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Strategies for a Global Presence on the Web
November 8, 2005 12:37
by
anonymous
When Genichi Ikeda decided it was time for his Japanese company to pursue business in America, he found the best way to get global exposure was to join an online marketplace where experts would create, host, and promote his Web site. Based in Osaka, Ikeda Industries employs about 20 people manufacturing machine parts for applications ranging from sewing machines and diesel engines to semiconductor processing. Founded by Ikeda's father in 1957, the business has long relied on domestic Japanese customers and leads from an alliance of Japanese manufacturers. When the Japanese economy slumped in the late '90s, Ikeda knew he had to broaden his business-development horizons. "The manufacturing industry and the economy in general have been pretty bad in Japan," he says. "We were looking to expand overseas." Like many small companies, Ikeda Industries wasn't geared up for global selling. It had no marketing materials in English 'or any other foreign language' and no distributors outside of its home country. Ikeda knew that lining up a foreign distributor the old-fashioned way would be pricey. The tab for research, translators, travel, and other expenses can run from $30,000 to $50,000 and up. With a Web site, Ikeda could get the word out to potential distributors and customers at a fraction of the cost. But he had no idea how to establish an Internet presence. "In Japan our knowledge of Web sites is a few years behind the U.S.," he admits. So Ikeda turned to Asia-Links Media, a portal site and a B2B marketplace hosting Asian firms seeking American partners and customers. Asia-Links translated Ikeda's marketing information into English and built his site with the right look and feel for an American audience. They registered the site with 50 top search engines, providing keywords for proper indexing. Now the Asia-Links portal and links on search engines drive targeted traffic to Ikeda's site. The search engines and cross-links are crucial, says Asia-Links vice president Yoko Okamoto. They're part of a promotional effort that can make the difference between a site that succeeds and one that sinks into oblivion. "A lot of businesses create a Web site and nothing happens, because no one is looking at it," Okamoto says. "You need to promote your site or your money is wasted." The Web was the right path to global exposure, says Ikeda, and having someone else create and manage his site was the right choice. With the help of Asia-Links, Ikeda secured Web expertise and visibility his company couldn't have achieved on its own. "We didn't even have a Japanese Web site, let alone an English one," he notes. At about $5,000, including hosting and promotion for a year, the site was a relatively cheap entry to global business. And the investment paid off almost immediately: Within a month of the site going live, Ikeda heard from a Boston company that wants to represent Ikeda Industries in the U.S. |