In a world where the ability to reach new markets has grown exponentially the competition is fierce, especially for online businesses. Getting the attention of consumers is very far from an easy feat with so many options available.
Now more than ever, adapting is key and as a company that means continuously being on the lookout for more value for your customers, employees and partners. Especially if you are a global company, you have to follow your customers and that means many times, to new markets. Although seriously exciting, there are many things to consider in order to have a successful market entry and become a customer favourite.
We’re experts in translation, so while there are many aspects to consider when engaging a new market, we can definitely speak to one of the most important ones: language. How you engage and the messages you’re sending to your customers are vital, so teams need to be extremely mindful. Intent is a huge driver – come up with a clear, actionable plan where you measure results.
- Prepping for Go live – Content and Translation
Depending on your activity, whether just online or physical as well, audit and list all the pieces of content you will need. Map out the customer journey to be thorough. Be sure to look beyond the very visible ones such as the website, and cover everything from ads, flyers, digital campaigns, etc.
How you present yourself and your brand voice is very important so you need to make sure as much as possible that your customers understand you. Speaking in their language is definitely a huge factor, as a 2014 study showed that many prefer buying from websites in their own language.
Check the regulatory conditions as well before going live to ensure you’re all set on that front and you avoid any fines.
Using a mix of tech and human expertise is always a good idea, keeping in mind that it’s very important to successfully convey meaning and your true message to customers. That means going beyond generic and really putting in the effort to understand them and talk to them on a more meaningful level. Transcreation is a great tool to consider here. The process of translating and creating at the same time so that you maintain the original message, intent, context, emotion, and tone, adapted to your new audience.
- Content building – good mix between local and centralised
Once you have everything set up for launch day, you have to also have a clear idea of how content will run from this point on. Will it be centralized or local teams will manage this and have a more personalized approach?
The short answer is ideally both. It’s a good idea to maintain some level of centralized control, only to ensure everything that goes out is aligned from a brand and messaging perspective. However, in order to truly get close to your customers and really be able to gage and implement their feedback, it’s important to have local knowledge and proper research.
- Test, monitor and tweak
Craft in your strategy and action plan clear ways to measure and refine as you go. If customers don’t have a great experience with your brand from the get-go, it’s difficult to get them to revisit.
The work is never over when it comes to bringing more and more value to everyone you interact with. Be mindful of the feedback you are receiving and see how you can incorporate it.
If you’re planning your exciting entry to a new market, let us know here! Our experts would love to learn more, offer a free consultation and talk about great ways to engage new audiences.