Why Localising your Global Brand Breeds Success? - Creative Word

Global brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, Google, Amazon and Huawei understand the power of a localised marketing campaign – this is why we are all so familiar with their products, services, and brand.

However, it isn’t just leading companies that should consider the value of localising their brand and this is why:

Why Localise?

While the big brand names around the world are instantly recognisable from their logos, their marketing campaigns, products and services have also been designed to fit with the local culture and community.

For instance, in India, Domino’s (the American pizza chain) are now the largest fast-food chain with more than 800 stores across the country, and sell more pizzas here than anywhere outside of the USA. This is due to Domino’s ability to redesign everything about their food from the flour they use in their pizza bases, to the toppings offered. These changes were implemented after the chain spent eight months examining the Indian market and exploring tastes, preferences, price and locations for stores. They have nailed the balance between Western cool and local favourites.

These global giants have learnt that merely translating their websites, marketing campaigns, slogans, and products isn’t enough to guarantee high sales in a new territory. They localise their brand instead, adapting to the local culture, merging into society, in a way that fits with the ethos of the place and people.

Translation will start the process of adapting for a new market, but localisation will make it a success.

 

Localisation and Sales

There has been abundant research, completed over the last few years, in bid to assess the benefits of website translation and localisation on online sales.

It is now widely recognised that the majority of consumers prefer to purchase online from a website in their native language. We instinctively believe the company, and products or services, are more dependable and trustworthy if marketed in a language we understand.

Of course, it would be impossible to localise your site for all the 7000 plus languages needed to reach everyone in the world, but it is easily conceivable that a website can be translated and localised for the main languages such as English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and Hindi which are the top five languages spoken around the world.

Localising your brand is just as important as translating and localising your website – appealing to potential customers is far easier if your products have a familiar feel about them such as, McDonald’s offering Kiwi-burgers in New Zealand, or a Chicken Maharaja-Mac in India.
Ensuring your products, services, and brand are relevant for the local market is key to success.

 

How to Implement a Successful Localisation Strategy

It will take time, effort and money to implement a successful localisation strategy for any brand, but this should be a priority when considering global campaigns, image, and return on investment.

The potential cost of a poorly instigated marketing campaign can be far more expensive, in terms of lost custom, than the initial expense of localisation.
Getting brand localisation right doesn’t need to involve massive changes, but must be completed with due regard for local customs, preferences, culture and penchants – customers will appreciate your market research and this will be reflected in your success.