HP Canada came away with a perfect score in a recent survey by Sympatico Internet Magazine that looks at the quality of French editorial content and services on 50 corporate Web sites.
The survey examines how well today’s major manufacturers of computers and related components are taking into account the “linguistic and cultural realities” of Canada’s bilingual market. Results are featured in the current issue of the magazine.
HP received a perfect score, along with Canon and Microsoft, for its sections in French, including product descriptions, reports on company activities and online support.
Other companies involved in the survey include 3Com, Adobe, Dell, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Kodak, Motorola, Nokia and Sony.
In their article examining the survey, Sympatico Internet Magazine writers André Mondoux and Benoit Bisson note: “As surprising as it may seem, a good number of Canadian companies ignore or forget the French reality of their own country.”
The good news is that at least 40% of companies “seem to have a sufficiently accurate perception of the market to understand the value of investing the necessary time and money to tailor their message” to French-speaking customers.
The article praises the main Hewlett-Packard corporate home page for making it easy for visitors to quickly click onto an HP site dedicated to the country of their choice. “At HP Canada, the French-speaking visitor has access to a section of their own which contains the French version of all sections and documents.”
For French-speaking users seeking Help and Support sections, Hewlett-Packard has wisely decided to group such resources on its global site by language, eliminating duplication of efforts at individual sites.
“We believe that this idea, developed by Hewlett-Packard, is the way of the future,” the magazine says. “The globalization approach reduces costs by pooling linguistic resources, and the regional approach takes into account local customer realities when necessary.”
The high praise for HP comes as no surprise. “We want our customers to appreciate every visit to hp.ca and get the information they want quickly, in either official language, without confusion or complication,” says Louise Bedard, co-ordinator, francisation and translation, HP Canada. “We are working to offer our products and services through a well-designed, user-friendly Web site in all countries where we do business.”
Customers, who can easily find what they are looking for «at a click», will surely appreciate the extra steps HP takes toward customer care, and will visit us again, Louise says.
“This recognition for hp.ca,’’ adds Lynn Anderson, vice president marketing, business, HP Canada, “is a testament to the hard work of the e-business team under the leadership of Joanne Doucette, HP Canada’s e-business manager. “That team, in conjunction with marketing, really seeks to create and drive a totally French-Canadian experience.”
According to Susan Smith, operations manager, hp.com Canada, it is crucial for HP, with a Web presence in 58 countries and 32 languages, to offer a country Web experience that includes localized content in a customer's language of preference whenever possible.
“We've put a great deal of thought and effort into creating, not only an English Web site, but also a French Web site for Canada,” Susan says. “Receiving this recognition from Sympatico Internet Magazine as a leader in this area acknowledges that we've achieved our goal.”
HP says “Merci” to Sympatico Internet Magazine. Their report illustrates how HP goes the distance when it comes to meeting the needs of each and every one of its customers and markets, wherever they may be.
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