Beyond Translation Businesses Should Adopt Localization Strategies
With escalating competition in the market, businesses these days have more reasons to expand and explore new markets globally to stay relevant. To maintain economic stability, diversification of the revenue streams has become imperative and in the digital era and reaching out to diverse customers has been made simple. However, to set up a foreign wing and build business dominance in a foreign land requires connecting with the prospective customers in the target area. Businesses often seek assistance from translation services to communicate with the locale, but more than Foreign Language Translation need to have clear and effective localization strategies.
Business localization
In simple terms, localization is adopting strategies to interact with a new target market in a new location and making the new customers understand and access products and services. It is more likely for a customer to purchase a product if information regarding it is given in his/her local language. However, localization goes beyond just translation into another language. Effective localization strategies focus on marketing products in a foreign land with a proper understanding of the culture, attitude and habits of the target customers.
To globalize businesses should have a clear plan on how to interact with the customers, and present the products to them according to their demands. The core objective of localization is to enable seamless interaction between the customers and the brand and making the customer accept the foreign brand as one from their hometown.
Localization vs. translation
Translation is one strategy a business can adapt to localize. It is the process to interpret the source language and changing it to the target language. However, just translating content from one language to another might cause errors and cultural faux pas. Also, the essence of the message in the source language might somehow get lost during translation as the translation does not consider cultural differences.
Localization, on the other hand, is a broader content and involves strategies to better connect with the target audience by adapting to the differences in culture, search marketing practices, and legal requirements between the two markets. In content localization, content is created specifically for the local market with the help of local consultants. The customized messages are created considering even the simplest aspects like font and color, content layout, visuals, currencies and measurement units, laws and regulations, marketing practices, etc.
Benefits of localization
• Overcoming cultural barrier
To successfully establish a business in a foreign land companies require adjusting their marketing message and product name in accordance with the local culture. Content localization strategies overcome that challenge and create content that the local customers will feel it has been made especially for them.
• Boosts sales
It is undeniable that consumers are more likely to purchase products that feel more domestic to them and information about which are available in their native language. Localization strategies not only cater to that need but also customize the content according to the geographic location. Localized content boosts the sales of products by bridging the overall cultural gap in line with the marketing practices and preferences of the diverse audience.
• Brand loyalty
With contents being customized as per the preferences of the local consumers, a brand builds its trust in the market and customers are more likely to stay loyal to the brand.
• Customer support
Content localization also reduces a company’s expenditure on customer support, since the consumers can read information about the product in their own native language and are less likely to seek help.