When going global, no stone should be left unturned. One important aspect in the internationalization process is translating your marketing strategy to make sure that your message resonates with your target audience. This translation of content and to make it culturally engaging is integral in building a successful presence in a new market for three key reasons.
Language Affects Consumer Purchasing Decisions
Common Sense Advisory reported that 60% of consumers in non-English speaking countries won’t buy products online from English-only websites – even if they are fully competent in the language. The study went further and found that while a lot of the participants spend most of their time on English only sites, when it comes to online purchasing, they prefer to complete transactions in their own language. Providing content in the users’ native language greatly improves their level of trust, and therefore localized websites have the upper hand.
Internationalization Gives You a Competitive Advantage
Converting an overall brand voice into a new market is crucial not only in building initial success in a new market, but also in staying ahead of the curve. Failure to translate and adapt when globalizing will result in being left behind by the competition and a loss of potential market share.
Localizing Improves Native Brand Experience
A huge aspect in achieving global marketing success is making your product as relatable as possible to your buyers without losing the company’s core brand. In order to connect with the target audience on a personal level, just translating each word is not enough; the brand must be localized.
When undertaking a global marketing campaign, understanding the differences between localization and translation is key. Although translation plays a big role in introducing your product to the world, localizing goes beyond just language and is more than just translation. Understanding the behaviours, values, and nuances of a particular culture and adapting your marketing efforts accordingly is an important part of reaching a broader audience. Images, color selections, slogans, and even payment options can make a tremendous difference to how international clients perceive your products. Luckily, here at CSOFT, through the use of in-country subject experts and professional native translators, we help to provide the knowledge and expertise required to localize effectively across a wide number of industries.