November - 2000 - issue > Cover

The challenges of a global market do not simply lie in implementing a new technology, but also in understanding the culture of the target audience and tailoring the products and services to best serve their needs. This is especially true if your product is content. If you’re hoping to capture the market in another country, one in which chances are there are already established content-providers who know the local culture better than you do, the task becomes even more tricky.
In this case, global thinking will get you partway there, but companies must also act locally. At least that’s the policy that Yahoo seems to have adopted in the international market. According to its Santa Clara spokesperson, before Yahoo enters a particular market, it looks at several components, including number of users that have Internet access in that region, the expected growth of Internet penetration therein, the number of Web sites that carry local content and services and — last but not the least — it regards the feasibility of a media business model in that part of the world.


Once it has researched all these factors, Yahoo proceeds by hiring local teams and using local services to develop its business in addition to leveraging the resources that it already has at its disposal through Yahoo’s existing network.
While it is true that in every market that Yahoo enters, there are usually established local players and sometimes other US companies with which Yahoo is already in competition elsewhere, this is hardly ever seen as a deterrent by the company. In fact, the company perceives this as a sign of a maturing market. Competition, after all, gives consumers more choice and helps in the overall growth of the market. It also validates and elevates the overall level of services offered.


This strategy seems to have paid off. According to a recent study conducted by Nielsen/Net Ratings, Yahoo remains the most visited site so far, attracting a global audience of 66 million, followed by America Online with 62 million and Microsoft’s MSN with 50 million. The study measured usage in eight countries: the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan. Nielsen/NetRatings further added that while AOL is seen as an American company, Yahoo is perceived as a “general Internet company abroad.”