Globe Trotting

When sending direct mail overseas, don't let your messageget lost in theshuffle.

If your direct-mail audience includes a continental contingent,you might wantto heed these global warnings:

1. Plan ahead. Don't do a European mailing in Augustwhen the entirecontinent is on holiday in southern Spain. And makesure your mailing doesn'tcoincide with any national holidays orreligious observances. Of course, beforeyou blanket the entireregion, you might want to send out a smaller mailingfirst to gaugethe potential response rate.

2. Be a polite American. When it comes to salutations,always take intoaccount any appropriate cultural conventions.

3. Be postal perfect. Rules change constantly, so youshould check withthe international representative at your localpost office to avoid anycountry-specific problems. Also, don'tever send anything without a ZIP code,known abroad as a"postal" code.

4. Learn the language. If your mailing calls for atranslation, makesure you use a native speaker to avoid anyembarrassing gaffes in your copy. Ifyou can, also print the addresslabel in the characters of the local language.

5. Legal issues. Be aware that privacy issues and dataprotectionregulations are more strictly enforced in Europe.

6. Make response easy. Too often, U.S. entrepreneurs makeit difficultfor foreign customers to respond. Short of amultilingual staff, allowingcustomers to use credit cards (Visa,MasterCard or American Express) resolvesmost language barrier andcurrency conversion issues.