Many companies preparing to enter the global market first tackle translation. They change languages, adjust pricing, and localize payment methods. However, the real cause of failure often lies before that. This is because localization efforts begin without understanding customers. Global customer research isn't about listing country-specific differences, but rather understanding the criteria customers use to make decisions in each market.

The essence of global customer research isn't culture, but decision-making structure.

Global research often ends with explaining cultural differences. However, in practice, what matters more than cultural characteristics is the structural factors that drive purchases, defections, and inquiries. Even for the same product, price is the deciding factor in some markets, trust in others, and ease of use in others. The key to global research is to understand these differences not through sensations but through structures.

Four Insights We Repeat in Our Global Customer Research

Many companies misunderstand global research as simply "finding differences." However, research that truly delivers results simultaneously uncovers commonalities and points of variation, rather than differences. Customers in all markets ultimately ask similar questions, but the timing and interpretation of those questions differ. Failure to understand this structure will inevitably lead to fragmented global strategies.

1. Customers can be categorized by their "risk awareness level."

Comparing the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, while consumption patterns differ, one thing is common: customers always first assess the risks involved in this choice. However, the nature of these risks differs. Some markets prioritize financial losses, others quality issues, and others social reputation. Global research should begin with categorizing risk perception types, not country classifications.

2. Even for the same question, the 'type of answer' desired by customers varies.

Analyzing global customer interviews reveals that the same questions are repeated. However, expectations for answers differ. Customers in some markets want concise, clear conclusions, while others demand sufficient background information. This difference isn't a matter of content length, but rather a difference in how trust is built. Global customer research reveals not just what to say, but how to say it to build trust.

3. The purchase decision point varies by market.

In some markets, customers make decisions on the details page, in others, they hesitate in the shopping cart, and in others, they hesitate until just before checkout. Understanding this point through global research shifts the focus of UX design. Information placement, message emphasis, and the role of CTAs should all be tailored to the decision-making process.

4. CS data is the most honest global research source.

Customer service logs provide more accurate global research data than surveys. By examining recurring inquiries, claim types by country, and the timing of inquiries, you can clearly identify the anxieties of each market. Global customer research yields greater insights by structuring existing questions rather than generating new data.

How Global Customer Research Leads to UX and Content Strategy

Research loses its meaning when it ends in a report. Global customer research must be leveraged for content and UX design. It should be connected to everything from which questions should be addressed first in search content, which information should be placed first on detail pages, and which rationales should be re-presented in shopping carts. The key here is not to create different UIs for each country, but to design only the points where the decision logic differs.