usiness was the subject of breakfast debate. Jennifer Morris reports


Firms advised to respect markets’ cultural nuances


Businesses must be “humble” when looking to enter a new market and pay close attention to its nuances and logistical challenges, the panel agreed.


Oban Digital founding director


Greig Holbrook said the firm’s recent research into ‘cultural clusters’ found that the Japanese, British and French had similar attitudes towards the colours they preferred to see on a website. “They’re not economically


or language-linked but their attitudes to this are similar,” said Holbrook. “So we’ve developed a matrix of rules on launching sites into markets, which are not templated, but cater for these cultural clusters.” Hugo Burge, chief executive of Momondo Group, said: “You can have a global vision but you need a local lens. “You’ve got to be humble and


nimble. You can do as much research as you like, but it really


“We’ve developed a matrix of rules for launching sites into markets”


comes down to user behaviours.” Ruairidh Roberts, industry head


for travel at Google, said: “We uncovered in the Indian market a propensity to search under acronyms of airports. “No one else in the world uses


that – it’s English, but not as we know it. You almost have to take a step down and say that you’ll have a separate strategy for markets speaking other languages.” He added: “Generations


change and different markets have different ideas. You need to understand their nuances, but never stop testing and learning, and do A/B testing on the side.” Holbrook went on to warn:


GREIG HOLBROOK: ‘The danger is pulling the plug too early’


“Going into a new market is like starting a business from scratch. “It might take a couple of years


to start seeing success and the danger is pulling the plug too early without having time to breathe and learn.” The panel recounted tales of


woe from across the industry, as well as their own experiences in this area. Examples included company


names and phrases losing their meaning – and even causing offence – when translated into other languages and cultures, and the financial implications of not understanding tax systems in other countries.


‘Understanding the individual’ is imperative


Business Breakfast attendees were advised to “understand the individual within every market”. Kevin Ashbridge (pictured), account


director at SDL, which was a sponsor of the Business Breakfast, said: “What we’ve really been talking about is relevance, not just for language markets, but with mobile too – that audience of one. “It’s not one-size-fits-all any


more. You might have a mother with two young children travelling with her family on one trip, but by


herself on business on another trip. She is after two different types of content. “Beyond trying to understand the language market, we feel that the biggest growth opportunity is trying to understand the individual within that market.” Ashbridge stressed that as consumers made increasing use of mobile devices – “where the amount of space to deliver that content is diminished” – it became more important for suppliers to tailor their online material.


CULTURE CLASH: PANELLISTS’ TIPS


lWhen ATD Services launched in Germany, it “got clobbered by VAT”. Chief executive Olly Brendon said: “We hadn’t done enough research. Also, they don’t like debt, so credit card usage is low.”


l Brendon described Brazil as a “protectionist economy”. “You can’t repatriate funds and it’s difficult to charge customers on a credit card,” he said, although ATD has overcome this. Brendon said fraud was an issue in Brazil.


l Momondo Group chief executive Hugo Burge said in the early days of promoting Cheapflights in the US, he had “never seen a room look so mortified” when he used the f-word when recounting a catchphrase to a Midwest airline. “I wasn’t aware that I was in the Bible belt,” he said.


l Burge said Travelocity means ‘cross-dressing city’ in French.


l In Germany, 17% of cruise queries are in English. “Already that pulls down that barrier to entry into that market slightly,” said Google’s Ruairidh Roberts. Also in Germany, the use of the colour silver on the online check-out button has a positive effect on conversion, as it is regarded as official.


l Italians often mix Italian and English in search terms, meaning missed opportunities for firms that “don’t understand their user”.


5 November 2015 travelweekly.co.uk 79


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