Localization Strategy: do you even need it?

Localization has become an essential element of a successful digital campaign. In fact, 75% of internet users worldwide use search engines to find information in their own language and 60% prefer to do business with a company that uses their own language. Despite these numbers, it seems that many companies overlook this crucial step in the marketing strategies.

What is a Localization Strategy?

A localization strategy is a plan for translating and adapting your product to a specific market. It includes the process of identifying which languages to translate into, and how to go about implementing the actual translations.

The best localization strategy takes into account the needs of your target audience, the local markets and its culture, the language requirements of the technical implementation, and any other factors that might impact your product or brand in the new target market.

The goal of localization is not to change or convert a product into something entirely new, but rather to make it more accessible to a specific culture or group of people.

A good localization strategy keeps in mind that every culture has different needs, expectations, and desires and will take these differences into account when making decisions about what changes are made to the product.

You can't just translate your website into another language and expect it to work. You need to understand what your target audience likes and dislikes, how they behave online, and what their expectations are. If you want them to buy from your site, then you need to make sure that your website meets those expectations and offers them what they are looking for.

Localization is not just about translating content into another language; it's also about adapting the content and design according to the needs of each target market.

A localization strategy should consider the following:

Cultural differences

A solid Localization strategy isn’t just translating content; it also involves adapting your product to match local culture, customs, norms, and expectations. This includes everything from how people communicate online to social media rules and etiquette.

Customers

Their expectations regarding price points and features may differ significantly from those in other markets.

Distribution channels

The availability of distribution channels may differ across countries because they're governed by different government regulations or monopolies on certain industries (such as pharmaceuticals).

App submission requirements

If you want to localize an app you have to research the policies and requirements for that specific country. Some app stores require apps to support specific languages when submitting an update — for example, Apple requires iOS apps offer support for Chinese (Simplified) and Chinese (Traditional) as part of its App Store Review Guidelines documentation.

Steps For Developing A Localization Strategy

Identify the target audience

In order to create a localization strategy that will appeal to your target audience, you need to know who they are, what they want, and how they will use your product or service. This will help you understand their expectations and identify any potential problems before they arise.

Research The Market

You should do some research about the market in which you plan on marketing your app and see where there are opportunities for growth based on current trends and statistics. This will also give you insight into different ways of reaching out to new customers through social media platforms or local events that attract large crowds such as trade shows or conferences.

Understand cultural nuances

It’s important to understand cultural nuances when developing an effective localization strategy. For example, if you plan on selling products in China, it would be wise to learn about Chinese culture so that you can avoid offending consumers with insensitive mistakes like using incorrect characters or colors associated with funerals in certain parts of China (white), using only one chopstick at dinner instead of two (not respecting elders) or drinking from someone else’s glass without asking permission first (disrespecting elders).

Evaluate the Competition's Approach

In order to understand how best to localize your product, it is crucial to evaluate the approach taken by competitors in similar markets. This can be done through research into what they have done in the past and what they are currently doing. You can also use this information to benchmark yourself against other companies and see where you need improvement.

Identify key stakeholders

Who will be involved in the localization process — including legal teams, marketing teams, customer support professionals, etc.—and make sure they all have access to the same information at all times so there aren’t any miscommunications among teams due to lack of information sharing or cross-team collaboration within an organization at any given point in time during the localization process

Plan for Ongoing Improvement

Creating a localization strategy is only the first step towards developing an effective product. Once you have created a plan, it is important that you continually monitor its progress and make improvements as needed.

The benefits of localization

Attract new customers

If you want to attract customers from other countries or regions, then you need to localize your product or service. In this way, you can attract more international buyers who are looking for a localized product or service.

Expand your market

By localizing your product or service, you can expand to new markets with ease. For instance, if your company sells software products online, then you can use translation services to translate all of your content into different languages so that people from all over the world can access it easily.

Increase sales

By making changes to the design and layout of your website or store based on cultural preferences in different markets, you’re more likely to increase sales by appealing to customers from other cultures and countries who may not be familiar with certain products or services available in their own country but would like them.

Boost customer satisfaction

If you want to grow your business, you need happy customers. Localizing means that more users will be able to easily navigate through it without having to learn English first. This will also help improve their overall experience with your product.

Conclusion

A localization strategy must take into account several diverse issues, including the legal and financial ramifications of a public international venture, using software or human translation, reaching different customer bases with different languages and cultures, and the importance of a localized strategy to your global branding.

After going through what it takes to have a successful localization strategy, it is clear to see that there are as many facets to this important business decision as there are translations. One thing remains constant among all businesses, whether big corporation or small startup: if you want to succeed in any market across the globe you must localize.

The question of whether or not to outsource your localization strategy has to be answered more carefully than simply outsourcing all your tasks to the least expensive provider. The language barrier can complicate things, resulting in longer turnaround times and a more expensive process. It's important to consider these unique differences along with pricing, but diversity and accuracy will always be overriding factors in your decision-making process.

Regardless of your choice, you can always rely on PoliLingua localization services, to help you break into those new markets.