Many brands and businesses aspire to reach new audiences, expand their services or products around the world, and scale upward – but competing in a new market and engaging with a new demographic is far from straightforward.
Regardless of the quality and value your company offers, or the efficiency and problem-solving of your latest launches, poor quality translation or a lack of localisation can stop a rapid expansion in its tracks.
Absolute Translations, certified translation services London, explains some of the fundamentals of global business expansions and why skilful, precise business translation is essential to showcase consistency, credibility and professionalism.
The Role of Translation in International Business
Every organisation knows that if they wish to introduce their company to an audience in a different country from those they are already operating in, their content, advertising and communications will need to be translated into a foreign language.
However, the quality of that translation is meaningful, whereby lower-quality translation can be catastrophically detrimental to customer perceptions and the success of the expansion.
Target audiences will base their opinion of a brand or business based on the information available. Where that information attracts misinterpretations, it will limit the ability of the organisation to communicate effectively. In contrast, companies that demonstrate respect and understanding of cultural differences and integrate native content – including graphics and other non-text materials – can develop a launchpad for ongoing success in their chosen destinations.
Localisation is a technique that curates all of the content, materials and products offered by an organisation to meet the needs and demands of local markets, covering far more scope than simply translating text from one language to another.
Rather, it can involve transitions to different platforms and media, ways of communicating important details and factors such as currencies, units of measurement and colloquialisms to ensure they are consistent with the expectations of the target demographic.
How Does Localisation Out-Perform Standard Translation in Business Expansions?
The main difference between translation and localisation is that the company adapts its offerings to the customer. Language and tone are fundamental to building trust and familiarity, offering experiences and interactions that ensure customers are confident that the brand is one they would like to buy from or do business with.
Localisation applies equally across B2B and B2C sectors, with advantages as follows:
- Overcoming communicative or societal barriers, with strategies to ensure each touch point or aspect of the company is customised to each location.
- Improved competitiveness, where around 40% of people shopping online will never purchase an item or service from a website where content is shown in another language.
- Higher revenues, with better customer perceptions and localised content leading to increased interest, faster scalability and long-term loyalty and repeat business.
While many companies assume that launching in a new destination is simply about translation, other aspects of their marketing or materials may need to be revised, where a colour that feels on-brand in one country may be associated with death or bad luck in another.
There are many other common examples of cultural contrasts that companies must include within their localisation strategy, particularly where they expect to replicate advertising campaigns. For instance, black cats are widely perceived as unlucky in the Western world but mean the opposite in Asia. Featuring a cow in a video or graphic in India would be highly offensive, where the animal is revered within Hinduism.
Adopting a localisation strategy with skilled native speakers possessing an in-depth knowledge of the culture ensures a company pays attention to every detail.
Creating a Localisation Strategy for Your Business
When we talk about personalised content, we are referring to personalisation performed at scale, which means every business needs to consider its priorities and objectives when planning an expansion or launch in a different jurisdiction.
There are several potential steps, but the correct approach will depend on factors such as:
- The type of product or service on offer and in which markets or countries.
- The demand for those offerings and how it may differ from in the UK.
- Regional variations and specific demographic groups you wish to target.
Understanding the audience is key because if the needs or pain points of one customer group in a country differ from those you are accustomed to, this may affect your product listings, pricing, marketing and even the name of a product.
Translation teams specialising in localisation will also consult about other areas of the business, which will require the same level of specificity. For example, if you interact with customers online, which keywords will generate the highest returns on your advertising investments, and which social media channels are predominantly used in the new location?
Companies should also consider the regulatory environment in a different country, particularly when offering services such as financial advice, insurance products or healthcare treatments – because labelling, information and registration with appropriate bodies may require advance action before a launch is ready to proceed.
Building a strategy ensures you approach the task methodically and with sufficient research and knowledge of customer behaviours, buying habits and trends, which inform each localisation phase. The aim is to ensure that, when your launch completes, you have created the foundation for a favourable market position and transitioned smoothly while generating healthy revenues.
Data-Driven Localisation for Global Expansions
Although much of localisation is based on context and culture, we always recommend that clients make decisions based on solid research, which may influence the markets they enter, the content that requires localisation, and how the business will measure its success.
Target audience analysis is time well spent, which can identify competitors already operating in the business space and opportunities to gain market share, alongside defining how to best allocate your expansion budget and focus your localisation on those areas that will create the most impact.
For more information about incorporating comprehensive localisation into your business expansion plans, developing a robust localisation strategy, or for a quotation to help you assess the necessary budget associated with your international expansion, please contact Absolute Translations at your convenience or access our quotation form online.
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About Absolute Translations
Absolute Translations understands the importance of quality and reliability and this comes at the forefront of our translation services. Our many years of experience have made it possible for us to work with some of the most talented professional translators as well as leading global brands around the world in more than 200 languages, with business translation services from our London, UK and European offices.
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Source Company: https://www.absolutetranslations.com/
