With the vast opportunities of the internet era, many people are missing out by casting a net that is too wide.
Others are catching on quickly and are setting up localization for their products.
But what is localization?
Read on to learn about a localized marketing strategy and why you need it in your business.
What is localization?
At its most basic level, localization is marketing your product or service to people as if you are a local business, even when your business presence may be global.
Examples would be graphics that are customized to the locale, using the local language, and including local customs in your content.
People love personalization in marketing, and part of personalizing marketing is localizing it.
Make your marketing message more effective
When someone tells you a story that drives a point home, you’re likely to nod your head and think, “I get it.” When you’re marketing in another language, using stats that people don’t understand and images that don’t resonate, your marketing will most likely flop.
Marketing to the locals isn’t meant to be the same. If you look at the commercials in America and then you look at the commercials in Japan, you’ll see there are major differences.
If you’re trying to sell to another culture using the same marketing methods another very different culture uses, you’ll notice your conversion rates tend to stay low.
Build a better relationship with your potential clients
Your company should have a goal to build long-term relationships with potential clients. You want to keep them coming back because your company is providing them with a product or service that they don’t want to live without.
When you localize the marketing, you’ll be able to get past barriers that would have otherwise kept them from buying from you. In turn, because you took the time to build an experience that speaks to them in the most effective way possible, they’ll be more likely to come back to you rather than a competitor that doesn’t localize their content.
Know where to get your best ROI
When you’ve determined you’re going after a certain market, you shouldn’t automatically decide that you’re going to put all of your advertising dollars in the same place.
Some countries favor different social media networks and websites. If you’re trying to market to a certain country, but most of those people aren’t even on the platforms that you target, you won’t have the opportunity to get in front of them.
Consumers like to buy products in their own language
Seeing products in another language can be a turn-off when people are trying to buy something. Using high-quality translation services to create messages that speak to your customers in their own language and lingo means they will be more likely to buy the product.
The initial work to get the product’s messaging into their language will almost certainly pay off in the long run.
Work with people who understand your needs
If you think you can go to Google Translate, pop an article in, and copy and paste what comes out the other end, you’re likely to get a few laughs.
Google Translate and other services can be helpful, but they won’t be polished enough for web content or marketing messages.
You can try doing this and asking a friend who speaks the other language how it turns out, and they are likely to point out more than a few areas in the text that are now nonsensical.
Some people specialize in launching products in different markets. They study what works best and how you can use your marketing dollars to get the most bang for your buck.
As you’re opening up new markets, figure out who is the best person to help you through this process. They can help you make decisions on how frequently to market, who to market to, and how exactly to market in specific locales.
Don’t get defensive
If you’re working with a localization expert and they suggest that you change the product, don’t take it personally. These people are not saying that your product is not good. They are likely saying that it won’t be received the way that you think it might be in that specific region or culture.
If you need to change the product to make it more successful and to earn more sales, doesn’t it seem like that would be worth it?
Take recommendations, get second opinions, and even do beta tests in the market to see how people respond to your product in multiple versions. You don’t have to throw your whole product idea out the window, but it does make sense to take advice from people who know the market.
Whether it is changing up the colors, photos, or text that is included with your product, there could be some relatively simple changes that will greatly increase the conversion rate that you might not have originally thought of.
