4 Ways Tech Companies Can Take Customer Support Overseas

The Internet has opened doors for any tech company that's thinking of expanding overseas. If you have a company Web site, you've already made your products available for international customers. Many tech businesses have taken steps to build a presence in new markets by localizing their Web sites.

But even if you've localized the Web site and the product, there's one other thing that you can't forget: customer support. Tech products today aren't exactly intuitive. Whether you're targeting enterprises or end users, there needs to be some way for customers to get in touch with reps or support. You can't forget to build a solid foundation for a good customer experience.

With social media and online review sites, bad customer experiences can travel faster than ever. In one survey, 90 percent of shoppers said their decisions are influenced by online reviews. For B2B tech products, there can be harsh consequences—a negative review or blog post could cost the company thousands of dollars.

Great customer support is the cornerstone of a great customer experience. But what tactic works best for your business? Dispatching call centers across every new market isn't feasible or affordable, but there are other ways tech companies can build a great experience for customers around the world.

Localized User Interfaces

Many tech companies today build intuitive user interfaces (UIs) to help customers navigate their products. Users often depend on helpful pop-up tips and notifications to show them how to make the most of the software. Of course, if the customer can't understand the user interface—and the interactive elements that go with it—it's not likely he will stay invested in the product.

A localized UI that helps non-native English speakers learn the product can do wonders for customer support by educating customers and cutting down on frustrated phone calls to support centers.

Localizing contextual user support means translating all of the copy within the actual software. By localizing the UI, companies can allow users to jump into the software and start using it immediately, with the user support messages popping up along the way.

Translated FAQ and Resource Pages

If a product doesn't have a user interface or localizing the UI is too complicated and costly, companies can consider building out frequently asked questions (FAQ) pages and other online resources. Usually, this just means localizing the content that's already available on the English-language Web site and customizing it from there.

Localized how-to content should be easily accessible for users and placed prominently on the Web site. An FAQ section can easily be translated, but something such as a Webinar might take a little bit more design and voiceover work. Likewise, e-books and white papers should be carefully translated by someone who knows both the language and the industry.

Companies can archive all of this content under one domain to ensure that it receives maximum visibility. Through a mix of images and 

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