With globalization and technological advancements, doing business on a global scale has been made easier. However, the days are gone when standardization was the way to go. Today, customers worldwide want to have access to products and services as well as information on demand and in a way that resonates with them. This means not only translating content to the local language but also going over and beyond to ensure that images, illustrations, colors, payment methods, and packaging among others are adopted to the specific local markets. If you are planning to take your business global, providing your global customers with customized local experiences should be your number one strategy. Moreover, it comes with these seven advantages.
1. Eases entry into a new market
While entry to new markets has been made easier, there still exist several barriers to entry that can derail or even kill your expansion efforts. Such barriers include tight competition, logistical and legal hurdles as well as cultural and communication challenges. Localization helps you overcome cultural and communication obstacles. With one hurdle out of the way, establishing your business and gaining traction in a new market becomes easier and quicker.
2. Gives a competitive advantage
Dealing with competition in any market is tough enough for any business. Competing against native and local businesses as an outside player makes it much tougher. By adapting your business to the local market and customers’ needs, you are leveling the playing ground and giving your business a chance to thrive amongst the local businesses. In addition, if there are other outside players who have opted not to localize, localizing your products sets you apart. It becomes easier for the locals to accept your business, giving you a clear competitive edge.
3. Helps build brand loyalty
Most customers prefer buying and consuming product information in their native language. When you go a step further to localize the customer experience, you are allowing your business to resonate better with the locals. They will feel valued that they can get assistance from your customer service in a language that they understand. They will respect the fact that you took time to research the best ways to offer unique and tailored experiences, which shows that you value their needs and wants. Moreover, if customers feel this way, you can be sure that they will not only be repeat customers but your brand advocates as well.
4. Hastens business growth
As said earlier, localization helps gain entry into new markets much easier. However, just placing your products in a new market isn’t enough. Your key to success lies in understanding the local market on a deeper level. This helps you understand the customers’ needs and wants from their perspective from the word go. This way, you are able to provide products that are in demand or tweak your packaging to meet the demands of the market. If you are able to do this, you can draw more people to buy from you in a very short time. It goes without saying that more sales translate to increased revenue, which is necessary for business growth.
5. Enhances hiring and employees onboarding process
Hiring staff in a new geographical area can be quite daunting. In addition, onboarding and training employees who speak a different language can be challenging, which might hinder you from getting top talent for your business. Localizing your hiring process goes a long way in eliminating this barrier. You can work with a local translation company on this. Translation companies can come in handy in helping you localize your employee training material. This makes it easier for the employees to resonate with the training, equipping them with the top skills necessary for taking your business forward.
6. Enhances your local SEO strategy
In this digital era, customers turn to the internet when looking for products or services before making a buying decision. However, they won’t easily find you if you haven’t put in enough effort to rank higher in the local search engines. Ideally, content that matches users’ search intent ranks higher in the search results. When you have your website translated into the local language, it becomes easier to rank higher in the search engines, giving the local users an easy time to find you.
7. Improves your brand image
Having a positive brand image is very important for the growth of your business. When establishing your business in a new market, being culturally insensitive can greatly ruin your image. It could be a simple thing such as using colors or images that don’t sit well with the locals. When done correctly, localization helps eliminate cultural nuances that can leave a bad taste in the locals’ mouths.
Conclusion
If you harbor globalization ambitions for your brand, localization is your ticket to success in capturing the local audience in your target markets. Paying attention to the local social and cultural preferences goes a long way in helping you win customers and beat the competition. It also helps your SEO efforts and makes it easy to hire and train employees in a language that they understand.
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