Whether it’s micro SaaS or other digital products, this is an important issue. There are challenges to creating global products. In this section, I discuss these challenges and the topic of cross-border product development.
If your native language is English, it’s not too difficult for you. However, for those whose native language isn’t English, it can sometimes be very difficult to convey the message.
Even though I say there aren’t many difficulties, that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Language Differences
Consider English. There are many varieties of English. For example, US and UK English have different cultures. The way some words are used and expressed can also vary. For example, “color” and “colour”. Both mean the same thing but are expressed differently in different cultures.
Beyond language, the local people’s language also influences this. My native languages are Turkish and English, and I write very formally because that’s how I learned to write. Because that’s how they taught us in school.
However, people can write the word “you” as “u“. Or they can express it differently. Like writing “4” for the word “for.” Another example is that we use a lot of metaphors in Turkish. The bad part is that we struggle to translate this into other languages. Because we can’t express the message well.
Such as, we have the expression “kafa patlatmak (to crack your head)” This essentially means to work very hard. But when you explain it to people who don’t know this, it confuses them.
It’s also worth mentioning brand perception and pronunciation. In Turkish, “Getir” is a very nice name. It means “come.” So it brings the product to your home. It’s a wonderful name. But in French, this name apparently creates pronunciation difficulties.
Similarly, I tried creating a global product with the letter “ş” (Girişimzel). But no one understood what it meant. Even if they liked the site, they couldn’t type it. Because their keyboards don’t have the letter “ş“. 🤷♂️
Technologies That Vary Depending on Language
When I added Asian language options for one of my products, I noticed that the URL structure had changed. The system ran it in a two-digit format. Instead of “site.com/hello-again”, it was displaying things like “site.com/hh-12-4d-z3-4f”. Only the alphabet had changed, and a problem had arisen. Because I knew nothing about that alphabet.
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Cross-Cultural Perception and Sensitivities
The way people perceive life is also changing globally.
To illustrate, in NotionPlus, I add a button and an informational text for lifetime. People living in the East, in countries such as China, Türkiye (Turkey), and Japan, don’t have a problem when they see the lifetime button after purchasing the lifetime pack. Because they know they have purchased it.
It’s as if there is a standard button there, and it stays there permanently. They understand that it stays there. They think, “If I paid for it, it should work”. However, it’s not the same for people living in the West, for example, in sales from the UK or the US! 🔔 Alarm bells are literally ringing. 😂
“I bought it for life, but it didn’t work”, says. But it does work. There’s just a warning there. A standard warning. Because I didn’t remove that warning, people think they didn’t buy it or that it doesn’t work. How interesting, isn’t it? I have to tell people raised in Western culture, “Yes, you bought it”. 😂 Otherwise, they don’t understand.
Actually, Türkiye is a synthesis of both East and West. For us, traffic signs ⛔ are fixed, and when we follow them, we don’t need to remove the sign. 😂 But people in the West react as if the sign needs to be removed when they follow it. 😂
Cultural sensitivities can also add to the overall difficulty. For example, Türkiye has no official religion. It is not a Muslim country. The majority are Muslim, but there is no official religion. You can practice any religion you want. In our country, some people sacrifice cows during Eid al-Adha. But when I mention sacrificing cows in a global product, I end up offending my Indian users. 🤷♂️ That’s why localization is so important! That’s why making a global product is so difficult.
It’s risky! Care must be taken! For example, I heard that Google doesn’t include wars in its doodles. Because wars have winners as well as losers. It may seem good from a global perspective, but bad from a local perspective.
Law Systems for Global Products
Of course, laws and payment systems also vary. A law in one country can cause problems in another. For example, the age of majority is “18” in some countries and “21” in others.
Technical infrastructures also differ. For example, when I want to have a payment system in Türkiye, I have to go through many procedures to get it from a company. However, having the same payment system with LemonSqueezy is much easier.
Another example is that there is a feature called 3D security for payments in Türkiye. It’s a great feature! Unfortunately, this feature does not exist abroad (according to Türkiye)! When I make a payment, I receive an SMS verification. Do you know why this is good? You don’t have to deal with malicious people. You don’t lose all your savings overnight. However, the world lags behind Türkiye in terms of payment technologies.
Payment System Issues and Opportunities in Türkiye
Taxes, invoicing, and other regulations can also be a pain. The whole world uses Gumroad, PayPal, and Stripe. But not all of them exist in Türkiye! 🤦♂️ Because in Türkiye, you have to establish a company to do business. That’s not the problem. The problem is that the country makes frequent decisions. Most companies struggle to comply with these decisions.
When the big players leave, the small ones never come. But dear founders, there is huge potential in Türkiye. No one is building a properly functioning payment infrastructure. There is no payment infrastructure in Türkiye that meets global standards!
If you believe you have significant legal power or think you can get investment, you will achieve tremendous growth by establishing a payment infrastructure covering countries like Türkiye! The country is currently extremely hungry for this. Not hungry! I mean extremely, even very hungry!
For example, I wanted to add my website to the country’s popular payment system. I’ve been in the process for a week and a half. They keep saying this will happen, that will happen, and make me do everything. Another example, they even asked me for a wet signature when I wanted to delete my account from one domain company. 🤦♂️ None of the other domain sites do that. Only they want it. They’re very strange. 🤷♂️
What does this mean? Where there’s a problem, there’s a need. Where there’s a need, there’s money. The bigger the problem, the more money there is. 🤑
I offer consulting services for those who want to expand into Türkiye. You can reach me at ugur@microsaas.art.
Customer Support Issues
Customer support can also be a headache for a global product. The biggest reason for this is that the world is global. The time in your country is not the same as the time on the other side of the world. While you are sleeping, they have to wait for hours for you. They may think you are useless because you respond late. But tell them, “The world is spherical, dude! 😂 They won’t understand”.
Getting back to our topic, the spherical nature of the world and time differences can also cause difficulties in design. For example, I received feedback that the time on the product was wrong. Since my website is based in Türkiye, when I display the time using PHP, it displays the hosting time, i.e., Turkish time. That’s why I had to write part of the system in Javascript. Because JS is client-based, it displays the browser’s time, i.e., the person’s time.
Happy End
In conclusion, even though the global product seems very simple, it can present some very frustrating issues in minor areas. Care must be taken.