The Internet is global. Your market could be as well. There is that old story about a shoe manufacturer sending two salespeople to Africa to test the market. One came back and said, “It’s useless, nobody wears shoes there”. The other salesman came back and said “Its great! – nobody wears shoes there!”
The most important thing about UX and the global market is statistics. You need to analyze your market and the way your site is used. Seven billion customers are out there. My son was born on the same day the seventh billionth child was born, on November 2, 2011.
I have worked for the World Trade Centers Association, an organization with 330 members in over 100 countries. One of the assignments was to develop a global community website – a business Facebook – that would serve all these members, and their members. Besides the obvious language barriers, other aspects came into play like cultural hierarchies and even time differences.
Do you have experience with UX and the global market? I’d love to hear about it!