설득 커뮤니케이션 관점에서 본 중소기업 영문 웹사이트의 개선방안

Abstract

In an export-driven economy like Korea, small and medium sized Korean enterprises (SMEs) target overseas buyers; therefore, they often operate English-language websites to promote products and services. Assuming that the purpose of these websites is to create positive impression about the companies and their products, this paper compares 10 English websites of the Korean SMEs with 10 of the U.S. SMEs to understand how differently each group use the websites for the promotional purpose and how Korean SMEs’ English websites can be improved to be more effective. The analysis is conducted on the use of verbs, adjectives, and adverb in each website, and the result shows that the U.S. SMEs use more of them than Korean companies do. Also U.S. websites show significantly bigger diversity in words than their Korean counterparts. More importantly, U.S. companies present their products with more focus on value rather than reputation. If a company's website is created to persuade customers the values of the company and its products, it has to be more attractive and appealing to customers. Therefore, effective use of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs as shown in the U.S. SMEs' websites would help Korean companies to achieve that aim.