Benedetti uses Google statistics to track visitors. In the 30 days prior to the site's launch, the largest group of site users was from the U.S., she said, but a sizeable group of visitors also came from Germany and Iraq.

"We're seeing more and more visitors from Iraq, though it's been challenging to figure out how well our message is reaching them," Benedetti said. The credit union advertises in Stars and Stripes, which is distributed in established war zone camps. The military also provides Internet cafes with free online access for soldiers whenever possible, she said, which is probably how members stationed in Iraq are accessing the site.

Service's dual web presence also allows the credit union to speak the language of each group. They keep the two groups' different rate structures separate. Early Payday Checking is available to any member if their payday funds arrive electronically before the employer's physical payday. This qualifier is carefully explained on the civilian site, but is unnecessary for military members, because Service knows the Department of Defense always transfers funds a few days early.

The site goes even further in its attempt to speak to members in their own language: both sites can be converted to English, Spanish, or German with one easy click, and visitors can toggle back and forth if they wish.

"With the increasing diversity in the military, we wanted to not only communicate with soldiers in the language they feel most comfortable, but also communicate with their spouses and family members," Benedetti said.

The credit union uses a three-prong approach to manage translation. Web site software automatically translates pages then is passed to an outside translation company for further refining. Internal staff gives final approval, paying close attention to marketing and branding translations. The initial translation for the new site cost about $25,000, or around $12,500 per new language, Benedetti said. Translation for additional pages will be handled by one of two marketing employees exclusively devoted to e-commerce duties.

"Pages are loaded into an XLIFF file, sent to our translation company or on-staff translators, corrected, and then simply imported back into the Web site," said Sharon Utley, e-commerce specialist and Web site designer.

Benedetti was unable to put an exact price tag on the site, because it is part of a larger e-commerce initiative, which included budgeting for additional staff. However, she said it was less than people probably think, "not hundreds of thousands of dollars or anything like that."

The new site doesn't just look and read differently, it operates more efficiently, too. Service simplified its online loan applications and added instant online loan approval for consumer and mortgage products.

Adding experienced e-commerce employees to the marketing team has allowed Service to take greater control of the site, making most updates and changes in-house. The e-commerce staff trained other Service employees to author updates themselves; for example, a human resources manager can upload a new available position, or an employee in Germany can post the day's dollar-to-euro conversion rate. Employees with Web access are granted different levels of authorization. Like in blog management, e-commerce employees serve as administrators, approving most entries before they're posted.

Benedetti said her staff still needs to further develop ways to communicate with military retirees, who aren't enlisted military, but don't think of themselves as civilian, either. Contractors are also a challenge, she said, but important because military contractor numbers continue to grow.

Both groups are currently routed to the military site, but will be closely monitored to make sure the military marketing message connects.

–[email protected]