It is said that successful businesses are the ones that adapt themselves to target markets. More importantly, they adapt themselves to change as it happens—this is why localization plays such a vital role in the progress of a business.

Moreover, it is much more important to have a global localization strategy in place in order to make a business successful.

Localization of global business to suit the needs, culture, and demands of a target country is one of the best marketing strategies today. The key to doing a successful business globally, however, is to adjust and respect the cultural facts of every country.

All things considered, global localization involves the adaptation of services, products, websites, documents, business messages, and even marketing tactics. Website localization is just one aspect of the whole global localization strategy. While it is essential to know that by translating a website, a businessman is not only marketing his message in the target language, he is also presenting it to a fresh audience—an audience that is new to the presented brand message.

This is where localization comes in. Granted, localizing a business according to another market may disturb the balance of the business and might seem like an impossible task, but personalization of a marketing strategy can open doors of international acclaim for any business, enhancing the chances of growth in the target market.

Not surprisingly, in order to achieve the flexibility, success, and acclaim that global market brings with itself, it is important to follow a global localization strategy

The Concept of localization

A business’s core ability to succeed lies in its adaptation to other markets. The term “localization” refers to this adaptation, and goes beyond just the adaptation to the language of the target market. To be able to make a name in a foreign market, localization of content to fit the requirements of culture, tradition, social preferences and characteristics is equally important.

Translation and localization give any business a totally different perspective in terms of content creation and marketing strategies. In fact, it draws the attention of customers towards certain aspects which are significantly beneficial for a good localization strategy. The right localization strategy will allow any businessman to offer a noble consumer experience by delivering a correct message globally for a profitable and result-oriented campaign.

Upgrading the Localization Strategy—tips and tricks

Before discussing the tips and tricks to stay a float in the race for global acclaim, it is important to define the internationalization and translation components of globalization. Internationalization and translation processes are an important ingredient of the globalization journey as they allow you to speak in a language that your target customer understand. Localization is concerned with “how” you make that happen. Accordingly, a business that has already gone through the localization process must focus on some aspects while planning for a suitable localization strategy.

1. Define your audience

The first step in the creation of a localization strategy is knowing who your customers are. A brand message introduced in a new market without proper research might harm the reputation of the business, which is why one should be extra careful when doing homework on a target market.

Before launching head-first into a new market, one thing that a business must ask itself is: “Is there a need for my product in the target market?” Asking this question opens doors to new possibilities for your business. Likewise, to make sure that need exists, one should take assistance from Google Analytics to gauge the traffic and to inspect where it’s coming from. A businessman may find significant information related to his product, shopping pattern, competition, cultural relationships, language, color interpretation, behavior, etc.

Believe it or not, joining with a local partner would actually be an extraordinarily wise step for doing a successful business, owing to localized experience and feedback.

2. Localize and Translate

Once a business has a target market clearly pin-pointed, it becomes easier for it to offer its products and services. But to be able to make that product/service relevant, localization and translation should be adopted at all costs—a business that is not localized or translated is hardly a fruitful one.

In order to make sure the content presented to the target audience strikes a chord with it, it’s important to go for an easy solution, such as a translation plugin, which proposes a magical solution to website translation, and is proofread by experts and commenced by a machine. Localization should be implemented in images as well. For example, if a company is looking to enter a Korean market, using a Korean model in its advertisements would make the audience relate to the brand even better.

3. Stay ahead of the competition

Entering a new market might seem like an easy task to some businesses, but many of them overlook the fact that an already saturated market comprising of big brands might give a new business some tough competition. It’s important to know what qualities of your brand makes it different from others—in short, what’s the “new” thing you are offering? For that, a business must describe its brand’s advantages, benefits, and attraction for consumers. This will refine customer support and deliver consistency that will be translated into consumer’s loyalty and trust.

Do remember that it’s the consumer experience which is the chief factor that determines whether they will purchase the product or not. Make use of technology to stand out from others—simple and powerful translation tools can make the whole localization experience easy for you.

4. Re-inspect your brand

When a business spends precious time, resources, and research before entering a market, its branding can make itself known clearly. This is the reason it is vital to “revisit” your branding strategy at every step of the global localization journey, as approaching the target market in different ways will serve to leverage your brand in that market. Likewise, learning about the target market’s traditions and culture can provide some vital information that can be very helpful in building a localization strategy.

With the help of social media, you can easily access the success of your campaign. This should be one of the most essential points of communication and the most honest contact with consumers. In order to promote, publishing content and talking to consumers’ demands and awareness, as well as knowing where and when to publish updates, offers, sales, posts or plan is essential.

The Last Word

When all is said and done, don’t expect changes to occur in one week. The customer engagement process takes time and can be complicated at the start, but once you have clearly defined your target market and have a localization plan ready, you are all set to upgrade your localization strategy in that market. Be sure to get localization help from a professional localization partner who knows the nuts and bolts of the target market. Finally, find what your “distinctive offering” is and make sure to promote that offering to the target market. Remember, if you are already present in a market, your work is half done for you—you just need a proper plan and some technology to back you up.