TUCSON, Ariz. — The Phoenix Forum panel "Championing International Markets: An International Perspective" focused on how American webmasters and visitors doing business in the U.S. can take advantage of the current economy, the weak dollar and opportunities overseas.
Panelists included Jerry Halford, CEO of AVN Europe; Stefan Geisler, owner of AmazingContent.com; Mickey Bojcsik, program director of Adult Webmaster Empire; Jake Powers, vice president of e-commerce for CCBill; and Joe Devlin of WebBilling.
With CCBill processing increasing numbers of European transactions and international business growing each year, Devlin said, having billing mechanisms beyond those for credit cards is key in capitalizing on thriving international markets.
"Credit-card penetration is very high in North America, and the U.K. is decent, but it worsens the further you travel into Europe," Powers said. "Catering to and understanding these markets is key."
Powers also said speaking the same language is important, especially maintaining the language for billing mechanisms.
Powers also stressed the opportunity presented by the weak U.S. dollar. He said companies should be aware that each month in Europe, they get a discount.
"They didn't ask for it, and they really don't appreciate it," he said. "Like, for instance, we sell them this $1 bottle of water. Why should we charge them 50 cents because the dollar is weak? You can take that weak dollar and leverage it to actually realize more profit in the process. You have to look at the conditions and actually find a way to exploit the opportunities that exist with the weak dollar.
"Everyone should pay attention to this because there is a lot of money to be made in increased sign-ups and increased revenue from these sign-ups."
Bojcsik said opportunities related to the weak U.S. dollar also exist in Latin America.
"It's a big market, and you also need to keep in mind that only 9 percent of the world's population speaks English," he said.
The panelists also discussed the obstacles presented by how different countries deal with content.
"Germany is one of the biggest countries, with 8 billion people," Geisler said. "It is very difficult to view online porn there, however. It is easy to go buy a DVD down the street, but to view porn online, you have to go through many procedures that prove that you are of age."
To sell porn to Germans, Geisler said, translate it into German.
Geisler also said amateur content featuring girl-next-door types is popular in Germany, while glamour is not. He said Scandinavians treasure American content.
The panel also discussed billing and how to increase transactions in Europe.
"First, identifying markets you want to target is important, while looking at infrastructure, culture, language, currency pricing and billing methods for each of those regions," Devlin said. "What we call ‘alternative billing' in the U.S. is not so alternative in Europe, but more of a primary billing mechanism. You look at direct method, direct pay, regional pricing."
Devlin recommended employing people within the target country if possible.
Responding to an attendee who asked whether tapping into markets outside the U.S. required too much effort, Halford said that if you follow the flow of credit-card companies, you follow the flow of business patterns. He urged others to acknowledge the importance of providing easy access to payment processes.
The panelists also discussed opportunities such as the large untapped market of Japan, where much of the porn is locally filtered.
Powers advised attendees to tap into the Japanese market after doing some research. He said charge-backs are nonexistent in Japan.
Bojcsik discussed the importance of billing and recommended creating customized billing pages and showing the direct-deposit direction as clearly as possible.
The panelists agreed that direct billing is the way to go, as it is the primary way of signing up because people are using their credit cards less, fearing identity theft or being caught by their spouses.
