Localization is the process of adapting your product for the market you are targeting. It can be as simple as translating important information and content or as complex as designing something completely new for that culture. Regardless of how much effort goes into localization, it will improve your business in one way or another.
The following are 14 Reasons how localization helps your business:
Better relationships with customers
If your company wants to go global and engage in international business, eventually you will deal with customers who do not speak your language. For this reason, it is important to hire professional translators or a localization services provider to ensure smooth user experience.
Increased effectiveness of marketing campaigns
Once you translated product information into various languages, you receive more global exposure for your brand at little or no cost. People tend to trust the websites in their native language, and they also share the content with their friends in their language as well, thus you may reach a larger number of target audience. Actually, shareable content is also one of the reasons why corporations have multilingual social media. This enables potential customers from different regions to view your products and services and bring them closer towards purchasing the said items or availing of another form of offering such as technical support.
Improved marketability of products and services
Linguists working for localization services providers can effectively localize your products and other forms of media to improve user experience.
Better search engine rankings
When you translate and localize the content, you may go higher in ranking. For example, if the competition rate in the target market is low or when your website may be seen in different languages for those who do not use English keyboards, for example Arabic or Asian countries. This, when you launch a new international version of your website, deter search engine crawlers from indexing it twice or more, hence boosting its rank faster.
Increased revenue generation
In general terms, most target consumers from countries with emerging economies have less spending power than those in tier 1 countries. With the help of a company that offers localization services, you can help potential customers from emerging markets to access your products and services.
A global reach with a local touch
Upscale hotels, fast food chains, online retailers, IT companies, and many other businesses have already begun using the strategy of offering localized versions of their websites and even changing the brand names for improved marketability and revenue generation. This trend has been on the rise for several years now and is expected to become more prominent as time progresses.
Better customer service
When you offer support that focuses on specific international regions, then consider hiring professional linguists who can translate scripts into various languages accurately, so the managers can reply efficiently and without any delay. Thus, your clients will have a better experience with the brand and will want to come back or recommend to their friends and relatives.
Better user-interface design
Well-balanced localization can improve your website’s overall look and feel or other forms of media since it incorporates elements favored by the target audience within a specific region or culture. This approach results in better product sales because it also addresses customers’ needs during all stages of decision making, i.e., from awareness to purchase intent to actual sales conversion.
Improved market decision making
Global market trends have become increasingly vital for companies, especially those who successfully engage in international trade activities and rely on foreign markets for revenue generation. With the help of professional linguists, you can access up-to-date information about various regions and their cultures to improve market intelligence and, therefore, decision making.
Improved online presence
When you localize your website or other forms of media, you receive improved visibility across major search engines based in different regions. This also improves the overall flow of business because it allows you to reach out to an increasing audience base to achieve better results for long-term success.
Better user experience
Reliable localization service providers use native-speaking linguists exclusively, as they can effectively translate user manuals or any other form of documentation to match consumers’ expectations and needs in various cultures. In addition, they can also provide better technical support information by translating common error messages displayed within the computer system.
Improved content management system
In case you wish to localize your website or other forms of media you must hire a professional translation service that can customize your CMS to include multi-language capabilities to improve its usability in various browsers worldwide. This approach optimizes publishing time significantly because translators can work on all content simultaneously before going live across different websites or markets.
Better software localization
When a computer program runs well in one language, then it might display unusual behavior when another locale is selected as default for execution purposes. In such cases, sometimes an application might crash without giving out any warnings whatsoever due to misinterpretation of the character encoding used within a specific region. Thankfully, professional linguists can help you localize your software to ensure that it is compatible with major operating systems and browsers across the world to avoid problems during product deployment or operation. Some companies also prefer to test the localized versions to avoid any confusion.
Improved competitive advantage
With the advance of technology, it becomes easier for businesses to improve their revenue generation capabilities by taking advantage of new growth opportunities in international markets. This allows them to successfully launch global marketing campaigns while browsing through consumer trends based on region or culture for better results. However, to fully leverage these trends, a company needs a strategic plan supported by professional linguists with proper industry knowledge and language skills.
Bottom Line
It helps you reach out to an increasing audience base towards achieving long-term success faster than ever before. The overall flow of business also becomes stronger because professionals working with localization services providers can access up-to-date information about various regions and their cultures to improve market intelligence and, therefore, decision making.
Localization improves your business because it opens new markets. With the right translation, you can access people in different languages and cultures who know they need your product or service but don’t know how to find you. Localizing content is also important for increasing conversion rates on e-commerce sites where non-English speakers may be shopping. You’ll notice that many stores offer language selector buttons so shoppers can pick their preferred language before adding items to cart; this helps ensure customers are able to complete transactions with ease. The bottom line? Localization makes sense and not just when it comes to marketing materials like slogans and logos.