The Value of Translation Services: Speak to Your Customers in their Language
Author: Andreea Balaoiu
The Value of Translation Services:
Speak to Your Customers in their Language
You're sitting on the sidelines, hoping to one day become a globetrotting entrepreneur. You want to start-up or even expand your business into other countries. But you are concerned about the cost of global marketing and translation services. Well, don't despair.
In an increasingly shrinking global market, understanding how to effectively expand your product to reach foreign markets can be crucial to your company’s success. How do you make sure that the world will have access to what you create? How do you know the difference between adapting your product for local markets and having a different product for each country?
According to an SOCi Market report on the top 5 insights into the “Power of Localized Social Marketing”, the future of enhanced brand engagement lies in effective content localization strategies that ‘speak the language’ customers want to hear.
Any international business expansion process can be cumbersome, often requiring a shift in tactical decisions to determine either success or imminent failure. This is where an effective Localization service portfolio comes into play to influence and streamline a business’s path to global growth.
To attain their “global voice”, businesses must develop an international growth strategy that will allow them to succeed when expanding into foreign markets. An effective Content Localization Strategy can be defined as a unique market approach and comprehensive content plan for content translation and adaptation, to connect with a new audience, addressing specific characteristics such as purchasing habits, customer behaviours and cultural differences for the specifically targeted geographical locations.
In this article, we will walk you through some of the best practices and relevant stats that support the value and necessity of creating a competent and compelling Translation and Localization Strategy for businesses seeking global expansion.
GILT: Globalization, Internationalization, Localization, Translation
Localization is not just about translating your website into another language or adapting it to suit regional tastes—it’s about understanding your audience on an individual level, by providing them with relevant information in their native language. By catering your content specifically to their needs and wants, you can build trust with potential customers who are more likely to become repeat buyers over time.
Globalization, Internationalization, Localization, and Translation (GILT) are terms used to refer to the process of designing a product or document so that it can be easily adapted for different regions and languages.
GILT is widely regarded as part of the key terminology of the language sector when it comes to international expansion, the above definitions serving as a starting point for a closer look at their contextual framework.
Globalization is the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on a global scale.
Internationalization is the design and development of a product, application or document content that enables easy Localization for target audiences that vary in culture, region, or language.
Localization is the linguistic adaptation of content for the target region, its languages, and cultural particularities to make it appropriate, easily understandable, and comfortable to use for local native language speakers.
The translation is the literal word-for-word transformation of a source text into the target language.
A recent article published in the Harvard Business Review quotes Stephen Wunker, a thought leader who has empowered many businesses to grow and innovate, and who stated that “if you have no advantage in an adjacent market except for what you consider to be in-house expertise, that’s a sign you may be in for some surprises.” Hence why, mastering specific internationalization strategies is paramount in defining a company’s go-global strategy, underlining a series of interdependent factors:
- Adaptation and flexibility towards the global business framework
- Understanding of Local and Foreign cultures and markets
- Tight grasp of the concept of intellectual property
- Brand establishment
According to the article “International Growth Strategies in Consumer and Business-to-Business Markets in Manufacturing and Service Sectors” by Svante Andersson, published in the Journal of Euromarketing, “Internationalization is a widely used concept in research on international business and has various interpretations”.
In a recent blog article, we reiterated the Localization Industry Standards Association’s statement outlining that the typical business achieves a return on investment (ROI) of US $25 in revenue for each US $1 it spends on Localization.
In addition, our recent study on the importance of Website Localization illustrates people’s propensities towards website traffic and navigation in their native languages – a proportion of 54.7% always prefer to access websites available in their native language, while an overwhelming 78.6% choose to make online purchases only from websites that are available in their native language.
The vision & value of Internationalized Localization services
The goal of an international translation company is to provide businesses with the tools, resources, and expertise to translate their website content into many languages, to tap into their targeted global markets and enhance their overall brand identity.
A localized website is only a starting point for any brand looking to set its solid footprint into foreign markets, building and instilling the credibility of their value propositions and overarching content in those new environments. Beyond this, some cultural layers and nuances play an invaluable role in establishing brand identity.
Strategically, an international translation company has the ability, resources, and expertise to achieve this and ensure that website content volumes are seamlessly translated into many languages so that businesses can tap into their targeted global markets and enhance their overall brand identity.
This global growth strategy is divided into two main points of action, namely:
- Enhanced localization
- Global Market contingency and adaptability
A professional and International Translation Company employs enhanced localization frameworks to achieve exclusive and customizable content experiences for brands seeking to step up their game.
Enhanced Localization is essential in defining or redefining the image of a brand or online business identity through full-suite, customizable website assets that provide a streamlined user journey for visitors, in turn, boosting conversion rates and enhancing the existing customer base with valuable new leads.
In “Global Business Strategy: A Contingency Approach” by David Lemak and Wiboon Arunthanes, published in the Multinational Business Review Academic Journal, it is argued that, “firm performance can be maximized through synergy created by proper alignment of critical variables in a holistic contingency approach.”
Equally, “advocates of the concept of market orientation using adaptation or local adaptation argue that while basic human needs may be similar everywhere, differences in cultural and other environmental factors significantly influence the buying behaviour of people in different countries”.
Therefore, the key role of an International Translation Company in performing effective Localization, with a global market contingency and adaptability stronghold, provides an unequivocal advantage that any business can employ in terms of their overarching global growth strategy and branding.
The Bottom Line
International markets can be unknown territory. When entering these markets, language can be a major barrier. For example, you might be an excellent actor, but if the audience can’t understand what you are saying, your skills won’t matter. However, translation services for international websites and other content are crucial when promoting your brand to different cultures.
Allowing consumers a chance to experience your brand in their native language will help them better understand your message, which will in turn increase your market share.
The examples and statistics showcased in this article prove how streamlined and efficient multilingual content Translation and Localization strategies can be down the road, as part of any business platform’s growth strategy.
If you want to succeed on the global stage, your content must be optimized for localization. High-quality localization of products, services, and their accompanying web or e-commerce platforms are essential to the success of any business brand in the global arena, regardless of sector or market.
So, ensure your business' message has a universal appeal—that it's tailored to the international audience you're hoping to reach.
At AD VERBUM, we never compromise on quality on our path to success.
Through our proficient linguistic service portfolio, we can be sure that your content will be translated by native-speaking professionals with prior expertise in their respective fields, driven by quality, consistency, and, most importantly, a superior understanding of the intercultural implications and thorough implementation of a streamlined multilingual process.
Get in touch today, and let us lead you on your path to Global Success —your customers will thank you for it.
