A solid localization strategy is essential if you’re looking to expand into new markets. The process involves adapting your product or service to serve a specific global market’s linguistic and cultural needs. It might include anything from translating your marketing materials to adjusting your business processes to comply with the cultural norms.
Many businesses whose offerings are available worldwide have already invested in localization efforts. But even so, there are certain things you could do to improve. So, in today’s read, we’re sharing the top seven ways to enhance your localization strategy and set yourself up for global success.
Research Your Target Market
Conducting research into your target market is essential when localizing a business. This includes understanding the target consumers’ cultural values and norms and the demographic and linguistic characteristics. Gaining insight into the languages they speak, the cultural references they know, and their habits will inform your next steps.
Localize Your Website
Localization should ideally start from the design stage. For example, you need enough space for text. English letters need considerably less space than Chinese characters. Failing to take this into consideration would mean designing a new template later which would create an inconsistent user experience.
Developers should consider internationalization during the localization process. This involves designing the website with locale-specific functionalities like date and time, currency formatting, and keyboard usage. The goal is to make the site feel native to everybody who uses it. Getting localization software can help you streamline the entire process and eliminate the need to do a complete overhaul of your design later.
Create Culturally Relevant Content
It goes without saying that you should translate your website and marketing materials into other languages. However, you should also invest in creating content tailored to the local markets. From blog posts to videos, there are plenty of options to consider. Make sure that everything you produce is relevant and resonates with the people in that market.
Leverage Local Marketing Channels
Using local marketing channels is a surefire way to reach your target market. You can advertise in newspapers and magazines or even sponsor local events. Social media is also an excellent channel for marketing as it allows you to easily target a specific audience and ensure your message reaches them.
Social media enables you to easily target specific audiences and ensure that your message is relevant to them. Remember that you’ll have to translate your social posts into the target language and ensure that the content is relevant and engaging for the people in that market.
Revisit Your Branding
You should stay true to your brand every step of the way. You’ve probably spent time and money defining and establishing your business’ style, voice, and personality. So, you don’t want to change your brand’s essence.
However, it might be wise to do quick market research and see what locals think of your brand name, logo, and identity. The fonts, messaging, colors, and tone may not work the same way in all countries. So it’s paramount to make the necessary changes and ensure your brand comes across as you intend to and that your target audience understands it.
Understand the Local Laws
There are many law-related considerations when entering a new market. You may need to obtain office space, register your business entity, make financial arrangements, and hire employees. While you do that, you must follow the local regulations and rules. Once you run your business, check also the advertising laws and ensure that the content you plan to post is accepted in the target market.
Actively Participate in the Local Community
Engaging with the local community is the best way to gain insight into your target audience. You’ll be able to hear stories, aspirations, wants, and complaints firsthand. Join your community at physical events but also look for groups on social media and forums. Be sure to actively engage—ask relevant questions and gather important insights to fine-tune your localization strategy.
Final Thoughts
With a successful localization strategy, you can gain a competitive advantage, build brand loyalty, ensure customer satisfaction, and boost your revenue. For ongoing success, you need to understand that adapting to the target market’s culture goes beyond simply translating words. First, you need to research and get to know your target audience and then incorporate these strategies to get on track to international expansion.
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
