated Companies
As Japanese companies actively begin entering overseas markets, the advance of foreign affiliates into Japan also seems to be picking up steam. Arc Communications Inc., with its multilingual website production solutions, is also seeing an increase in requests and queries related to the creation of English and Chinese language websites as well as for the sites of Japanese foreign affiliates.
Arc Communications has long been providing support not only for Japanese companies entering overseas markets but also for foreign affiliates advancing into Japan. We have accumulated a wealth of know-how on the design of global websites as foreign-affiliated companies roll out Japanese subsidiaries.
Our solutions for Japanese companies entering the overseas market provide support for the side making an ‘advance’ into a market. Meanwhile, the solutions we provide for the Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies can be said to be support for the side on the ‘receiving end’ of an advance into a market. Being capable in both kinds of support has the advantage that we are able to reflect the problems, issues and awareness held by overseas affiliated companies when we consider the advance of a Japanese company into an overseas market. This has proven extremely useful in raising the overall quality of our multilingual website production solutions.
In this issue, we take a look at the Arc Communications solution for designing Japanese foreign-affiliate websites, using actual examples.
- Please look here for details on the one-stop solutions for Japanese foreign-affiliate website design
Bridging the Gap between the Global Brand Standardization Sought by the Head Office and Local Business Development
Many foreign companies entering the Japanese market already have a global website that brings their overseas branches together. The websites of the locally incorporated companies are almost always rolled out as one of the multilingual versions of the global site.
A global site contains clear-cut governance and is designed to enable globally standardized information provision through production guidelines and a content management system (CMS). An issue that often arises is that the scope to which the global site’s governance is applied is much too broad, making it difficult to incorporate distinctive Japanese elements. One example illustrating this point was our experience when providing support for the Japanese market entry of an expert company that was well known in its field.
The company’s global website was composed almost entirely of information related to a high-profile service, but there was one problem. The Japanese subsidiary had been established as a company specializing in a different service and did not provide that well-known service in Japan.
Together with our client, we read the guidelines for the global website many times and devised a way to appeal the company’s service in an original way for Japan. This was a very good experience for Arc Communications in achieving balance between the standardization of a global brand and local business development in Japan.
Providing Support for Specialized Communication with the Head Office
In many global websites, the head office controls the establishment and management of the CMS, servers and other elements related to the site. Therefore, close communication with those in charge of the system at the head office is required to resolve any problems that may arise.
Although those at Japanese foreign affiliates in charge of websites are highly fluent in a foreign language, in most cases they do not possess technical knowledge related to the Internet and systems. This therefore results in a communication problem.
The position taken by Arc Communications is to act on behalf of our client in the handling of such communications, resolving whatever problem directly with the head office. There are many cases in which we have been chosen exactly because we are a web production company that can communicate directly with a head office located in another country.
Clearing the Hurdle of Operating a CMS in English
There are two main types of problems in relation to the operation of a global website through a CMS. The first is a fundamental one—that is, whether the CMS can display double-byte characters like Japanese. The other problem, which arises more often than one might expect, is that everything, from the website administration screen to the CMS program and manuals, is in English and in English only. If the staff involved is not sufficiently fluent in the English language, it becomes difficult to understand the details and attain a grasp of all the features.
One company organized an Asia-Pacific CMS training session for persons in charge of website production, but it was, of course, held in English. We at Arc Communications sent one of our web directors proficient in English to participate in this session, making it possible for us to carry out our site operation and updating tasks. There are more than a few cases in which other Japanese companies in our industry have asked us for help in providing operational support when they encountered difficulties in responding to such language issues.
Making an Appropriate Response through Knowledge of Issues Faced by Both Those Making a Market Entry and Those on the Receiving End
These are not the only issues faced in providing web-based solutions for Japanese foreign affiliates. We have experienced many other surprising issues as well. When starting a new project, we discuss the possible risks with our clients in advance so that we can share an awareness of the issues involved and resolve them in a smooth manner. They include issues that are applicable to and should be carefully reviewed when providing support for the overseas market entry of a Japanese company.
It is the wealth of experience possessed by Arc Communications in assisting both those making a market entry and those on the receiving end of the market entry that enables us to provide reliable and well-developed global and multilingual website solutions.
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