EXPLORING LANGUAGE SELECTION

IN THE DIGITAL LANDSCAPE

A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON A BELGIUM-BASED WEB AGENCY’S

AND ITS CLIENTS’ LANGUAGE PREFERENCE FOR ONLINE

COMMUNICATIONS

Word count: 11 712

Anke Van den Heede Student number: 01405258

Supervisor: Jana Declercq

Master’s paper submitted to obtain the degree of Master of Arts in Multilingual Business Communication

Academic year: 2018 - 2019

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to thank my supervisor Jana Declercq for her valuable and constructive comments.

Due to her words of advice and extensive knowledge in qualitative inquiry, I was able to master the

qualitative analysis methods that were needed for the study.

Second, I thank the interviewees for their helpful input and expertise in the areas of web development

and online communication. They were kind enough to lend me their precious time to participate in my

study and provide valuable interviews.

Third, this work was supported by the digital agency Esign. I would like to thank the agency for letting

me do my internship at their organisation, which has been an extremely instructive experience. A

special thanks goes to my supervisor Stephanie Schroé, who was always enthusiastic and generous with

help and advice. I am grateful for the opportunity that I received to follow a copywriting and marketing

internship at the agency with amazing colleagues. They have dedicated their time and shared their

expertise with me, which has without a doubt played a focal part in the wonderful experience at Esign

and the profound nature of this paper.

Furthermore, I would like to thank my professors, who have supported me during the whole year of

Multilingual Business Communication and who were always willing to offer their advice and help. Of

course, a final thanks goes to my friends and colleagues of MBC, whom I have spent an amazing and

illuminating year with. I am grateful for their limitless words of encouragement and wish them all

Godspeed.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This research was conducted as part of an internship at the Belgium-based digital agency Esign. The

digital landscape is changing at a fast pace. With the emergence of online sales and the omnipresence

of the Web, online communications have become an essential part of any business’ marketing strategy.

The aim of this small-scale study was thus to gain some understanding of Belgium-based companies’

language preference for their web content and the trends and countertrends of language selection in

the digital landscape. Due to the specific multilingual context of the country, we particularly focus on

Belgian companies.

By carrying out interviews with four digital experts from the Belgian web agency Esign and eight of its

clients with wide-ranging profiles, we were able to detect the languages selected by these companies

and the main variables affecting their choice for unilingual or multilingual online communications.

Conducting interviews both with employees from Esign and their clients enables us to reach an

understanding of both perspectives.

This paper argues that Belgium-based companies do not have a common practice for language selection

or preference online. After the analysis of our interviews, it was clear that Belgian companies fail to

agree whether language choice for their online communications should be prioritised. While for some

the decision is carefully thought through, others adopt a unilingual or multilingual approach based on

intuition.

What can be detected from the interviews is that clients of the web agency Esign often base the online

language selection solely on their own judgements. Even though the decision mainly lies with the

clients, Esign tries to raise awareness of the importance of the decision. Altogether, Esign employees

seem to be more pragmatic and realistic in their considerations than their clients. They pay more

attention to the possible effect of a certain language for online content and assess advantages and

disadvantages of a multilingual approach more thoroughly. According to both Esign’s experts and their

clients, language selection is discussed more often in the case of e-commerce platforms.

As our findings illustrate, numerous elements should be taken into account before selecting a language

for online communications. Five main variables affecting language choice could be detected:

Language use of the target audience

Maintenance level

Workload and cost

Tone of voice and trustworthiness

Objectives

The findings of this study as well as additional literature on the subject of digital language selection

helped us in composing recommendations for the web agency Esign and stakeholders that are

struggling with language issues. We firmly hope this paper can contribute to the effectiveness of future

digital marketing and web development strategies.

Keywords: interviews, language selection, multilingualism, online communication, digital marketing

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... 3

Executive summary ....................................................................................................................................... 5

1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 9

2 Theoretical framework ....................................................................................................................... 11

2.1 Online communication ............................................................................................................... 11

2.1.1 E-commerce ...................................................................................................................... 11

2.1.2 Digital marketing ............................................................................................................... 11

2.2 Language context ....................................................................................................................... 12

2.2.1 Language preferences on the Web .................................................................................. 12

2.2.2 Standardisation ................................................................................................................. 13

2.2.3 Adaptation ......................................................................................................................... 14

2.3 Sociolinguistic context ............................................................................................................... 15

3 Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 17

3.1 Qualitative interview analysis .................................................................................................... 17

3.2 Sample and data collection........................................................................................................ 18

4 Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 21

4.1 Context and background............................................................................................................ 21

4.1.1 Decision-making process .................................................................................................. 21

4.1.2 Clients’ language selection ............................................................................................... 22

4.2 Variables affecting language selection ...................................................................................... 24

4.2.1 Language use of the target audience .............................................................................. 24

4.2.2 Maintenance level ............................................................................................................ 26

4.2.3 Workload and cost ............................................................................................................ 27

4.2.4 Tone of voice and trustworthiness .................................................................................. 29

4.2.5 Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 30

5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 33

5.1 Discussion and conclusion ......................................................................................................... 33

5.2 Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 35

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 39

Appendices .................................................................................................................................................. 41

Appendix 1: Interview guide for Esign interviews ................................................................................. 41

Appendix 2: Interview guide for client interviews ................................................................................ 44

Appendix 3: Code book extracted from NVivo 12 ................................................................................ 47

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1 INTRODUCTION

Launching a successful online business is getting more difficult by the day. In various sectors, different

innovations and fierce competition have come into play, which many businesses need to take into

consideration. In order to compete with other online companies, strategic choices have to be made,

such as deciding on which online platforms and in which language a business wants to approach its

target audiences. In digital marketing as well as in advertising, the debate has centered on the question

as to whether the same campaign can be used to target different audiences or whether it should be

adapted to each of the different countries where it is broadcast (Hornikx, van Meurs & de Boer, 2010,

172).

Our acquaintance with web development and digital marketing started with an internship at Esign, a

digital agency in Ghent, Belgium. Its employees are specialised in graphic design, web design, web

development and digital marketing. There, it soon became clear that the rapid diffusion of the Web

entails a great deal of benefits, but disadvantages, too. The prevalence of the English language online

as a lingua franca gives rise to a number of practical questions, ranging from the actual effectiveness of

the use of English, or conversely, of local languages, online, to the extent to which companies consider

one or multiple languages for their web content.

The scarcity of research on the topic of effectiveness of unilingual versus multilingual web content

merits further research (De Mooij, 2018; Gerritsen, Korzilius, van Meurs, & Gijsbert, 2000; Martin,

2011). With the new trend of conducting commerce activities on online platforms, called e-commerce,

online communication and language choice in particular could be a key factor in consumers’ decision

making process. On the basis of experiences with Esign and its clients, we have gathered information

about real-world situations where companies had to choose between a standardised approach in the

majority language English and an adapted one for each of the clients’ target groups.

Drawing on interviews with four employees of a Belgium-based web agency and eight of its clients, we

try to provide answers to the following research questions:

1) Which language or languages do Belgium-based web agencies, operating in a multilingual country,

prefer for their clients’ and their own online communications?

2) Which factors influence that decision?

a. Is language selection solely decided by the client and how does this decision come about?

b. Is language selection influenced by suggestions or advice from experts employed at a web

agency and if so, to which extent?

c. Is language selection influenced by the client’s or web agency’s attitude toward unilingual or

multilingual communication and if so, to which extent?

We aim to give an overview of their linguistic choices and motivations, as well as the role of digital

experts in this matter. Our research is carried out in an attempt to better interpret current web

strategies that seem to be rather successful, or conversely, companies’ strategic choices which have

been less effective, and to suggest improvements to be made in digital marketing.

In what follows, we offer a theoretical framework on online communication and language selection on

the Web to contextualise our study. Chapter 3 relates to an overview of the steps taken with regard to

our methodology. Successively, in chapter 4, we will present the results in terms of language choices

for online content and broader trends affecting this decision. Finally, we will shape the main findings of

the study in its conclusion. Moreover, this paper aims to make suggestions to hopefully bypass future

difficulties in language issues and to make possible the anticipation of further research.

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2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

To position our research in its professional and academic context, we will first provide some background

information on tools for online communication, that is e-commerce platforms and digital marketing.

Then, we will discuss some of the research conducted on language preference and selection on the

Web and briefly explore the standardisation-adaptation debate. Finally, the sociolinguistic context of

Belgium is briefly analysed, since this complex situation could also influence the language choice of

Belgian-based companies.

2.1 ONLINE COMMUNICATION

2.1.1 E-COMMERCE

In recent years, it has become important to leverage knowledge in digital strategies in general, and in

particular in online commerce activities. To set the scope of this research, we reference both the terms

‘online communication’ and ‘e-commerce’, partially based on Chaffey’s (2015) definitions in his

introduction to digital business and e-commerce. The distinction made in this study is to use e-

commerce to refer to online stores integrated in webshops or applications, where the main goal

consists of generating a financial transaction from a buyer in exchange for a service or product. ‘Online

communication’, on the other hand, relates to encompassing communication that occurs online, on e-

commerce and social networking platforms, on corporate websites, in mailings, etc. (Chaffey, 2015).

Warschauer, Said & Zohry (2002) indicate that English is the dominant language within certain digital

realms. More importantly, it is frequently used for commercial websites and e-commerce platforms. In

their study, these scholars analysed online language choice and the dominance of the English language

in online communications in Egypt (Warschauer, Said & Zohry, 2002).

2.1.2 DIGITAL MARKETING

Drawing on Chaffey’s (2015) work, we refer to ‘digital marketing’ as any use of a company’s digital

communication tools to achieve its marketing objectives. Primarily, it involves two types of marketing,

which are correlated: inbound and content marketing. In order to be successful in inbound marketing,

a business needs to create compelling and relevant content. As such, the main objective is to appeal to

prospects. As stated by Chaffey (2015), content can apply to static content, such as information on web

pages or product descriptions, or to dynamic content appearing on the corporate site or social

networking sites.

In his marketing manual, Chaffey (2015) recommends creating a separate, or for smaller businesses at

least integrating, digital marketing objectives into a digital marketing plan to improve effectiveness in

digital communications, especially with regard to e-commerce sites. Moreover, he draws attention to

the omnipresent lack of planning for digital marketing. This can be due to the absence of an in-house

digital professional or the few recognition a digital manager or marketer receives in an organisation to

develop a separate digital marketing plan (Chaffey, 2015).

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2.2 LANGUAGE CONTEXT

2.2.1 LANGUAGE PREFERENCES ON THE WEB

Online communication both on corporate websites as on social media channels has become

indispensable in today’s business world. Yet, scholars do not always agree on the subject of language

selection for online content. A pivotal question is whether using a target group’s native language is

more effective to reach them than communication in a foreign language, used as a lingua franca, such

as English.

Nederstigt & Hilberink-Schulpen (2018), for instance, compared the effectiveness of native

advertisements to those utilizing foreign languages. They stress that the success of a marketing action

can be affected by the type of language that is used. If the used local or foreign language does not

match the specific product, the advertisement could misfire completely.

Moreover, Nederstigt & Hilberink-Schulpen (2018) indicate that English has always been by far the most

frequently used foreign language. Considering the current global society, the use of English as a majority

language will be prevalent in the following years as well (Nederstigt & Hilberink-Schulpen, 2018). As an

example, Martin’s (2011) study shows that English borrowings are often used in the marketing

communication of companies with French-speaking target groups. According to her, English functions

as a lingua franca and “gives consumers the sense of belonging to a ‘global village’”, both on corporate

websites and on social networking platforms (Martin, 2011, 266).

Similarly, Hornikx, van Meurs, & de Boer (2010) have conducted a study on the effect of foreign

languages in advertising compared to local languages. One of their conclusions was that the more

complex the message in the advertisement was in English, the less it was preferred to the same

campaign in the consumer’s native language. Consequently, English in advertising should preferably be

relatively easy in order to appeal to consumers (Hornikx, van Meurs, & de Boer, 2010).

Singh, Wight, Sercinoglu, Wilson, Boytsov & Raizada (2007) also indicate that the vast majority of the

Internet pages are in English. They have conducted research on the preferences of English web pages

in contrast to native languages in health- and food-related sectors. While their study revealed web

users’ general preference for searching health- and food-related information in a local language, most

web publishers in this specific field offer their website only in one language. In spite of the fact that

their study is rather sector-oriented, these researchers offer guidelines in the form of online search

pattern data in order to raise awareness to better selecting languages for targeted website publishing

(Singh, Wight, Sercinoglu, Wilson, Boytsov & Raizada, 2007).

Foreign language use in advertisements is mostly unexpected and can therefore attract a consumer’s

attention (Nederstigt & Hilberink-Schulpen, 2018). However, it can also cause problems. Not all

consumers are equally skilled in foreign languages and some might thus need more time to process the

message in a foreign language than in their native language. According to Nederstigt & Hilberink-

Schulpen (2018, 3), a longer processing time is not always the most fruitful choice, since it “probably

affects the ability to remember such an ad”.

Conversely, Kelly-Holmes (2000) states that the understanding of the message in an advertising

campaign is not necessarily required for it to be effective. Simply recognising the language and linking

positive associations toward the slogan or content, suffices. The use of Spanish, for example, could

generate positive attitudes toward an advertising campaign (Kelly-Holmes, 2000). In this regard, the

study by Nederstigt & Hilberink-Schulpen (2018) suggests that Spanish slogans are not necessarily less

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effective than Dutch ones when presented to native Dutch respondents, possibly because of the

symbolic function of foreign language use, as proposed by Kelly-Holmes (2000).

In a paper concerning the use of English in Dutch commercials, Gerritsen, Korzilius, van Meurs,

& Gijsbert (2000) show that, although English exposure is increasing in the Netherlands, Dutch

consumers have rather negative attitudes about English language use in advertising. They underscore

that English is mainly used in commercials out of financial considerations and to broadcast an

international image. In addition, advertisers generally assume that Dutch consumers understand

English anyway. It is notable that young subjects in Gerritsen, Korzilius, van Meurs, & Gijsbert’s (2000)

sample seem to have a better understanding of the meaning of English commercials than older ones,

and respondents with a higher level of education than those with ‘middle’ and lower levels. This could

indicate a future trend toward better knowledge of English. Then again, the comprehension of English

by the next generations will not necessarily lead to more positive feelings about English use.

2.2.2 STANDARDISATION

Companies are expanding and their markets are turning more global. For these reasons, they are faced

with a choice between standardisation or adaptation in their communication (Hornikx, van Meurs & de

Boer, 2010). Since many advertisers assume that global advertising has evoked a ‘global consumer

culture’, they often favour a standardised approach for choosing the language of their online strategies.

This generalised view on advertising seems to be shaped, among other reasons, by the growing use of

English in online communication (De Mooij, 2018).

Furthermore, Hornikx, van Meurs & de Boer (2010) have studied the question as to “whether the same

advertisement can be used in different countries or whether it should be adapted to each of the

different countries where it is used” (Hornikx, van Meurs & de Boer, 2010, 170). In most cases, their

study argues, standardized messages, which are used to address international stakeholders in a similar

way, are in English, while messages which are “adapted to the needs and tastes of each local culture”

are in the consumer’s native language (Hornikx, van Meurs & de Boer, 2010, 171).

Similarly, in her research on standardisation and adaptation in global marketing and advertising, De

Mooij (2018, 14) states that the key dilemma in global marketing is whether to sell a product using an

identical campaign or to “make whatever modifications needed to account for local differences”. In her

work, she meticulously discusses the standardisation-adaptation debate. As such, she presents the

numerous variables that affect the decision to standardize or adapt, such as the product, the type of

company and the consumer.

Standardisation of advertising is often preferred for economies of scale. This implies benefits both for

a company’s communication toward international stakeholders and for branding purposes, that is to

create a global image consistent across borders. Moreover, English is the most frequently used

language in advertising and in international business communication (Hornikx, van Meurs & de Boer,

2010).

De Mooij (2018) criticizes the scarcity of research on the effect of standardisation on a business’

performance. The studies that do exist, often present different or even contradictory conclusions across

various target markets. Yet, De Mooij (2018) underscores that, in recent decades, various companies

have come to realise that the standardized approach is ineffective. As such, she does not support the

idea of globally uniform values or homogenous markets, or that consumer needs and lifestyles can be

placed under one roof. As marketing experts fail to agree on the level of adaptation required for

maximum performance, the debate is still ongoing (De Mooij, 2018).

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2.2.3 ADAPTATION

In some situations, standardisation may appear favourable for all online communications, but studies

such as De Mooij’s (2018) have argued that adapting a campaign is a perquisite for successful

advertising. She particularly objects to the standardized view on today’s marketing. According to her,

consumers cannot be viewed nor addressed as one and the same. Finding similarities within a

company’s market is an essential part of its marketing strategy, but differences should be taken into

account, too. In this regard, De Mooij (2018, 24) illustratively states that “the more marketers

understand the differences in consumer behaviour across countries, the more effective international

marketing and advertising will be”. She thus argues, mismatches between a corporate brand and

consumer’s values in different linguistic and cultural areas can emerge and make adapted

communication necessary (De Mooij, 2018).

The emergence of web advertising enables marketing campaigns to be more personalised and targeted.

Despite the increasing number of Web users and the popularity of online sales, local advertising as a

digital marketing strategy had long been in a state of neglect (De Mooij, 2018). Now, however, many

advocates of locally targeted advertisements are starting to see potential in web advertising (Martin,

2011). Furthermore, if a company highly depends on export or sales in foreign countries, adaptation is

preferred, because it appears to result in better performance (De Mooij, 2018).

In another study, Martin (2011) emphasizes the importance of tailoring corporate websites to specific

audiences. She explored the concept of website advertising and the methods carried out by American

companies when tailoring their web advertising for global audiences. She draws attention to the lack

of research on language in web advertising. As Martin’s (2011) study demonstrates, advertisers seem

to have a predilection to adapt their print and television marketing communication to local target

groups. Strikingly, however, most brands seem to neglect the adaptation of their digital communication

to different cultural and linguistic audiences. Her findings show, for instance, that US multinational

corporations ignore cultural differences when publishing French content online and opt for a ‘one size

fits all’ format to appeal to French consumers (Martin, 2011).

Esselink (2003), then, states in an article on localisation and translation that businesses which are

operating within international markets have to localise their websites. Localising your communication,

whether linguistically or culturally, means customising it to a specific target market. By extension, if a

business wants to target an additional foreign market, it would be advised to adapt its web content to

that market. Esselink (2003) further argues that localising a website as well as an e-commerce site can

cause many difficulties, since it is more than just translating a text. It consists of rewriting and adapting

digital communications for the members of a particular target group (Esselink, 2003).

Likewise, Grin (1994) seems to be an advocate for multilingual communication. Many decades ago, Grin

(1994) had already proposed a model of sales, in which he presented the most persuasive factors that

can affect the profitability of using a bilingual commercial strategy. His model is intended as a

benchmark and underscores the importance of discussing the language question during the decision-

making process in advertising.

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2.3 SOCIOLINGUISTIC CONTEXT

In a country such as Belgium, where the use of English is rather widespread, one of the reasons for

using it in communications is that it is assumed to be spoken or at the very least understood by the

lion’s share of the population. For that reason, English is primarily used not to evoke associations with

the country where it is a native language – in contrast to French or German, for instance – but to

standardise all global communications of companies in an attempt to reach as many markets as possible

with just one language (Nederstigt & Hilberink-Schulpen, 2018).

English is not the only language that is frequently used in Belgium. In fact, the sociolinguistic context of

Belgium is rather complicated. Different ethnic and linguistic groups are living within the same Belgian

boarders and thus create a complex situation. Among the 11,322,088 legal residents of Belgium, about

57,6 per cent live in the Dutch-speaking part Flanders, 31,9 per cent in the French-speaking region

Wallonia and 10,5 per cent live in the Brussels Capital Region1. The officially bilingual Belgian capital

Brussels creates an additional unusual situation. Even though it is surrounded by the federal state of

Flanders, which is populated by a Dutch-speaking majority, its citizens generally are Francophone

(O’Donnell & Toebosch, 2008). In a study on multilingualism in Brussels, O’Donnell & Toebosch (2008)

conclude that English is preferred to the other major national language and frequently serves as a

‘neutral third party’, that is an intermediate language between both linguistic groups.

1 Algemene Directie Statistiek: Statistics Belgium (2017). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from

https://statbel.fgov.be/sites/default/files/Over_Statbel_FR/NL_kerncijfers_2017_web_0.pdf

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3 METHODOLOGY

The theoretical framework enabled us to gather insights in Belgium’s sociolinguistic context, in the

digital landscape and in the field of language selection online. The following chapter provides an

overview of the chosen method in order to answer our research questions. More specifically, we will

discuss the underlying reasons for choosing our sample, the collection of the interviews and the

approach adopted for our data analysis.

3.1 QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW ANALYSIS

For the collection and analysis of the data we consulted the reference book for novice researchers in

qualitative inquiry by Mortelmans (2007). The choice of qualitative interview analysis through a

grounded theory approach allows us to study the data thematically and to be grounded or inductive in

our analysis. In fact, information extracted from in-depth interviews can be more rigorous, since an

open-ended, discovery-oriented method allows the interviewer to deeply explore the respondent’s

feelings and perspectives on a subject (Mortelmans, 2007).

We conducted one-to-one interviews consisting of questions and answers with 12 participants, that is

with four digital experts from the Belgian web agency Esign and eight of its clients with wide-ranging

profiles. Open-ended questions were asked to stimulate discussion. In short, we asked interviewees

about their target groups, external digital communication, communications strategies, language

preference and the decision-making process and motivations for language choices. To ensure some

form of structure between interviews, two similar interview guides were developed for each part of the

study, consistent with recommended interview methodology (Daymon & Holloway, 2010; DiCicco‐

Bloom & Crabtree, 2006; Guion, Diehl, & McDonald, 2001; Mortelmans, 2007; Ritchie, Lewis, Nicholls

& Ormston, 2013). These interview guides are included as an appendix.

Our data in the form of interviews were analysed in several phases. First, we transcribed all 12

interviews and analysed them by means of rigorous immersion (Erlingsson & Brysiewicz, 2017, 96).

Second, we developed labels or codes in a bottom-up manner and attached these codes to each section

of text in the interviews. Third, we were able to transform and reduce our data and build categories of

similar themes (Daymon & Holloway, 2010; Mortelmans, 2007). By doing so for every transcribed

interview, recurring patterns emerged, which regroup new concepts or opinions that have arisen in the

interviews and are relevant to ultimately answer the research questions. As part of the process, we

gathered these main categories into a road map, which is added as an appendix, in order to facilitate

the description of the key results.

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3.2 SAMPLE AND DATA COLLECTION

Participants were recruited to this qualitative study mainly for their expertise in website development

or online communication. Experts in the field of digital marketing and communication are most likely

to answer our web-related research questions (Erlingsson & Brysiewicz, 2017). In April 2019, we

contacted four internal employees of the digital agency Esign based in Ghent, Belgium to participate in

in-depth interviews. These interviewees could be divided into 2 categories: members of the managing

team, which consists of the two CEOs, and members of the executive team, consisting of two

employees, more specifically the project manager and the digital marketer.

The anonymity of the interviewees is guaranteed. Since this is a research in collaboration with the web

agency Esign, however, the name of the company will be used in this paper. Regarding the external

participants in our study, only the names of the organisations will be mentioned.

All interviews were held in Dutch and lasted approximately 30 minutes. The 12 interviews were

recorded and transcribed to text. These transcripts were entered into the qualitative research software

NVivo 12 (QSR international, Melbourne, Australia).

The first four interviews with employees of the digital agency Esign led us to the question which

language(s) Esign’s clients prefer and how they perceive the efficiency of these decisions. Therefore,

the second section of our study relates to external points of view by clients of the digital agency. We

have conducted semi-structured interviews with 8 companies which rely on Esign to design and/or

develop their website or webshop. All businesses participating in the study are headquartered in

Belgium and, therefore, are or have inevitably been confronted with the multilingual reality of the

country.

With the strive for consistency within the sample in mind, we have established a matrix to ensure that

the companies participating in our study could be categorised on the basis of their language choice for

their website and their target market. This matrix, as shown in table 1 below, is the basis of our further

research.

Unilingual Dutch Unilingual English Multilingual

Local market De Witte Zwaan

Medicourse

BeGummy

Landbergh

International market

MoMe/Choc-O-Lait

McAlson

D-drinks

Edgard & Cooper

Table 1: market and language choice of client interviewees

We took great care in our choice of informants in order to ensure the generalizability of the findings

(Mortelmans, 2007, 27). Four participants are targeting an international market, two among which have

a unilingual and two a multilingual online website or webshop. On the other hand, four companies that

agreed to take part in the interview are present in a local market, among which we included two with

a unilingual and two a multilingual website or webshop.

Apart from the nature of their market and their linguistic online approach, participants were also asked

about whether their focus is placed in the B2B or B2C space. In the table 2 below, we have listed brief

descriptions of the various sectors in which they are active and an indication of their company’s size.

We can observe from table 2 that three participants employ 2 to 5 persons, another three have 5 to 10

employees and the remaining two have 30 or more. A last consideration that has to be made is the

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partition of the client interviewees’ online communication into external communication on their

website, webshop and social media channels.

Online communication

Interviewee Company Industry Website Webshop Social media

1 BeGummy B2C company in the fashion

industry that sells onesies

and other clothing (with 5-

10 employees)

Multilingual

EN/FR

Multilingual

EN/FR

French

2 D-drinks Mostly B2B company that

sells and distributes healthy

drinks and snacks (with 30

employees)

Multilingual

(NL/EN/FR)

n.a. English

3 De Witte Zwaan Mostly B2B company that

sells and distributes roasted

coffee (with 2-5 employees)

Dutch Dutch Multilingual

(NL/EN)

4 Medicourse B2C company that offers

educational workshops in

the health-care sector, has

a growing B2B market (with

5-10 employees)

Dutch n.a. Dutch

5 Edgard & Cooper B2B and B2C company

specialised in the

production and distribution

of pet food (with 50

employees)

Multilingual

(NL/FR/DE/

EN/IT/ES/FI)

Multilingual

(NL/FR/DE/

EN/IT/ES/FI)

Multilingual

(NL/FR/DE/

EN/IT/ES/FI)

6 McAlson B2C company that sells

high-end underwear online

(with 2-5 employees)

English English English

7 Landbergh B2C real estate company

(with 5-10 employees)

Multilingual

(NL/FR/EN)

n.a. Dutch

8 MoMe/Choc-O-Lait B2B and B2C company that

sells and distributes Belgian

chocolate (with 2-5

employees)

English English English

Table 2: profile of client interviewees

The data analysis enables us to come to a reasonable understanding of general and specific perspectives

of participants in our study. In the next chapter, we will elaborate on the key messages of the 12

interviews that help us answer our research questions.

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4 FINDINGS

The analysis of the data has enabled us to structure the interviewees’ perceptions in an attempt to

answer the research questions. In what follows, we will discuss the findings relating to those questions.

Before examining the interviewees’ language selection for online communications, we will briefly

describe the most important steps in their decision-making process. Finally, we will elaborate on

possible trends or countertrends regarding the language choice for digital content. A number of quotes

extracted from the interviews will be added to illustrate some of our findings.

4.1 CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

4.1.1 DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Since we have conducted interviews with employees from Esign as well as their clients, we were able

to examine self-reports from both perspectives of how the decision-making process is experienced.

After an introduction with the digital web agency’s services, the client usually has an internal discussion

about general conditions for their new digital platform, and sometimes language preference, which

they then communicate to the digital agency. In order to facilitate this introduction process, Esign has

recently developed a dashboard, on which customers are briefly asked questions about their strategy,

target audience, competition, etc.

In the interviews, employees of the digital agency Esign indicate that language preference is always

mentioned in the early stages of developing a website or webshop, because they consider it an

important element. However, their role in the decision-making process typically does not seem to go

further than offering suggestions.

(1) With [the mostly B2B beverage distributor] D-drinks, we had 3 meetings solely about languages.

Three times I said: ‘no you shouldn’t [go for a multilingual approach] and three times they said: ‘of

course we’re going to’. – Esign interviewee 3

The statement made by Esign interviewee 3 illustrates how, often, the language decision is solely based

on the clients’ beliefs. For this particular client, the decision-making process was lengthy. Three

meetings were held only on the topic of languages, since the client wanted more linguistically and

culturally adapted versions of the website. Ultimately, however, it is the client that has the final say

with regard to language selection.

(2) No, we haven’t [discussed our language choice with Esign]. It is just obvious to us [to choose Dutch].

[We are called] ‘koffiebranderij De Witte Zwaan’. […] It’s just me and my wife’s decision. We just

think that it’s okay like that. – Interviewee De Witte Zwaan

If a client chooses one or more languages without considering Esign’s suggestions, the decision is

typically made quite fast, which is clear from the example above by De Witte Zwaan. This company

seems to have decided on the Dutch language for its web communication rather intuitively.

Particularly employees from the digital agency reflect on or decide to launch a website in one language,

for instance English or Dutch, and gradually increase the number of languages as the business expands.

Considering the few statements made on this topic by Esign’s clients, it appears that they do not give

as much thought to this working method as professionals from Esign.

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4.1.2 CLIENTS’ LANGUAGE SELECTION

A considerable number of clients are occupied by the online language question. That is clear even just

by viewing the language selection of some of them. In table 3 below a summary is given specifying all

language choices regarding the online communications of our 8 client interviewees. We refer to

multilingual websites and webshops as consisting of two or more languages.

Online communication

Client

interviewee

Company Website Webshop Social media

1 BeGummy Multilingual

(EN/FR)

Multilingual

(EN/FR)

Unilingual (French)

2 D-drinks Multilingual

(NL/EN/FR)

n.a. Unilingual (English)

3 De Witte Zwaan Unilingual (Dutch) Unilingual (Dutch) Multilingual

(NL/EN)

4 Medicourse Unilingual (Dutch) n.a. Unilingual (Dutch)

5 Edgard & Cooper Multilingual

(NL/FR/DE/

EN/IT/ES/FI)

Multilingual

(NL/FR/DE/

EN/IT/ES/FI)

Multilingual

(NL/FR/DE/

EN/IT/ES/FI)

6 McAlson Unilingual (English) Unilingual (English) Unilingual (English)

7 Landbergh Multilingual

(NL/FR/EN)

n.a. Unilingual (Dutch)

8 MoMe/Choc-O-Lait Unilingual (English) Unilingual (English) Unilingual (English) Table 3: language selection of client interviewees

Apart from their online means of communication, the analyses of the interviews have enlightened us,

too. Some businesses consciously adopt an English-only approach, namely McAlson and MoMe. These

companies recognise reflecting on the linguistic choice of their communications, but hardly acting on

it. Others offer an enormous range of languages on their website or webshop. A noteworthy example

is Edgard & Cooper, which has integrated no less than 7 languages into its website and webshop: Dutch,

French, German, English, Italian, Spanish and Finnish. The language selection of their social media is

also adapted to each of those 7 languages.

D-drinks, then, also takes a highly adapted approach to reach their target group by offering 3 languages,

resulting in 7 versions of their corporate website. When surfing to it, a user lands on a page that

requests his or her language preference. There, the following categories are shown: ‘België’ (Dutch

version for the Flemish target group), ‘Belgique’ (French version for the Walloon region in Belgium),

‘Belgium’ (English version for Belgian visitors), ‘Nederland’ (Dutch version for the target group in the

Netherlands), ‘Netherlands’ (English version for the target group in the Netherlands), ‘France’ (French

version for the French target group) and ‘Luxembourg’ (French version for the target group in

Luxembourg).

Within our sample, Landbergh and D-drinks offer a multilingual combination of Dutch, English and

French, whereas BeGummy offers a multilingual French and English mix, without including a Dutch

version of their webshop. Medicourse and De Witte Zwaan only make a unilingual Dutch version

available for their audience.

When examining which digital channels the clients make use of to reach their target audience and in

which language(s), the choices vary wildly. Although BeGummy, D-drinks and Landbergh offer a

multilingual website and/or webshop, they have chosen unilingual social media, in French, English and

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Dutch respectively. Conversely, De Witte Zwaan advocates Dutch communication on its website and

webshop, but chooses a multilingual communication for social media, alternating their posts in Dutch

and English.

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4.2 VARIABLES AFFECTING LANGUAGE SELECTION

Companies that are outsourcing the development of their digital platform to the agency Esign do not

share a common practice when it comes to their language preference or selection. Since the majority

of the companies have adopted different language policies for their online communications, their

reasons vary quite widely, too. In this section, we will try to gather the variables that affect language

selection in each of the companies participating in our research. Some general patterns could be

detected, which we will further explore. It should be noted that the mentioned reasons are not

exhaustive and can only be interpreted descriptively. Moreover, most variables are interdependent and

should not be considered separately.

4.2.1 LANGUAGE USE OF THE TARGET AUDIENCE

Defining your target market and understanding who they are is an essential element in every business’

marketing strategy, since it is the members of this group that your company is trying to reach through

their external communication. As Esign’s in-house digital marketer states in one of the interviews, the

overriding considerations for companies to choose a language are their target groups and on which

channel or with which means they can be persuaded.

(3) [If a company only had a budget for 1 language,] then I would only ground it on the target audience.

Which language does the target group speak or where are they most susceptible or tempted? […]

The first step [in choosing a language] is the input from the client. Who is their target audience,

buyer persona’s? And construct a really good image of that and tailor that to them. – Esign

interviewee 2

The statement from Esign interviewee 2 immediately shows the importance attached to a company’s

target group for its online communication. Employed as Esign’s digital marketer, this interviewee has

an abundance of knowledge in the field of marketing strategies. This includes analysing characteristics

of companies’ target groups. In her opinion, it is extremely valuable to make time to contemplate about

their location, age, education, lifestyle, activities and other background information.

Furthermore, Esign’s digital marketing expert argues that B2B companies have a more differentiated

audience and would, therefore, dedicate more time to consider the content and, by extension, the

language choice of their digital messages than B2C companies.

Several interviewees point out that age, lifestyle and education are factors that are taken into account

in the process of language selection, especially with regard to the use of English online. One of Esign’s

clients, D-drinks, for example, states that its target group usually are people who are involved in a

healthy lifestyle and are, therefore, quite used to reading web content in English. For that reason, the

content on their social media is in English. A second target group of theirs are B2B buyers who are, for

the greater part, highly educated and have attained a certain proficiency in English. Since D-drinks sells

premium brands, they assume its consumers are proficient in multiple languages.

According to the external companies MoMe and McAlson, it is not necessary to offer a website or

webshop in different local languages if you are selling a luxury product or a product in the medium-high

range.

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(4) Our customers, 90% of them master the English language. Or at least more than enough to purchase

something online. – Interviewee McAlson

As stated in the interviews, they both largely target a niche of economic elite that are privileged enough

to follow a higher education. Both companies believe that they are thus familiar with the English

language and would understand most English communications online. It is noteworthy that none of

Esign’s digital employees mention this as a reason for the use of English online. This finding could either

indicate that Esign has a limited knowledge on the clients’ target groups or simply does not agree on

this.

An interesting case with regard to language selection is that of the online fashion company BeGummy.

Despite being a Belgium-based company, they have decided to attack the French instead of the Belgian

market. This was a conscious decision, since they find the Belgian sociolinguistic situation too

complicated.

(5) [Belgium] is so small, […] with so many different languages, cultures. If you look at the language

choice of webshops in Belgium, if you choose the Belgian market, it is a terrible country. It is

extremely intense to be multilingual online, if you want to do it right. – Interviewee BeGummy

However, BeGummy originally opted for an English webshop, assuming their young French target group

would have no problem understanding English. Based on their analyses, this seemed not to be the case.

As a result, they decided to invest in a website and webshop primarily in French. The decision is logical

for them, since consumers will appreciate an e-commerce platform more if it is in their local language.

According to this interviewee, this is a threshold that a company can take away relatively easily. This

finding could be linked to the type of products that they are selling, meaning that a clothing product is

easy accessible and might be bought by a wide range of consumers which are not necessarily highly

educated.

Furthermore, our analysis demonstrates that language selection is frequently based on the client’s

estimation of the language proficiency of its target audience. Apart from BeGummy, which mainly

targets the French market, Belgium-based organisations, such as the web agency Esign and clients

Medicourse, De Witte Zwaan and D-drinks, indicate having encountered language issues with older

customers. Although these older customers have criticized the use of English in external

communication, most interviewees are in agreement that prospects which are involved in the online

context are more inclined to be proficient in English.

Another pattern that could be deducted from the data, is the importance of English in the current

society. English is chosen for numerous reasons. However, digital experts and their customers do not

always give the same ones. The widespread use of English is a phenomenon that is constantly referred

to during the interviews.

(6) It might be weird, but my mother, for example, would have much more doubt to buy something on

an English website than one in Dutch. Because it feels less familiar for her. But I think that it has to

do with generations. – Esign interviewee 4

A motivation which is mentioned several times is a young target group that is more likely to understand

English than an older one. Moreover, various external companies believe the use of English is most

appropriate for addressing international markets.

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In the language selection process it is decisive if a firm targets the Flemish market, that is to say the

Dutch-speaking region of Belgium, or not. In fact, according to some participants, a Flemish member of

the target audience is highly likely to adapt his or her language to the messenger’s preference. While a

French or Dutch customer might be offended by the use of English, a Flemish Belgian is no stranger to

communication in a foreign language and would therefore have more positive attitudes toward English-

only online communications.

(7) Belgium simply is a difficult country and they know it. The Dutch have more difficulties if there are

multiple languages. As a Belgian, you are used to that. – Interviewee D-drinks

Overall, it has in our interviews come to the surface that French natives, whether of French or Belgian

origins, do not master the English language – or Dutch for that matter – to speak it, let alone buy an

item on an English-only webshop. Conversely, multiple respondents assume that everyone in Europe

has attained a certain level of English and can understand English web content for the most part.

(8) For the practical side of things, I think that everyone in Europe masters the English language, so once

they are on your site, it is not important anymore to have a multilingual website. – Esign interviewee

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(9) The French prefer to be addressed in their own language. They start to hesitate if they are on an

English website and cannot choose another language. […] Because we think that’s how the French

think. – Esign interviewee 4

Employees from the agency Esign make suggestions about the language selection of its clients. In some

cases, they believe that it is a fairly easy choice. If your presence and sales are limited to only your local

surroundings, it is their advice to only offer a website in a local language. Some small companies only

offer their services within Belgium, more specifically in Flanders, so it would not make sense to invest

in another language. This is, for example, the case for companies that have an offline store in Belgium.

4.2.2 MAINTENANCE LEVEL

The results of the interviews that were carried out all point towards another essential factor affecting

language selection, namely the level of maintenance which an additional language fosters. Overall,

participants underscore the effort and dedication it takes to translate and maintain a decent

multilingual communications strategy. In fact, interviewees generally believe that maintenance is one

of the most persuasive disadvantages of multilingualism in online communications. When we compare

all interviewees, however, Esign interviewees seem to draw more attention to this endeavour than their

clients.

(10) Of course, the question remains if you can maintain [the blog or news section on the website, for

instance]. I mean, having something translated by a translating agency once only and add to your

site, okay that’s great. But will you be able to update your news page in that language? Or are you

going to be able to make changes or adaptations? It implies a lot, you know, adding an extra

language. It’s more than just translating once only. For instance, what are you going to do with your

social media channels? Are you making those multilingual as well, and so on? – Esign interviewee 1

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In the statement above, Esign interviewee 1 stresses how important it is to ask relevant questions

during the decision-making process. A company not only needs to take into account whether they will

opt for the same language(s) for other means of communication, such as social media, but also the

maintenance level of its web pages.

Maintenance seems to become more complicated when a company has invested in content marketing,

that is regularly publishing dynamic content on your website or social media pages, such as blog posts.

Interviewees from the web and marketing agency Esign as well as most of their clients suppose that

content marketing is an added value in today’s digital society. Even so, internal employees are

convinced that content marketing is in most cases already reasonably difficult, let alone if a company

wants regular web content in several languages. On this account, they sometimes advise against a

multilingual website.

Client interviewees seem to be aware that a multilingual website takes more than just translating in

one or several languages, in spite of previous statements of employees at Esign indicating that clients

tend to be too ambitious in their language selection. Noteworthy, but not remarkable, is the fact that

mainly clients with a multilingual policy recognise the effort to maintain a communications platform

with multiple languages. Key considerations in this are the workload, their budget and the fact that they

regularly update their content page.

4.2.3 WORKLOAD AND COST

The maintenance which multilingual web content brings about, correlates with a company’s workload

and cost, since this content has to be translated, updated and re-evaluated. As claimed by our

interviewees, some words are hard to translate and it would take up much time and effort to find an

accurate translation. As an example, MoMe used to offer its website in four languages, but for lack of

time now opts for a unilingual English version, which they think suffices for now. A company can

outsource its translations to an agency, but that implies a significant budget, which is certainly not

preferred by most businesses. Companies with insufficient budget typically choose English as an

intermediate language to reach their audience. A second option, then, is hiring an in-house copywriter

or translator. In this regard, workforce capacity often is closely related to language selection.

Many clients of the digital agency indicate that an extra language currently is simply not a priority. Half

of the client interviewees find the effort too large compared to the return. It is remarkable that client

interviewees find the language question less of a priority than Esign’s employees. Only if their business

were to grow, would they take more languages into consideration. In fact, if that were the case, they

strongly feel it is indispensable to integrate more languages into their online external communications.

Many companies mentioned the concept of adaptation when considering translating a website or

webshop. As a matter of fact, the majority of the participants often assume that taking on an agency to

provide translations simply will not do the trick. For them, it is important that a native speaker has read

or revised the published content, because a foreign language has numerous nuances that are hard to

convey. Some take on that challenge. Edgard & Cooper, for instance, works with copywriters in each

country in order to not only translate, but also transfer their messages in different languages.

Adaptation can go rather far. According to some clients, even Dutch from Belgium and from the

Netherlands should be seen separately due to their small cultural differences.

(11) You just have to rewrite Dutch for the Netherlands. Flemish and Dutch are separate languages. We

are much more realistic in our language, more laconic. – Interviewee D-drinks

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(12) We don’t work with an agency, because the copy is not translatable by a translating agency, that

wouldn’t work. That is why our singularity is quite important to us. So there are freelance

copywriters that provide the translations in each country. – Interviewee Edgard & Cooper

(13) The hard part of translating is actually always that you need to have the right tone of voice. You can

translate a sentence, but that does not mean that you have added the right connotation or tone of

voice. – Interviewee McAlson

When the workload seems too heavy, businesses generally adopt a unilingual English approach. Quite

a few interviewees pointed out the importance of English as the most widely used lingua franca. As a

matter of fact, for them, a standardised approach brings quite a few benefits. If a business cannot

translate all its content for lack of time or due to financial considerations, a campaign only in English

can produce economies of scale. Companies also believe that a larger area is covered. The following

illustration is impressive in suggesting the duality of using an English web platform.

(14) It might be contradictory, because on the one hand, we say: ‘go for an English version, because you

cover a larger region’, but on the other hand, we certainly realise that if you offer a German website,

you will attract more Germans. – Esign interviewee 1

Moreover, the translation of content is viewed in distinct ways. Esign interviewees state that many

companies are quite ambitious with regard to the language choice for their website or webshop. Clients

often suggest multilingual communication, but underestimate the effort that needs to be put into it.

(15) In most cases, [if it were up to the client, they would always go for multiple languages], yes. I think,

anywhere they think they see potential, they think: ‘we’re going to do that language’, without

considering the impact it has. – Esign interviewee 3

As seen in the example above, some Esign interviewees believe that clients do not always reflect as

much on the multilingual option for their online communication. This interviewee refers to the ‘impact’

of a multilingual platform as the combination of workload, cost and timing which a company needs to

dedicate to it.

Although many interviewed clients ambitiously want to add multiple languages to their platform, in-

company interviewees from Esign believe that a multilingual website is not always a necessity, at least

not in the first phase of launching a website. It is absolutely possible to set up a website in one language,

a local language or lingua franca such as English, and gradually add more.

(16) Then they start to realise that it has a significant impact and they say: ‘okay, let’s start in one

language and go from there.’ If all goes well and people are joining, then the multilingualism comes,

but in most cases, for small clients, they stick to one language. – Esign interviewee 3

(17) If a client hesitates, then we tend to say: ‘let’s set up [the website] in one language and then we’ll

see. – Esign interviewee 4

Translating online communication does not only mean more workload for a copywriter or translator,

but also for a web developer. As stated by Esign interviewee 4, a multilingual website can come with

many complications. French sentences, for example, are longer than Dutch ones and require more

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space on the platform. By translating the whole website or webshop, a developer would need to adapt

its structure, which, again, means a large slice of the budget. None of the client interviewees seem to

be aware of the drawbacks of these practicalities.

Other practical considerations are, among others, the lack of efficiency with regard to multilingualism

of Shopify, a platform that allows you to create an online store. Moreover, not all social media platforms

offer the advantage to let you switch pages for each country or linguistic group. In that case, the use of

English is preferred.

4.2.4 TONE OF VOICE AND TRUSTWORTHINESS

The digital agency Esign itself has opted for a multilingual website, that is to say a Dutch and English

combination. The four employees in our sample prefer a multilingual choice if a business wants to grow

or keep growing, in order to focus on each market with adjusted marketing activities in each relevant

language. Multilingual communication also seems to be a perk if you are targeting the Belgian market.

More specifically, the Esign interviewees mention a combination of Dutch, French and English.

(18) To trust them 100%, it has to be English or Dutch. I wouldn’t buy anything on a website that is only

in German. – Esign interviewee 1

(19) [A web platform in] English, Dutch, French: that means it’s a Belgian product on the Belgian market

and I would think: okay, that’s reliable. – Esign interviewee 2

The above statements manifest how interviewees, unconsciously, associate multilingualism with the

trustworthiness of a brand or company online. Comprehension of the digital external communication

seems to be crucial for several interviewees. For some, this can be achieved using English or Dutch.

Others would also add a French version.

Many of our respondents state that tone of voice is one of the considerations in their online language

selection. It relates to the impression an audience has of a business’ character or brand and it can affect

the communication with them. Conversely, a company can control a great part of its communication

and therefore how it comes across. Let us take as an example the companies McAlson and MoMe. Both

businesses indicate that they want to be perceived as a European or even Belgian brand. For them, this

image is part of their branding. One way to manifest this European tone of voice, is, according to them,

by selecting unilingual English communication to approach their target group.

(20) We don’t target the Middle East. […] If we did, we probably wouldn’t do it in Arabic, to show that

we are a European brand and not an Arab company. […] If you say that you are a European niche

brand and you communicate in Arabic, you are already slightly destroying that in a way. –

Interviewee McAlson

A great instrument to show that you are a local player which is, again, trustworthy, is communication

in a local language. Other than trustworthiness, a local language can also leave a local impression on

possible customers. In the opinion of the beverage distributor D-drinks, local languages personalise web

communications and indicate which section of the market a company wants to reach. A website solely

in English will cause a lot of noise. In that case, they believe a company risks losing its identity.

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(21) If they only have English, then you know it is a big machine over which they poured some branding.

But if [the site] is only in Dutch, you think ‘how amateurish’. – Interviewee D-drinks

Furthermore, a number of interviewees believe that a unilingual website or webshop displays of little

professionalism. Some even view a unilingual Dutch website as amateurish, even though it could mean

that they are targeting a small market only. Others have a different perception of a unilingual website

versus a multilingual one. Multilingual websites seem to come across as more professional and show a

business as being international, but with a big but. If a business goes multilingual, interviewees believe

that it has to be done thoroughly in order to appear professional.

Language perception, however subjective and personal it may be, is correlated with the trustworthiness

of a webshop. As a matter of fact, some respondents declare that they would not be held back by a

foreign language to buy an item on a webshop, more specifically if it concerns an English-only version.

However, others feel suspicious when a webshop is entirely in English and would prefer a version in

their mother tongue.

(22) Take a Spanish example. If you know they are Spanish and they don’t have a Spanish version

anywhere, it does not seem to add up. […] If you sell Belgian chocolate, you have to have a Dutch

version. It’s part of your story. – Interviewee D-drinks

This illustration draws attention to the topic of trustworthiness of a webshop. Even though some

interviewees find an online shop that offers a flawless English communication quite trustworthy, others

prefer platforms with locally adapted versions, for example, in the form of a combination of English,

Dutch and French. Overall, trustworthiness seems to be more crucial for a webshop than for a purely

informative website.

(23) I think that, if we were only selling on a webshop, we would go for only French and Dutch, because

you don’t want customers from really far away. From the moment there is a selling interest involved,

you will create more trust with a local language, that is the setup language. Against a 100% English

webshop I foster some suspicion. I think most people do. – Interviewee D-drinks

In contrast, according to various interviewees, English is indispensable for an international business.

Most webshops target a larger group than just the Belgian market. Products for sale on an e-commerce

platform can normally be shipped to numerous countries. For that reason, many of Esign’s clients with

a webshop see a larger potential to select the most common language on the Web, namely English. In

addition, the company MoMe believes that online platforms usually have a younger audience than

traditional stores, which, for them, implies a broad knowledge of the English language.

4.2.5 OBJECTIVES

The last main variable that has an impact on language selection is the nature of a business’ objectives.

In our interviews, two key types of objectives have emerged: informative and commercial objectives.

With regard to the first one, it seems to be common practice to offer information in the local language

of a target market. Because informative websites mostly are textual, it often requires quite a few

attention from an audience. The commercial objective refers to advertisements and sales online, for

instance on webshops.

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A number of interviewed clients of the agency Esign specified that for commercial purposes, an English

version suffices. Since a customer does not need to visit an offline store, it appears to lower barriers.

Products can be presented quite visually, whereas information and the provision of a service seems to

be more difficult to communicate.

(24) For me, on a webshop it would make less of a difference than on a website. On a site, I often am

looking for information, and sometimes I don’t feel like going through all those texts. – Interviewee

Medicourse

This finding is not in line with the beliefs of interviewed employees. All of them address the topic of

commercial versus informative marketing goals, but they especially raise the importance of language

choice in e-commerce, in contrast to informative websites. Only two of the client interviewees are also

concerned with sales objectives, but even then, in a lesser amount. As a matter of fact, these two

companies, namely D-drinks and BeGummy, are actually generally more concerned with the language

question than other client interviewees. For logical reasons, then, only clients with a webshop are

occupied by their market share when considering linguistic options for their online platform.

(25) Honestly, it always has to do with distance. If you want to buy something online that has to be

shipped, I am inclined to search in my own language. – Esign interviewee 3

(26) E-commerce is another story than informative sites, right. For e-commerce, you have to gain their

trust. – Esign interviewee 1

Because of the specificity of e-commerce and Esign’s expertise in the matter, advice given to clients

largely relates to language selection for a new webshop rather than for websites. As a matter of fact,

clients with a webshop recognise receiving more advice from Esign than those with a website. The fact

that clients receive more advice on the subject of e-commerce could indicate that clients are less

mindful of marketing strategies and objectives than the digital agency. As a matter of fact, mostly digital

experts have a notably different opinion on language selection for platforms with commercial

objectives. According to them, in the field of e-commerce, it makes a world of difference if you add a

local language to your digital platform.

(27) Especially if [the members of your target group] are much further away, if they can be approached

in their own language, that is a great advantage. – Esign interviewee 1

(28) I believe that for products where the decision-making process is a little longer, it may certainly be

Dutch, because you should really motivate people for a certain amount of time to proceed to a

purchase. – Esign interviewee 2

(29) If you would provide a webshop only in Dutch and you have [a product] that really is suitable on an

international level, you are going to miss leads, in my opinion. - Esign interviewee 3

As indicate the examples above, in essence, Esign interviewee’s preference for adapted communication

has to do with the distance that is created between the webshop visitor and the selling company. A

buyer needs to take multiple steps before proceeding to the actual purchase of an item online. In case

of a longer decision-making process where an audience needs to be motivated to take action, a Dutch

version can be of great advantage for organisations with a Dutch-speaking target group. As Esign

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interviewee 3 indicates, however, an English version of a webshop cannot be left out.

Additionally, according to some interviewed clients, English is common practice in B2B markets.

Members of the target group are, for the most part, known to the company and to its field of interest.

As such, our interviewees assume that they are well-educated and familiar with common English

expressions or terminology. As a consequence, all communications happen in this intermediate

language. In a B2C market, however, customers have wildly different profiles and, thus, personalised

and adapted communication appears to be more appropriate. Since their language background is

unknown, it can be wise, according to client interviewees, to invest in various local languages. It is

interesting that the external companies who share this opinion, serve both the B2B and B2C market

and might, therefore, be aware of the differences.

Moreover, when we compare internal and client interviewees’ considerations, it is clear that digital

experts often advise clients to add an extra language for SEO purposes only. Usually, that involves using

local languages to attract possible customers to a website or webshop. Only one of the interviewed

clients is occupied by this argument and indicates making use of this for its website.

In conjunction with these findings is the subject of sector, on which many interviewees have elaborated.

Generally, they believe that the real estate industry, for instance, is extremely suitable for

communication in local languages, and, by extension, for multilingual communication, that is

communication in each local language of the target group the company wants to reach. Again, this

decision depends on the objective of its online communications.

(30) If we were selling food, we wouldn’t do it in English. That is local, something daily, but in our case,

it’s in our brand image in a way, so it’s not necessary to opt for all languages. – Interviewee McAlson

Technical sectors or software companies require a very specific terminology, which often only is

customary in English. Usually, the working language is English, so it seems to be understood by most

people employed in such a sector. The illustration above is also impressive in suggesting how brands

with products or services that are apt for local markets, should primarily offer local languages.

33

5 CONCLUSION

5.1 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This small-scale study sought to find out which languages were used and preferred by the Belgian web

agency Esign and its clients for online communication and why. Our findings indicate that different

approaches are adopted with regard to languages for online content. On the one hand, some of our

interviewees favour a particularly adapted approach in the form of a multilingual website or webshop

to communicate with their target group online. One of the preferred combinations of languages seems

to be Dutch, French and English. On the other hand, a number of client interviewees use unilingual

online communication, that is to say solely in English or in Dutch.

This study shows that the decision between a standardised and locally adapted online approach comes

about rather quickly. In many cases, language selection is solely based on the judgements and

perceptions of the digital agency’s clients. In this regard, Esign’s role is limited to offering advice and

making suggestions. Regardless, language choice is discussed more rigorously for webshops than for

other tools of communication.

According to the participants in our study, there are multiple considerations when choosing a language

for web content. First, companies’ target audiences play a pivotal role in this decision. Defining their

characteristics is key to a successful and tailored online communication. Moreover, maintenance level

of a company’s online content, internal workload and the cost for multilingual versions, as well as the

nature and objectives of the online platform are variables affecting online language selection.

It came in our interviews to the surface that English often functions as a lingua franca to communicate

with international markets. The use of English seems to produce economies of scale when businesses

are faced with a lack of time, consider the workload too heavy or do not have enough budget. Likewise,

the hegemony of English on the Web, and on e-commerce platforms in particular, had already been

identified by Warschauer, Said & Zohry (2002).

Some client interviewees’ predilection for English results in them not considering local languages for

their online communication. However, Esign’s digital experts, as well as De Mooij (2005), argue that

adaptation leads to better performance and is, therefore, preferred if a company is targeting markets

in foreign countries. Another key benefit of offering a multilingual website or webshop is a feeling of

trustworthiness toward potential customers. These results seem to coincide with De Mooij’s (2005)

preference for locally adapted communication. Similarly to Gerritsen, Korzilius, van Meurs, & Gijsbert

(2000), Esign interviewees assume that adapting a campaign to the linguistic preference of a specific

target audience will attract more customers.

A certain language can also generate a tone of voice. Standardisation, that is for instance a unilingual

language choice solely in English, creates a global image, according to some interviewed companies. It

seems to radiate professionalism and the impression of being an international player in the field. These

findings are compatible with Hornikx, van Meurs, & de Boer’s (2010) who found that standardisation

can create a global corporate brand image.

Overall, Esign interviewees seem to be more pragmatic and realistic in their considerations than client

interviewees. Since employees of the agency have more expertise and insights in the digital field, they

don’t take the language choice for online content as lightly as their clients. Unlike them, digital experts

from Esign not only draw attention to the effectiveness of a linguistically adapted approach, but also to

drawbacks and practicalities when adding multiple languages to a web platform.

34

35

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

Altogether, interviewed employees from the Belgian web agency Esign regret not making enough effort

to focus on the choice of language in which the target audiences of their clients be reached ideally. This

section contains recommendations on how the digital agency and stakeholders can proceed to improve

their services and guide existing and future Belgium-based clients in the language choice for their digital

communication.

1. Immerse oneself in the mission and capacities of a company

Comparable to De Mooij’s (2018) suggestion, companies should take into consideration variables that

could affect the decision to standardize or adapt, such as the product, the type of company and the

consumer. More importantly, web agencies such as Esign and their clients should ask themselves the

following questions when considering one or more languages for their web platform:

What is the language use and preference of our target audience?

Is the content on our digital platform easy or difficult to maintain?

Will we provide and update our (multilingual) content ourselves and do we have sufficient

budget?

Does our target group need to be convinced to take action online and if so, to which extent

does this require locally adapted content?

Which are our main objectives for being online and how can we best adjust our

communication to reach those objectives?

Finding the answer to these questions will lead to better understanding the capacities of a company

and the ambitions for its online presence, and ultimately adjust their online communications within its

technical possibilities.

2. Encourage clients to construct a digital marketing plan

Both Esign’s employees and client interviewees have uttered the need for additional insights in different

characteristics of target audiences in order to properly communicate with them. A digital marketing

plan, in which companies extensively define their buyer personas and digital objectives, could be

beneficial in adapting online communication to specific audiences. As Chaffey (2015) suggests, a digital

marketing plan can just consist of a few pages, since its main goal is to outline strategies in order to

contribute to sales and marketing objectives. Such a digital marketing plan could be integrated in the

dashboard which has been developed by Esign.

3. Gather earlier insights in language choice into a guide

As a starting point, we recommend the digital agency Esign to thoroughly analyse all clients’ and its own

online activity in order to detect patterns or maybe even best practices regarding language

effectiveness online. Esign should keep record of these analyses and interpretations of online data from

current and perhaps even earlier projects. If a possible client could consult a portfolio of Esign’s best

practices with regard to language effectiveness, concerning insights and recommendations depending

on sector, target audience, budgets, specific cases and digital platforms, it will probably become easier

to choose one or multiple languages, considering their specific profile. Similar to Grin (1994)’s model

of sales, the agency could gather its experiences in an encompassing report, which could come with

understandings of literature within the field of linguistics and marketing. In the long term, these insights

could evolve into an detailed manual in which guidelines for different types of companies can be

presented.

36

4. Communicate practicalities and possible drawbacks of a multilingual online approach

Unlike its clients, Esign stresses the large number of endeavours and practicalities an additional

language online entails. The web agency should more thoroughly communicate what the impact can

be for each specific client. Considerations mainly are how ambitious a client is regarding the number of

languages it wants to add, if it wants to invest in content marketing or another form of dynamic content

on its platform and whether or not in-house copywriters or translators can be provided.

5. Advise internationally active clients to use English as a starting point

Esign could advise companies with international branches or companies that appeal to international

markets to launch their website in the majority language English, and gradually add a second or third

language as they go. For companies with branches in other countries, another possibility is to us English

as a default language for online content and give copywriters or translators from these foreign branches

the option to translate the content in the language of their target group. Note that if English is used to

appeal to international target audiences, it should be fairly easy, as similar research by Hornikx, van

Meurs, & de Boer (2010) shows.

6. Use local languages on e-commerce platforms

Our findings show that Esign interviewees are generally more concerned with the question of online

language choice in the case of webshops. Overall, they are convinced that local languages function

better on e-commerce platforms than using a lingua franca such as English. This is mainly due to the

fact that locally adapted webshops appear more trustworthy. Esign should, therefore, communicate

these insights with future clients who wish to launch a webshop. If a multilingual platform is not

possible, trustworthiness could be achieved by means of content pages, in which detailed information

is revealed about the company and its origins.

7. Advise clients to use SEO to attract customers

Businesses should invest in content marketing in order to appeal to audiences. This dynamic online

content enables online search engines to attract web users to the business’ website. If budget is limited,

however, Esign should advise its clients to only translate its headlines, metatexts or homepage, for

example. This is extremely valuable for SEO purposes, since possible customers are searching in

numerous languages. Once a user is reached through a search engine or digital advertisement, a

company could communicate in a standardised manner, that is to say using a unilingual website, for

instance, English.

8. Conduct further research on unilingual and multilingual web platforms

Taking a broader perspective, digital agencies such as Esign should invest in a more thorough research

project, in which the effectiveness of different languages online is explored. As such, through an

experiment, one or several fake or real websites could be launched in one language and gradually

updated adding more languages in order to examine the online performance. In such a project, the

comparison could be made between unilingual and multilingual platforms, B2B and B2C companies,

websites and webshops, different types of products or defined sectors in which Esign’s clients are

mostly active.

Moreover, it is to this point uncertain if a multilingual approach with regard to online communications

is more beneficial than a standardised one. The benefits of translating a website or webshop could

eventually outweigh the costs, because possible customers could be more engaged with the brand and

thus inclined to purchase an item. This merits, however, further research.

37

We hope the present study can help stimulate the effort and improve the quality of the language

question in digital communications decisions. As research on the topic of standardized and adapted

choices is increasing, language selection for online content is bound to receive more attention in the

current globalised digital world.

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39

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Daymon, C., & Holloway, I. (2010). Qualitative research methods in public relations and marketing

communications. Routledge.

De Mooij, M. (2018). Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes. SAGE

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DiCicco‐Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B. F. (2006). The qualitative research interview. Medical

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Erlingsson, C. & Brysiewicz, P. (2017). Orientation among multiple truths: An introduction to qualitative

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https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.35

Gerritsen, M., Korzilius, H., van Meurs, F. & Gijsbert, I. (2000). English in Dutch commercials: Not

understood and not appreciated. Journal of Advertising Research, 40(4), 17–31.

Grin, F. (1994). The bilingual advertising decision. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural

Development, 15(2-3), 269-292.

Guion, L. A., Diehl, D. C., & McDonald, D. (2001). Conducting an in-depth interview. University of Florida

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Hornikx, J., van Meurs, F. & de Boer, A. (2010). English or a local language in advertising. Journal of

Business Communication, 47(2), 169-188.

Kelly-Holmes, H. (2000). Bier, parfum, kaas: language fetish in European advertising. European Journal

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Mortelmans, D. (2007). Handboek kwalitatieve onderzoeksmethoden. Leuven/Den Haag: Acco.

Nederstigt, U. & Hilberink-Schulpen, B. (2018). Advertising in a Foreign Language or the Consumers'

Native Language?. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 30(1), 2-13. doi

10.1080/08961530.2017.1363008

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Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 29(2), 154-169. doi: 10.2167/jmmd564.0

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for social science students and researchers. London: SAGE.

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Warschauer, M., Said, G. R. E., & Zohry, A. G. (2002). Language choice online: Globalization and identity

in Egypt. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 7(4), JCMC744.

41

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR ESIGN INTERVIEWS

Introductie / achtergrond

1. Vertel kort eens wat meer over jezelf (Wat heb je gestudeerd? Wat was je vorige functie eventueel in een

vorig bedrijf?)

2. Je werkt momenteel bij Esign. Zou je even in een notendop kunnen uitleggen wat het bedrijf precies doet?

3. Hoelang werk je al bij Esign?

4. Wat is jouw takenpakket bij Esign?

5. Aan welke projecten werk je momenteel?

6. Kom je vaak rechtstreeks in contact met klanten?

7. Wat voor klanten zijn dat?

(Zijn het altijd Belgische klanten? Werk je met klanten die zich op internationale markten richten of op

nationale? Ben je op de hoogte van hun doelpubliek of strategie?)

Eigen taalgebruik en -niveau

1. Welke talen beheers je? Hoe schat je je niveau in?

2. Welke talen worden gebruikt bij Esign?

3. Hoe ziet het taalbeleid eruit bij Esign (intern, maar vooral naar klanten toe)?

4. Op welke manier kom je in aanraking met vreemde talen in je job? (naast het contact met klanten)

a. (Op welke manier kom je in aanraking met Engels tijdens je job?)

b. (Op welke manier kom je in aanraking met Frans tijdens je job?)

c. (Zijn er nog andere vreemde talen waarmee je in aanraking komt in je job? Op welke manier?)

Externe communicatie / taalkeuze voor eigen communicatiekanalen

1. Op welke manier ben je verantwoordelijk voor de externe communicatie van Esign?

(Dan heb ik het niet alleen over communicatie met klanten, maar ook potentiële klanten via verschillende

communicatiekanalen, zoals advertenties of de eigen website.)

2. Wie van het bureau is er nog betrokken bij de externe communicatie?

3. Welke (digitale) kanalen gebruikt Esign zelf voor de externe communicatie?

4. (Is er een verschil in taalkeuze tussen verschillende communicatiekanalen van Esign?)

5. Welke rol neemt de Esign-website in voor het aanwerven van klanten?

6. In welke taal of talen biedt Esign zijn eigen website aan? Vanwaar die keuze?

42

7. In hoeverre denk je dat dat die taalkeuze efficiënt is?

8. Welke voor- en nadelen zie je ervan in?

9. (Hoe denk je dat de taalkeuze gaat evolueren in de toekomst?)

Taalkeuze voor klanten

1. Sta je stil bij de keuze voor een bepaalde taal voor een website of webshop van een klant?

Bespreek je die keuze met de klant?

2. Wie beslist uiteindelijk in welke taal of talen een website of webshop gemaakt wordt?

3. Geef je klanten advies over welke taal ze zouden moeten gebruiken?

4. Op basis waarvan wordt die keuze gemaakt?

a. (Intern?

b. Beslist de klant zelf?

c. Is het bepaald op basis van de ROI (en hoe bereken je dat)?

d. Speelt de doelgroep (de consumenten) van de klant een rol (leeftijd, achtergrond,…) ?

e. Speelt de sector of de markt, nationaal of internationaal, een rol?

f. Is het intuïtief, omdat de ene taal beter gepercipieerd wordt dan de andere?

g. Maakt het uit waar de klant gevestigd is?

h. Speel het communicatiekanaal een rol?

i. Is taalkeuze afhankelijk van het onderwerp van de website of de producten van een bedrijf?)

5. Wat denk je dat voor klanten van Esign het verschil maakt bij de taalkeuze? Waar letten zij op bij de keuze

voor een of meerdere talen?

6. Bij wat voor klanten zou je bijvoorbeeld een zuiver Nederlandstalige website voorstellen?

Bij welke een zuiver Engelstalige?

Bij welke een meertalige combinatie?

7. Waarom heb je bijvoorbeeld voor [Alter expo, gambasathome, Maison Papillon] gekozen voor het

Nederlands?

8. Waarom heb je bijvoorbeeld voor [Copperhead, GAB, Rodania, Façon Jacmin] gekozen voor het Engels?

9. Waarom heb je voor [Belène, Jacqmotte, Blooms & Blossoms] gekozen voor een meertalige combinatie

Nederlands, Frans en/of Engels?

10. Hangt de taalkeuze af van het soort communicatiekanaal?

11. Hoe zit het voor social media?

12. (Als ze nog niet zelf over een expliciet taalbeleid begonnen zijn)

Vind je dat al deze keuzes en strategieën samen een taalbeleid vormen, al dan niet impliciet?

43

Als je die taalkeuzes of strategieën expliciet zou moeten formuleren, hoe vat je het taalbeleid voor klanten

van Esign dan samen?

Taalimago / taalperceptie

1. Hoe percipieer je een Engelstalige website in vergelijking met een Nederlandstalige?

2. Hoe percipieer je een Franstalige website in vergelijking met een Nederlandstalige?

3. Is een meertalige website een meerwaarde? Waarom?

4. Als je de keuze hebt / enkel maar budget hebt voor ofwel een Nederlandstalige ofwel een Engels-

/Franstalige website, welke zou je kiezen? Wat zou de doorslag geven voor die beslissing?

5. Is Engels voor jou een lingua franca?

6. Welk taalimago heeft een taal als Duits (of bijvoorbeeld Spaans) voor jou? (Wie kan je daar volgens jou mee

bereiken?)

7. Wat voor gevoelens roept het gebruik van een vreemde taal op op een website?

8. Bij welke producten of bedrijven kun je Nederlands het beste gebruiken?

9. Bij welke producten of bedrijven kun je het beste een vreemde taal gebruiken (en dan specifiek Engels of

Frans)?

10. Welke specifieke kwaliteiten bezit het Engels of Frans die van grote waarde zijn voor bepaalde producten of

bedrijven?

11. Is er nog iets dat je wil toevoegen?

44

APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR CLIENT INTERVIEWS

Introductie / achtergrond

1. Vertel kort eens wat meer over jezelf.

(Wat heb je gestudeerd? Wat is in een notendop je achtergrond/verloop van je carrière?)

2. Je werkt momenteel bij [bedrijf]. Zou je in een notendop kunnen uitleggen wat het bedrijf precies doet?

3. Hoeveel werknemers telt het bedrijf? (Waar zijn jullie gevestigd?)

4. Wat is jouw takenpakket bij [bedrijf]?

5. In welke sector zijn jullie actief? Op welke markt richten jullie zich? Zijn jullie B2B of B2C?

6. Wat is jullie doelgroep?

(Richt je je op internationale markten of op nationale? Ben je op de hoogte van de noden en wensen van

klanten? Is je strategie daaraan aangepast? Welke leeftijd en kenmerken heeft je doelgroep?)

7. Hoe communiceren jullie daar (voornamelijk) mee?

8. Waarom zijn jullie de samenwerking met Esign aangegaan? Hebben jullie een website of webshop of beide?

Hoe ziet de samenwerking met Esign eruit? (Waarom willen jullie een nieuwe website?)

9. Wat wil je uit die website halen?

Eigen taalgebruik en -niveau

1. Welke talen beheers je? Hoe schat je je niveau in?

2. Welke talen worden gebruikt bij [bedrijf]?

3. Hoe ziet het taalbeleid eruit bij [bedrijf] (intern, maar vooral naar klanten toe)?

4. Op welke manier kom je in aanraking met vreemde talen in je job? (naast het contact met klanten)

a. (Op welke manier kom je in aanraking met Engels tijdens je job?)

b. (Op welke manier kom je in aanraking met Frans tijdens je job?)

c. (Zijn er nog andere vreemde talen waarmee je in aanraking komt in je job? Op welke manier?)

5. In welke taal staat je browser ingesteld?

Taalkeuze voor externe communicatie & website

1. Op welke manier ben je verantwoordelijk voor de externe communicatie van [bedrijf]? Wie is er nog

verantwoordelijk voor de externe communicatie?

(Dan heb ik het niet alleen over communicatie met klanten, maar ook potentiële klanten via verschillende

communicatiekanalen, zoals advertenties of de eigen website.)

2. Welke rol neemt de website in voor het aanwerven van klanten?

3. In welke taal of talen biedt [bedrijf] de website aan? Vanwaar die keuze?

4. Sta je stil bij de keuze voor een bepaalde taal voor je website of webshop?

45

5. Bespreek je of heb je die keuze besproken met Esign? Hoe ging dat in zijn werk?

6. Wie beslist uiteindelijk in welke taal of talen de website gemaakt wordt?

7. Heeft Esign jullie advies gegeven over welke taal je zou moeten gebruiken?

8. Op basis waarvan wordt die keuze gemaakt?

a. (Intern?

b. Beslist de klant zelf?

c. Is het bepaald op basis van de ROI (en hoe bereken je dat)?

d. Speelt de doelgroep (de consumenten) van de klant een rol (leeftijd, achtergrond,…) ?

e. Speelt de sector of de markt, nationaal of internationaal, een rol?

f. Is het intuïtief, omdat de ene taal beter gepercipieerd wordt dan de andere?

g. Maakt het uit waar de klant gevestigd is?

h. Speel het communicatiekanaal een rol?

i. Is taalkeuze afhankelijk van het onderwerp van de website of de producten van een bedrijf?)

9. Waarom heb je bijvoorbeeld voor jullie website gekozen voor het [Nederlands/Frans/Engels/meertalige

combinatie]?

10. Is die taalkeuze veranderd in de loop der jaren, of met de lancering van de nieuwe website?

11. In hoeverre denk je dat dat die taalkeuze efficiënt is?

12. Heb je inzichten in hoe de verschillende talen scoren?

13. Welke voor- en nadelen zie je ervan in?

14. Hebben jullie een nieuwspagina of een pagina voor blogberichten of andere content? In welke taal zijn die

blogposts? Waarom? (Hoe meten jullie de impact van die blogpost?)

15. Welke (digitale) kanalen gebruiken jullie (naast de website) nog voor de externe communicatie?

16. Is er een verschil in taalkeuze tussen verschillende communicatiekanalen? (Hangt de taalkeuze af van het

soort communicatiekanaal?)

17. (Hoe zit het voor social media bijvoorbeeld?)

18. Wat geeft de doorslag bij de taalkeuze? Waar letten jullie op bij de keuze voor een of meerdere talen?

Taalimago / taalperceptie

1. Hoe percipieer je een Engelstalige website in vergelijking met een Nederlandstalige? Waarnaar gaat je

voorkeur?

2. Hoe percipieer je een Franstalige website in vergelijking met een Nederlandstalige? Waarnaar gaat je

voorkeur?

46

3. Is een meertalige website een meerwaarde? Waarom?

4. Als je de keuze hebt of enkel maar budget hebt voor ofwel een Nederlandstalige ofwel een Engels-

/Franstalige website, welke zou je kiezen? Wat zou de doorslag geven voor die beslissing?

5. Geldt Engels voor jouw bedrijf als een lingua franca?

6. Welk taalimago heeft een taal als Duits (of bijvoorbeeld Spaans) voor jou? (Wie kan je daar volgens jou mee

bereiken? Heb je eraan gedacht om het in een extra vreemde taal te doen? Waarom?)

7. Wat voor gevoelens roept het gebruik van een vreemde taal op een website op?

8. Bij welke producten of in welke sector kun je best een Nederlandstalige website gebruiken/in het

Nederlands communiceren?

9. Bij welke producten of in welke sector kun je het best een vreemde taal gebruiken voor de externe

communicatie (en dan specifiek Engels of Frans)?

10. Welke specifieke kwaliteiten bezit het Engels of Frans die van grote waarde zijn voor jullie producten of

diensten?

11. Is er nog iets dat je wil toevoegen?

47

APPENDIX 3: CODE BOOK EXTRACTED FROM NVIVO 12

Name

Achtergrond interviewee

Andere redenen voor taalkeuze

Extra taal geen prioriteit

Intensief om meertalig te zijn online

Moeilijkheid extra taal bij IG

Moeilijkheid shopify meertaligheid

Nadelen Belgische markt door meertaligheid

Sectorafhankelijk

SEO-meerwaarde van extra taal

Taalkeuze obv budget

Taalkeuze obv communicatiedrager

Taalkeuze obv doelgroep

Taalkeuze obv instellingen browser

Taalkeuze obv marktaandeel

Taalkeuze obv taal waarin je ze kan helpen

Contact met klanten

Doelgroep klanten

Doelstellingen website

Inschatting eigen talenkennis

Inschatting talenkennis doelgroep

Duitser kan geen EN

Duitstalig België kan EN en FR

Eigenschap Belgen om zich aan te passen

48

Name

Franstalige kan geen EN of NL

In Europa kan iedereen EN

Oudere generatie minder vertrouwd met EN

Spanjaard kan geen EN

Vlamingen spreken EN

Intern taalgebruik

Kanalen externe communicatie

Klanten aantrekken

Klanten aantrekken via adwords

Klanten aantrekken via mond aan mond reclame

Verdere klanten via expertise Shopify

Manier van vertalen

Automatische vertaling

Niet alleen vertalen, maar ook adaptatie

Website geleidelijk aan vertalen

Website lanceren in EN

Moeilijkheid meertaligheid bij content marketing

Meerwaarde content pagina

Te hoge ambitie bij keuze voor content pagina

Website in orde zetten vóór meertaligheid

Weinig content op website

Proces en beslissing taalkeuze

Advies Esign bij taalkeuze

Advies moet specifieker per sector en per online profiel

49

Name

Bespreken taalkeuze met klant

Dashboard ontwikkeld voor budgetten en zoekwoordanalyses

Klanten vragen meer advies bij webshop

Meertaligheid afraden

Beslissing taalkeuze bij klant

Snelle beslissing bij taalkeuze

Taalkeuze eerst intern besproken

Website is bijzaak voor klant

Denkproces bij taalkeuze

Bespreken FR in proces

Hoge ambitie bij keuze meerdere talen

Intuïtief taal kiezen

Kosten en baten afwegen

Tone of voice

Mogelijke oplossingen door Esign

Statistieken bekijken over talen

Taalperceptie

Soorten klanten

Taal van communicatiekanalen

Andere taalkeuze website vs sociale media

Mailing in EN

Mailing in NL

Taalkeuze sociale media

Taalkeuze EN

50

Name

EN als standaard

EN als standaardtaal is geen evidentie

EN obv commerciële doelstelling

EN voor Belgische doelgroep

EN voor EN markt

EN voor internationale doelgroepen

EN voor jonge doelgroep

EN voor Nederlanders

EN voor niches

EN voor sector in software

EN voor tone of voice

EN als je internationaal gezien wil worden

EN klinkt beter

EN voor Belgische tone of voice

EN voor EN tone of voice

EN voor Europese tone of voice

EN voor Vlaamse markt

EN voor Waalse markt

EN want schaalvoordeel

Evolutie naar meer EN

Taalkeuze FR

Belang FR bij groot FR marktaandeel

FR als je naar Brussel wil gaan

FR ambitie maar intern nog geen FR werknemers

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FR obv waar je gevestigd bent

FR want doelgroep spreekt FR

Moeilijkheden FR

Taalkeuze lokale taal

Lokale taal obv doelstelling

Commerciële doelstelling

Informatieve doelstelling

Lokale taal om lokale karakter te benadrukken

Lokale taal voor lokale klant

Betere conversie in lokale taal

NL voor lokale markten

Lokale taal voor vertrouwen

NL voor puur Vlaamse markt

NL voor traditionele doelgroep, EN voor kenners

Taalkeuze meertalig

Meertalig als je internationaal gezien wil worden

Meertalig als je wil groeien

Meertalig voor Belgische markt

Meertalig voor vertrouwen

Meertaligheid als noodzaak

Meertaligheid toont professionalisme

Nadelen meertaligheid

Onderhouden extra taal

Rekening houden met domeinnaam bij meertaligheid

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Veel budget nodig voor meertalige website

Werklast om van eentalig naar meertalig te gaan

Takenpakket interviewee

Verschil B2B en B2C

Chinees voor B2B

EN voor B2B

Zuiver EN mogelijk bij consumentenproducten

Verschil website vs webshop

Meertaligheid bij online verkoop

Meestal EN voor webshops

Taalkeuze belangrijker bij webshop

Webshops richten zich internationaal

Webshops richten zich qua talen op Vlaanderen en Wallonië

Website als middelpunt voor online communicatie

Website heeft jonger publiek dan fysieke shop

Voorstelling bedrijf

Verantwoordelijke externe communicatie

 

Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

Anke Van den Heede 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stageverslag Webbureau Esign 

   

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

 

Inhoudsopgave 

Inhoudsopgave 2 

Voorstelling van het bedrijf en motivatie 3 Gastorganisatie 3 Motivatie 5 

Inhoud van de stage 6 Copywriting 6 Vertaling 7 Online marketing 7 Verdere inzichten 9 

Bijlagen 11  

 

 

 

 

   

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

 

Voorstelling van het bedrijf en motivatie 

Gastorganisatie 

Van 25 maart tot en met 31 mei 2019 heb ik stage gelopen bij het                             

Gentse webbureau Esign. Esign is een creatief bureau dat zich inzet voor                       

het complete online verhaal van uiteenlopende klanten. Ze denken,                 

ontwerpen en bouwen websites, webshops en andere             

communicatiekanalen zoals social media pagina’s. Voor sommige             

klanten bedenken ze volledige strategieën, en schrijven ze hun                 

communicatie van begin tot eind. Vandaag de dag is online                   

communicatie onmisbaar in communicatiestrategieën van heel wat             

bedrijven. Zoals ik leerde bij Esign, creëert 75% van de gebruikers een                       

totaalbeeld van een organisatie op basis van zijn website. Dat is niet de                         

enige reden waarom een goede website tegenwoordig onmisbaar is:                 

meer dan de helft van de surfers verlaat een website na 3 seconden. 

 

Web development is dus geen katje om zonder handschoenen aan te pakken. Gelukkig heerst er een heuse                                 

hoeveelheid technische kennis in het bedrijf. Het team van Esign bestaat voornamelijk uit jonge mensen, wat                               

in de online wereld een groot pluspunt is. Het maakt het bureau flexibel, mee met de nieuwste                                 

ontwikkelingen en vol van frisse ideeën. Daar wilde ik maar al te graag deel van uitmaken. 

 

In een notendop telt Esign de profielen van: 

- managing director 

- project manager 

- web developer 

- online marketeer 

 

Naargelang de aard van het project en de vraag van een klant, onderscheidt een webbouwer 3 fases: design,                                   

development en project management. Nadat de managing director of de project manager van Esign samen                             

heeft gezeten met de klant en de mogelijkheden werden besproken, gaan de designers van Esign aan de                                 

slag. Zij zorgen voor de look en uitstraling van een website, webshop, jaarverslag, folder, logo, enzovoort.                               

Voor websites en webshops heb je verschillende expertises nodig. Die moeten nauw met elkaar                           

samenwerken. Als het webdesign voor een website of webshop voltooid is, komt de developmentfase.                           

Specialisten in front-end en back-end development bouwen de volledige structuur uit en zorgen voor de                             

navigatie en codes op de website of webshop. Het digitaal bureau heeft bovendien een eigen CMS                               

ontwikkeld, dat zeer gebruiksvriendelijk is. Maar met custom software of oplossingen op maat zijn de                             

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

developers in het bureau ook vertrouwd. Zij plannen daarnaast alle aanpassingen of toevoegingen. Dat vormt                             

de fase van onderhoud of project management. 

 

Esign is dus een bureau met expertise in webdesign, grafisch ontwerp, web development en e-commerce.                             

Van overal komen klanten voor hun jarenlange ervaring met methodes om online te verkopen. Naast het                               

bouwen van webshops en websites heeft Esign ook een tak voor online marketing. Daar probeert het bureau                                 

de laatste tijd meer op in te zetten. Voor dat doel werd een online marketeer aangenomen, waar ik als                                     

stagiaire veel van opgestoken heb. Een inhouse data-analist maakt bovendien voor elke nieuwe klant                           

analyses over zijn online verkeer en de zoekwoorden waarop ze gevonden willen worden.  

 

   

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

Motivatie 

Esign is een interessant bureau, omdat het verschillende profielen herbergt en volledig inzet op online. Dat is                                 

een boeiende sector, want volgens mij kan het online gebeuren de volgende jaren alleen maar groeien. De                                 

jeugdigheid en diversiteit van het team zorgen voor een aangename werksfeer, waar creativiteit en                           

proactiviteit geapprecieerd en aangemoedigd worden. Ook de klanten van Esign zijn heel divers - van                             

webshops voor Jacqmotte en Rodania tot de website van KAA Gent - en brengen de nodige afwisseling met                                   

zich mee. 

 

Online shops zijn apps zijn heel actueel en gaan volgens mij een mooie toekomst tegemoet. Meer en meer                                   

bedrijven vestigen zich online en willen de beste shopervaringen aanbieden. Daar kan een bureau als Esign                               

uitstekend bij helpen. Een webshop hoeft daarbij niet los te staan van je website, maar kan naadloos erin                                   

geïntegreerd worden. Maar 94% van bezoekers vertrouwt een outdated website niet. Daarom draagt Esign                           

ook veiligheid en gebruiksvriendelijkheid hoog in het vaandel. Als officiële partner van Shopify in België zijn                               

ze dan ook bij de besten in hun vak.  

 

Het merendeel van de consumenten raadpleegt zeer vaak het internet. Digitale communicatie is voor elk                             

bedrijf een must. Een goede en professionele corporate website en social media verhogen je                           

professionaliteit bij de consument, je bereik en je vindbaarheid in zoekmachines. Online communicatie is                           

vaak ook interactief en zorgt meestal snel voor resultaten, wat het een heel dankbaar gebied maakt. 

 

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

Inhoud van de stage Als stagiaire bij Esign heb ik de kans gekregen om verschillende projecten mee te volgen. Wat mij                                 

voornamelijk opgevallen is, is de gevarieerde en snel veranderende sector waarin de activiteiten van het                             

bedrijf zich afspelen. Daardoor had ik een uiteenlopend takenpakket en kon ik expertises oppikken van                             

verschillende werknemers bij het webbureau. Ik kreeg veel autonomie en vertrouwen binnen het bedrijf, maar                             

kon steeds om feedback vragen. Bij Esign namen de collega’s voldoende tijd om te briefen of bijvoorbeeld te                                   

herlezen, wat geruststellend is als stagiair. Ik probeer in dit stageverslag de taken met de meeste omvang uit                                   

te diepen, maar ik geef alvast een overzicht van mijn voornaamste verantwoordelijkheden: 

● Research voor content 

● Copywriting van blogberichten, webpagina’s, … 

● Vertalen: Nederlands, Frans, Engels, Duits 

● Marketing communicatie planning & social media monitoring 

● Aanleveren tekstmateriaal voor campagnes 

● Google AdWords beheren in Nederlands, Frans en Engels 

● Visuals aanleveren voor social 

● Invoeren content in Unleash en Shopify 

● Reviseren van tekstmateriaal in Nederlands, Frans en Engels 

 

1. Copywriting 

Allereerst behoorde copywriting tot een van mijn hoofdtaken bij het bureau. Door mijn vorige opleiding in                               

Meertalige Communicatie en door mijn stage bij het content marketing bureau The Fat Lady, was die opgave                                 

me niet onbekend. Om eerlijk te zijn, verliep het proces aanvankelijk niet zo probleemloos als gehoopt.                               

Blogberichten schrijven aan de lopende band is niet voor mij weggelegd, maar na 10 weken weet ik wel hoe                                     

de vork aan de steel zit en gaat het naar mijn gevoel bij elke tekst vlotter.  

 

In de eerste weken heb ik voornamelijk copy geschreven voor de blog van Esign. Die blogberichten gingen                                 

over marketingfenomenen, zoals kwalitatieve in plaats van kwantitatieve likes, Google My Business en UTM                           

tagging. Door erover te schrijven, heb ik daar veel over bijgeleerd, omdat ik uitgebreid research heb gedaan.                                 

Ook over cases waar Esign aan werkt, zoals een blog over de immowebsites die ze gebouwd hebben, hoorde                                   

daarbij. Bovendien mocht ik de copy voor het online marketing-gedeelte van de nieuwe Esign website                             

verzorgen en de FAQ-pagina bijschaven. Esign heeft onlangs ook een dashboard ontwikkeld, waar ze                           

transparant met klanten communiceren over budgetten en de fase waarin hun project zich bevindt. Als een                               

fase voltooid is of de klant moet een webdesign goedkeuren, krijgt die een mailtje. Ook die copy kon wel wat                                       

opfrissing gebruiken. Al die teksten waren in het Nederlands. Van collega’s bij Esign kreeg ik steeds                               

opbouwende kritiek en ging het schrijven voor elke opdracht beter. De enige opmerking die ik hierbij kan                                 

maken is dat de feedback soms wat gedurfder mocht. Door strengere beoordelingen had ik mijn werk                               

misschien naar een hoger niveau kunnen tillen, maar ik begrijp dat dat in een voorbij flitsende sector als                                   

(content) marketing niet altijd even vanzelfsprekend is. 

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

 

Daarnaast heb ik Nederlandstalig tekstmateriaal voor klanten geschreven in de vorm van blogberichten, copy                           

voor webpagina’s of volledige websites, of copy voor campagnes voor evenementen. Klanten waren                         

bijvoorbeeld Watchoutlet, Labo Ecca, Rodania en Vandenbroucke Window Solutions: heel verscheidene                     

profielen en vakgebieden, wat voor een leuke afwisseling zorgt bij het schrijven. Voor Rodania waren dat                               

enkele Engelstalige blogberichten. Find Your Match is een nieuwe website die tijdens mijn stageperiode                           

gelanceerd werd en waarvoor ik alle copy heb opgeleverd. Daarvoor kon ik nauw samenwerken met de front                                 

end developer en het proces van web development en de samenwerking binnen het bedrijf aan de levende                                 

lijve ondervinden. 

 

2. Vertaling 

Voor het bureau was het een grote meerwaarde dat ik naast het Nederlands 3 vreemde talen beheers. Die                                   

talen zijn Frans, Duits en Engels. In meertalig België is dat natuurlijk een enorm pluspunt. Meertaligheid                               

kwam tijdens mijn stageperiode meermaals aan bod. Voor klanten als Belfond, Portima, Watchoutlet,                         

TopRope, Isabelle Laurier en Immo Eecke heb ik de site naar Engels, Frans en/of Duits vertaald. Normaal                                 

gezien werkt Esign of de opdrachtgever met een vertaalbureau, maar voor last-minute vertalingen kan je                             

flexibeler tewerk gaan met een in-house vertaler. Of het nu gaat over posts op social media in een andere                                     

taal zoals het Engels of een nieuwe pagina voor een wedstrijd in het Frans, er zit veel afwisseling in het                                       

klantenportfolio van Esign. Kleine vertalingen van enkele zinnen voor klanten kon ik op mij nemen, wat het                                 

proces voor Esign en de klant uiteraard versnelt.  

 

Watchoutlet is een webshop voor outlet horloges van het merk Rodania. Voor hen heb ik de volledige online                                   

shop voorzien van beschrijvingen bij de producten en zowel de webpagina’s als de webshop vertaald naar                               

het Frans. De data analist bij Esign bekijkt de statistieken van het online verkeer af en toe, maar kan niet de                                         

vinger leggen op waarom mensen afhaken net voor een aankoop. Na brainstorming werd beslist om de site                                 

door de automatische tool WeGlot te vertalen. Dat leverde weinig resultaten op. Door mijn taalachtergrond                             

was ik meteen geboeid door de combinatie van de talige context gecombineerd met het marketingaspect.                             

Die probleemstelling was dan ook gedeeltelijk de aanzet voor mijn onderzoek in het kader van mijn thesis.  

 

3. Online marketing 

Esign zet voor bedrijven een strategie op poten om hun sterktes de hoogte in te krijgen. Daarbij kan online                                     

marketing tegenwoordig uiteraard niet ontbreken. Online marketing wordt stilaan een steevast fenomeen in                         

de digitale wereld. Daarom zet Esign er meer en meer op in. De werknemers van het webbureau zijn kinderen                                     

van hun tijd en zoals het hoort, zetten ze daarom vol in op online belevenissen. Want als je online gaat, kan je                                           

in principe iedereen met een smartphone bereiken. 

 

Op basis van hun online aanwezigheid beslissen bezoekers of ze met een bedrijf in zee gaan of niet. Daar                                     

horen een website en webshop bij, maar vandaag zeker ook social media. Daarom is een bureau als Esign in                                     

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

dit verhaal onmisbaar. Hun missie is simpel: een merk over de eindstreep brengen, en nog veel verder. Met                                   

resultaatgerichte copy op alle online pagina’s proberen ze meer conversie te bereiken, in welke vorm de klant                                 

ook wil.  

 

De afdeling online marketing van Esign is nog vrij pril, maar dat betekent dat er veel ruimte is om te groeien.                                         

Een ervaren marketeer leerde me verschillende marketingtechnieken. Ze stond me onder meer bij in het                             

opzetten van campagnes en gaf me een introductie in enkele marketingtools. Ook mijn stagebegeleider -                             

hoewel van opleiding front end developer - kan goed overweg met sociale netwerken en handige applicaties                               

die het werk verlichten of efficiënter maken. Ik stond in voor de social media monitoring van verschillende                                 

bedrijven en leerde onder andere dat Digital Purposes voor hashtags op Instagram handig is om inspiratie op                                 

te doen. Ik maakte een LinkedIn-pagina voor TopRope en creëerde een account van GoogleMyBusiness voor                             

hen (waar ik ook een blogbericht over schreef). Ik leerde werken met extensies van Chrome voor posten en                                   

reposten op Instagram. Dagelijks moest ik met het platform Buffer werken. Op Buffer kan je in één klap op                                     

alle je sociale kanalen eenzelfde of een licht aangepaste versie van een bericht plaatsen.  

 Het platform Buffer maakt dagelijks posten eenvoudiger. 

 

Op het platform Buffer kan je niet alleen direct posten, maar ook je visuals en content inplannen of als                                     

kladversie opslaan. Zo kan je er nog aanpassingen aan doen en hoef je niet stand-by te zijn de social media                                       

van elke klant. Doe je er een paar in één dag, dan ben je even zoet. Voor heel veel verschillende klanten stond                                           

ik in voor de content- en marketingcommunicatieplanning. Het gaat over Rodania, Nona Jewels, MoMe                           

(voormalig Choc-O-Lait), Vandenbroucke Window Solutions en Isabelle Laurier en gambasathome. Als Esign                       

de marketingcommunicatie voor een bedrijf overneemt, betekent dat de sociale media onderhouden op basis                           

van de wensen en soms ook input van de klant. Die berichten waren voor de helft Nederlandstalig, voor de                                     

helft Engelstalig, waardoor niet alleen mijn commerciële schrijfstijl heb kunnen verbeteren maar ook mijn                           

Engelstalige woordenschat.  

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

 

Bij mijn takenpakket behoorde ook het creëren van eenmalige content voor organische posts, zoals                           

bijvoorbeeld voor de Facebookpagina van het accountingbureau Silverfin toen zij een evenement in twee                           

fases wilden introduceren. Maar ook enkele advertenties in het platform Google AdWords mocht ik op mij                               

nemen. Zoals ik al eerder heb vermeld, engageert Esign zich steeds meer om online marketing van huidige                                 

en nieuwe klanten op te zetten. Voor MakeUpDesignory mocht ik me wagen aan een voor mij onbekend                                 

terrein.  

 

Google AdWords is een advertentieplatform waarmee je advertenties kan laten verschijnen als je doelgroep                           

bepaalde zoekopdrachten ingeeft in Google. Ook als ze jouw pagina bekeken hebben, kan je ervoor zorgen                               

dat ze online een advertentie te zien krijgen van jouw merk. In de meeste gevallen ben je niet de enige vis in                                           

de vijver en daarom wordt er door Google een soort van virtuele veiling gedaan. Je kan met andere woorden                                     

een budget inzetten op bepaald zoekwoorden zodat je hopelijk bovenaan in de zoekresultaten terecht komt                             

bij relevante webgebruikers. Je moet Google Ad Groups creëren met informatie over je strategie en                             

objectieven, en daaraan enkele advertenties toevoegen. Voor MakeUpDesignory heb ik dat in het Nederlands,                           

Frans en Engels mogen opzetten, omdat ze een nieuw aanbod in Brussel hebben en daar dus ook willen                                   

targeten. Een eerste stap is de research naar mogelijke zoekwoorden in meerdere talen in de Google                               

Keyword Planner en op de site KWFinder. Eens je daarvan een lijst hebt, voeg je de woorden toe in je Google                                         

Ad Group en kan je dus op elk woord een gepast bedrag bieden. Daarna zet je meerdere advertenties op.                                     

Idealiter maak je er meer dan één, omdat Google dan de best scorende optie laat zien aan je doelpubliek. Ad                                       

Extensions toevoegen en de cijfers opvolgen met Google Analytics maken het plaatje compleet. Nadat ik met                               

de nieuwe technieken bekend was, gingen we een stapje verder door met Google Ads Editor te werken, een                                   

programma dat het werk enigszins verlicht, maar niet onmiddellijk overzichtelijk is als je onbekend bent met                               

online marketing. Naast MakeUpDesignory deed ik dit ook voor Jeune Premier in het Frans en Engels en voor                                   

Watchoutlet in het Frans. 

 

4. Verdere inzichten 

Behalve opdrachten als copywriting, vertalingen en online marketing, kwamen nog verdere                     

verantwoordelijkheden op mijn pad. Omdat ik de content planning en blogberichten van Rodania en Nona                             

Jewels op mij nam, leek het Esign wel leuk dat ik kon meewerken aan de visuals voor de social media. De                                         

merken hebben horloges en juwelen en samen met de fotograaf-designer en de online marketeer bedachten                             

we leuke settings voor het fotograferen van de producten. Zelf mocht ik - of beter gezegd mijn polsen en                                     

oren - ook als ‘model’ staan voor de horloges en juwelen. Ook voor Vandenbroucke Window Solutions en                                 

gambasathome kreeg ik carte blanche en kon ik beroep doen op het programma Canva om de visuals wat op                                     

te fleuren of van tekst te voorzien. Voor sommige posts worden stockfoto’s gebruikt, en het was nu en dan                                     

een hele klus om visuals te vinden die de juiste tone of voice van de klant weergeven. 

 

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

Als kenner in webdesign en e-commerce heeft Esign een eigen CMS ontwikkeld, Unleash. Een content                             

management systeem (CMS) is een softwaretoepassing waarin je eenvoudig zelf de inhoud van je website                             

kan beheren, zonder dat er programmeerkennis nodig is. Dat systeem bieden ze aan de klanten aan, en daar                                   

heb ik zelf ook rechtstreeks in mogen werken. Als een website in een andere taal gezet moest worden, dan                                     

hing een front end developer in Unleash er een optie Engels, Frans en/of Duits aan vast en dan kon ik aan de                                           

slag. 

 

Webshops en applicaties worden meestal gemaakt aan de hand van Shopify, een e-commerce programma                           

waar wel wat technische kennis voor vereist is. Voor Watchoutlet en Rodania schreef ik de                             

productbeschrijvingen en blogberichten meteen in Shopify. Je kan ook een automatische vertaaltool aan                         

Shopify toevoegen, namelijk WeGlot. Die vertalingen kan je dan reviseren en aanpassen. 

 

 

   

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

Bijlagen: voorbeelden 1. Social media content en visuals voor Rodania: 

 

   

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

2. Blogbericht voor Esign website: 

 

WAAROM JE GOOGLE MY BUSINESS MOET GEBRUIKEN: EEN HANDLEIDING 

10 APRIL 2019 

Meer dan 20 jaar geleden zetten Sergey Bin en Larry Page de wereld op zijn kop. Ze richtten Google op, 

inmiddels een gigant in de digitale wereld. Google Maps, Google Streetview, Google Mail of gewoon al 

Google Zoeken doen waarschijnlijk een belletje rinkelen. Maar heb je ooit al van Google My Business 

gehoord? De gouden gids van Google bestaat al sinds 2014, maar geniet nog te weinig naamsbekendheid 

onder bedrijven. Als het aan ons ligt, mag daar verandering in komen. 

 

WAT IS GOOGLE MY BUSINESS?  

Vandaag vinden je klanten je bedrijf vaak via Google. Veel van die informatie in de zoekresultaten heb je niet 

onder controle. Alleen je Google My Business wél. Met de tool kunnen ondernemingen gegevens invoeren 

zodat ze op Google worden weergegeven. Als je bijvoorbeeld een bedrijf op Google zoekt, krijg je in de 

rechterkolom een bedrijfsprofiel. Heel zichtbaar verschijnt een overzicht met openingstijden, 

contactinformatie, updates en foto’s. Dat overzicht is verbonden met Google Maps, zodat je zelfs een directe 

link krijgt naar de routebeschrijving.  

Veel ondernemingen maken nu nog geen optimaal gebruik van die opties. Het is nochtans van groot belang 

voor je vindbaarheid. Naast bedrijfsgegevens kan je ook berichten plaatsen. En zoals het een tool van Google 

betaamt, krijg je direct inzicht in wat je bezoekers doen. Google My Business toont je waar ze vandaan 

komen, wat ze gezocht hebben en op welk apparaat, waarop ze klikken, welke foto’s het meeste aandacht 

krijgen… Je bedrijfsprofiel wordt daarnaast ook weergegeven als mensen naar vergelijkbare bedrijven 

zoeken. 

Maar er is meer. Klanten kunnen bijvoorbeeld reviews toevoegen. Als bedrijf kan je daar meteen op reageren 

en met hen communiceren. Google My Business heeft ook een booking button. Mensen die je zoeken via 

Google, kunnen dan direct doorklikken om een afspraak te maken. Je kan bovendien afwijkende 

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

openingsuren toevoegen. Is je bedrijf eens gesloten op een feestdag? Dan kan je dat eenvoudig aanpassen. 

Dit kan zowel via je browser als via de handige app van Google My Business.  

 

 

HOE OPTIMALISEER JE JE ONLINE AANWEZIGHEID?  

Wij geven enkele tips om je bedrijfsprofiel ten volle te benutten:  

● Voeg foto’s van je winkel of bedrijf toe  

● Geef je openingsuren aan, zodat mensen weten wanneer ze je kunnen bereiken  

● Deel je exacte bedrijfslocatie op een Google Map 

● Voeg een bedrijfscategorie toe, zodat mensen ook jouw bedrijf vinden als ze naar die categorie 

zoeken 

● Voeg een telefoonnummer en website-URL toe 

● Hou je bedrijfsprofiel up-to-date en je fans op de hoogte  

● Reageer op reviews, of ze nu positief of negatief zijn 

WAAROM ZET JE HET IN? 

Google My Business is een aanvulling op je bestaande website. Je maakt je bedrijf meer zichtbaar op 

Google. Je bedrijfsgegevens beheren kan vanuit één dashboard. Vooral voor kleinere ondernemingen kan het 

veel betekenen.  

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

● Het is eenvoudig en gratis 

● Belangrijke gegevens zijn op één locatie verzameld 

● In een paar klikken pas je gegevens aan, zodat ze correct en up-to-date zijn 

● Je onderneming valt beter op omdat hij rechtsboven in de resultatenpagina’s verschijnt 

● Je beslist zelf welke informatie je potentiële klant te zien krijgt 

● Bezoekers zien onmiddellijk een volledig en up-to-date profiel 

● Een klant die jouw bedrijfsnaam zoekt, kan rechtstreeks bellen of navigeren naar je website 

● Om aandacht te trekken kan je zelf foto’s toevoegen 

● Je bereikt niet alleen volgers, maar alle mensen die je bedrijf in Google intypen 

● Je kan klanten zelfs een kijkje laten nemen binnen je bedrijf met Business View 

 

Zoek eens je eigen bedrijfsnaam in Google. Zie je geen bedrijfsvermelding verschijnen, dan weet je nu wat je 

te doen staat. 

 

   

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

3. Google Ads voor MakeUpDesignory: 

 

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

4. Vertaling naar Frans, Engels en Duits voor website Belfond: 

 

 

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Anke Van den Heede Meertalige Bedrijfscommunicatie 

 

 

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