Most of us are aware of how vital professional translation is when targeting foreign audiences, but localisation is the key to unparalleled continued success when it comes to customer service, brand popularity, and ultimately, financial reward.
A Common Sense Advisory poll which surveyed 10 countries in 2014, showed that there is a powerful bias towards products, services, and brands that are tailored for local audiences through the use of native-tongue websites. Customers surveyed stated that they avoided English-only sites, spent less time on non-native language sites, and would prefer not to purchase from sites that did not provide localised customer service in their own language.
The poll showed that the demand for this localised service varied from country to country. In Italy, 35% of people surveyed said they would read a website that was written in a language other than their own, while on average across Europe it is 44% of people who use sites that are written in a non-native language.
The risk associated with not localising your website could cost you over 50% of your prospective target customers. This is often the difference between success and failure for many businesses – can you afford not to localise?
Localisation and the Process of Transcreation
Localisation is far more complex than translation. Translation deals with purely the words, offering a language change that conveys the basic meaning of the original text, however, localisation goes one step further, in that it offers a specialised adaption in order to fully convey the message to a native, regional audience. Localisation will adapt the source text, images, colours, branding, product, and so on, in order to appeal to the needs of local consumers.
This process of localising your online merchandise, service, and website is often known as transcreation. Transcreation will adapt your brand identity in order to become synonymous with the target audience, ensuring a successful transition into new markets through your brand’s relevance for the local culture.
Localisation and transcreation consider elements such as language, dates, numbers, currency, symbolism, colour, and so on, in your target market, altering them so they fit within the regional expectations. Holidays, product sizes, religion and price structures all play a vital role in ensuring that your business has the best chance of success.
Positive localisation examples include the UK catalogue clothing company Boden. They localised all their clothing sizes to suit foreign markets before moving into Germany and Austria. The effect of this change ensured more orders, and fewer returns. However, Pepsi didn’t fare so well when they targeted Asian markets – they changed their vending machines to a light blue colour which is associated with mourning.
Localisation should pick up on any negative connotations that could be associated with new brand concepts, and you should also have an awareness of your competitors. It is always vital you do your market research and check how your successful competitors deal with branding, colour, packaging, and so on, as this gives you valuable insight into what is acceptable.
Brand Localisation
Localising your brand involves ensuring cultural relevance in specific locations. Building a new brand identity that encompasses your company ethos, promotes consumer trust, and provides confidence in your product, or service will ensure repeat sales.
Building brand trust and loyalty may sound difficult when faced with new markets that are unfamiliar, and with which you are unacquainted. However, the process is the same whether you are in a familiar territory, or overseas; consistency, commitment, transparency and accuracy all promote faith in your brand wherever you are in the world.
Localising your brand is a process that can take time and money to do well. Don’t try cutting corners as this can seriously impact upon your company’s image.
Successful Localisation
Maintaining brand integrity can be a challenge during the localisation process, so we have put forward a few of the best tips below to help ensure the process goes smoothly:
1. Localisation alterations – change can be challenging, but the results are often worth it. Don’t resist change, try to go with the expert’s recommendations – it’s what you hired them for after all.
2. Localisation testing – testing the success of your localised website is essential to finding and fixing flaws. To capitalise on testing it is worth implementing as much cultural multivariate statistics as possible. This way you are sure to find any tweaks that need attention.
3. Localisation provider – it is vital you choose a professional localisation provider to work with on your projects. Find a team that can offer native-speaking translators, and copywriters, as well as localisation experts who have absolute attention to detail, can work to tight deadlines, and have in-depth knowledge of your business area where required (for example, in medical translations).
