3 Key Tips for Conquering Local Markets - Creative Word

Successful global businesses understand the key to conquering local markets is ensuring content, websites and products are accurately localised.

At Creative Word, we’ve been helping global businesses succeed in foreign markets for two decades, so we know what it takes.

Here we share some of our localisation knowledge with our 3 key tips for conquering local markets.

1. Know your Market!                                                      

Moving into a foreign market is an exciting time but it also comes with a specific set of obstacles which will need to be overcome before you can achieve success.

The two major obstacles are:

• Language – is the most obvious obstacle businesses face when moving into a foreign market. Content from your domestic website, marketing campaigns and point of sale information will require translation or localisation before they can be fully accessed by your new audience. It is essential that the language (or dialect) is accurately adapted for the new market so that your audience can connect with your brand and products.

• Culture – is often overlooked, as language tends to be the main focus for many firms. However, culture is just as important as language and the two are intricately linked. For instance, in Arab nations, the language and culture are heavily influenced by Islam, it is woven into the fabric of daily life. Failure to appreciate this, and localise content correctly for an Islamic audience, means potentially causing offence and alienating your audience. Professional localisation adapts content so that it appears to have been created especially for that audience, ensuring that any content which is irrelevant or offensive is adapted or excluded.

Gaining an understanding of your new audience; their language and their culture, will help to create effective marketing campaigns, product packaging, customer services, and so on, with which your audience can fully engage, explore and understand.

If you want to successfully conquer a local market consider using a professional localisation services provider which offers native speaking translators, as they will give the best results and can improve your return on investment.

2. Be Prepared!                                                                       Translation Quality Control

Whether you chose to use a professional localisation provider or not, there are still a few things which can make the process more efficient and effective, especially if they are completed in advance of the process itself.

The list below will help you prepare for localisation:

• Edit original content – do you really need every word of your domestic website translated and localised, or can it be edited and condensed? If you can condense content before the localisation process, you’ll save time and money as most professional localisation providers charge per word. Consider using the most relevant content, saving the rest for a later date as required.

• Define your brand – understanding the driving force of your brand, your values, voice and views helps your translator adapt content so that it reflects your business accurately. The more information they have in advance, the easy the localisation process becomes as they don’t need to keep asking questions.

• Create a glossary – keywords, frequently used terminology, industry specific jargon, common greetings, call to actions, and so on, should be collated before localisation begins so that it is ready for your translator from the start.

• Form a style guide – to a certain extent this needs to be flexible depending upon the location and market into which you are emerging. However, a style guide helps your translator gain a better sight into your business and brand which can then be adapted and conveyed to your target audience. It also helps with brand consistency, especially relevant when offering multilingual website options.

• Images/Logo/Colours – images, your logo and tagline, or colours which used frequently on your website, packaging, and so on, will also need to be localised for your new audience. Localising images ensures your audience can engage with, and are embodied within, your products and marketing.

If you aren’t sure what other content or materials might require localisation, contact your localisation provider well head of time so you can get started, avoiding any delays or additional costs.

3. Ask for Help                                                                       

We all need a helping hand now and then, so don’t be afraid to ask for help from a professional language services provider if you are struggling with localising content for a foreign audience.

Professional localisation providers, or Language Services Providers (LSP), offer many different services linked to language, culture, training, and industry.

Most offer at least some, or all, of the following language services:

Certified Document Translation

Localisation

Interpreting

• App Localisation

Website Translation

Legal Translation

Technical Translation

Video Localisation

• Social Media Localisation

• E-Commerce platform language support

Design

Choosing a language services provider to partner with on your language projects takes time but once you’ve found the right one to suit your requirements, they will become a great asset to your organisation.

How we Can Help…

We have hundreds of informative blogs available here to help you make informed choices regarding language services for your business.

Our team are ready to help and can answer any questions you might have about translation and localisation for local markets, simply contact us here.