How Webinterpret Is Changing Ecommerce Around the World
There are millions of businesses and artisans creating products around the world. At the same time, there are millions of customers in other countries who are seeking these products. Language has been an enormous stumbling block for centuries. Artisans and business owners in developing countries could rarely afford to hire competent interpreters for their websites, eBay listings, and Amazon sales pages. Meanwhile, customers in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Australia who speak English couldn't communicate with these sellers.
The spark of an idea
As graduate students at the EM Lyon Business School, two entrepreneurial IT and industrial engineers began to wonder if there was a way to solve this problem. They wanted to do something that would do social good that would tangibly improve the lives of people in developing countries. They also wanted to help consumers find the products they really want to buy.
In 2007, Benjamin Cohen and Patrick Smarzynski created a bold new project called Webinterpret. Their mission is simple. They want to make it possible for sellers in a wide range of countries to be able to reach customers in the same wide range of countries as easily as if there were no language barrier. They do this by providing high quality localization and interpretation for listings on eBay, Amazon sales pages, and pages in full-featured web stores. They provide product coaching and support to help people who are limited by their local culture and geography to harness the power of the Internet to do business internationally.
The spark of an idea
As graduate students at the EM Lyon Business School, two entrepreneurial IT and industrial engineers began to wonder if there was a way to solve this problem. They wanted to do something that would do social good that would tangibly improve the lives of people in developing countries. They also wanted to help consumers find the products they really want to buy.
In 2007, Benjamin Cohen and Patrick Smarzynski created a bold new project called Webinterpret. Their mission is simple. They want to make it possible for sellers in a wide range of countries to be able to reach customers in the same wide range of countries as easily as if there were no language barrier. They do this by providing high quality localization and interpretation for listings on eBay, Amazon sales pages, and pages in full-featured web stores. They provide product coaching and support to help people who are limited by their local culture and geography to harness the power of the Internet to do business internationally.
How Webinterpret works
WebInterpret assists eBay and Amazon sellers to boost their international sales by reaching buyers in foreign markets. They do this by helping sellers pinpoint which items in their inventory will sell well internationally. Then they create and optimize an appealing listing in the native language of buyers and post the listing on leading international Amazon and eBay marketplaces. The service keeps track of the seller's inventory posted on all international sites. The software is compatible with many popular inventory managements systems such as ChannelAdvisor, Linnworks, and eSellerPro.
Where the service really shines is its staff of dedicated translators with local market experience. They are able to interpret questions asked by potential buyers and translate the answers for the seller. In the past, this is where many business transactions bogged down, resulting in lost sales.
Finally, sellers work with an international sales specialist who can help the seller create a strategy to maximize their international sales. The sales specialist can help business owners understand changing trends and which products may be popular during specific seasons or holidays.
Webinterpret is a partner with eBay in its international growth program as well as partnering with Amazon and PayPal.
Full-featured web stores are a relatively new edition to the product offerings. After purchasing Ekos Global Solutions in 2013, the company was able to launch its online store extension. This software supports stores on multiple platforms, greatly expanding the range of businesses to reach customers directly. Many of the services used to support eBay and Amazon sellers are employed in creating the web store. All product pages are optimized and translated into the native language of the site visitor. The company uses automated localization to allow business owners to build their store in minutes.
Webinterpret currently has offices in the United Kingdom, United States, Poland, and France. They plan to expand steadily over the next ten years.
Where the service really shines is its staff of dedicated translators with local market experience. They are able to interpret questions asked by potential buyers and translate the answers for the seller. In the past, this is where many business transactions bogged down, resulting in lost sales.
Finally, sellers work with an international sales specialist who can help the seller create a strategy to maximize their international sales. The sales specialist can help business owners understand changing trends and which products may be popular during specific seasons or holidays.
Webinterpret is a partner with eBay in its international growth program as well as partnering with Amazon and PayPal.
Full-featured web stores are a relatively new edition to the product offerings. After purchasing Ekos Global Solutions in 2013, the company was able to launch its online store extension. This software supports stores on multiple platforms, greatly expanding the range of businesses to reach customers directly. Many of the services used to support eBay and Amazon sellers are employed in creating the web store. All product pages are optimized and translated into the native language of the site visitor. The company uses automated localization to allow business owners to build their store in minutes.
Webinterpret currently has offices in the United Kingdom, United States, Poland, and France. They plan to expand steadily over the next ten years.