What is localization and why is it so important for businesses?
  • 25/05/2022
  • Publitrad
  • 0

As a business, your focus is to connect with as many clients as possible and provide them with an extraordinary experience every time. The reality is that customers won’t always speak a single language, for example you might want to cover an area where there are 0 English speaking customers. That’s where localization comes into play. If you localize your website, the chances of generating more customers increase exponentially, and you can have an extraordinary return on investment.

What does localization mean?

Localization can be defined as a process through which you adapt your content to a specific region. However, it doesn’t focus solely on translating the content in that target language. Instead, it also adapts cultural elements, imagery and even the way content is perceived to the target language. The main focus during the localization process is to ensure that your customers feel your content is written specifically for them.

Why do you need localization? Customers always want to have a personalized experience, and localizing your content can help provide great results every time. Not only that, but you can use cultural nuances to persuade leads and generate new customers. It’s a very good way to not only expand your business and achieve growth, but also ensure that your new customers are happy with the value and results that you provide.

What aspects can be localized for a new audience?

There are many different things that you can fully adapt and localize for your new audience. For example, translating the content to the local language of your customers is the most important part of the localization process. On top of that, you also want to ensure that you use the right tone and message for your audience. It goes beyond just being technically correct, you want content that’s persuasive and ready to generate new customers.

You can also go beyond that, by focusing on picking the right color and imagery that will resonate with the local audience. Some signs can be offensive in various regions, but professional in other places, just think about the thumbs up sign, which is inappropriate in some European countries, but great in the US.

Additionally, you can also modify the time, measurement, date and number formats according to the local region. These can differ, especially when we talk about European countries and the US. Additionally, you may have to change the user interface too, choose whatever is appropriate for that local region you are targeting. Doing software localization like this can be important and it will make a huge difference if you manage everything appropriately.

Then there are also various payment methods you can use. Each country has its own supported currencies and payment methods, so there will be a bit of trial and error to identify the best option that will make your customers happy. Then you also have to think about dialects and any further localization features that will bring in even more differences. It’s going to take a bit of time, but localizing as much as possible will help ease the process, remove concerns, and ensure everything is fully adjusted to your own requirements in the long term.

Why do companies choose to localize their presence?

Localizing your content is a great way to ensure that you connect with the audience and also provide the right assistance and support. The truth is that adequate localization can help quite a bit, it eliminates any misunderstanding, and generally it leads to a much better, more cohesive customer experience.

On top of that, you can be certain that your audience knows exactly what you offer and there’s no lack of clarity. If you try to enter a new country with your products, but only speak English, that becomes a problem. Localization helps you prevent that, it makes the process seamless, and in the end you will be much happier with the results.

With that being said, you can also avoid risking offending customers thanks to localization, because you’ll have a better understanding of their culture and what you need to achieve. Generally, localization also helps boost your sales. Since more people get to understand your products and their value, you’ll have more clients and that translates into great profitability.

Which is why localization has a great ROI, and it will help your business grow. It might even boost your authority within the industry, since you can target and connect with new audiences. It’s even possible for localization to improve brand loyalty, which is very hard to achieve these days.

How can you choose the right localization partner?

Picking the right localization service is a very good idea if you want to ensure that you get to connect with a new audience and boost your growth. It will take a bit of trial and error to identify which is the best way to localize everything, but doing that wisely can indeed be worth it. What we recommend right off the bat is to focus on the type of partner, it can be anything from single or multi language localization vendor, freelance workers, internal employees or distributors.

You also want to ensure that the localization partner is following a specific quality process, like ISO 9001, EN 15038 or specialized translation qualifications. All of these are very important, since you get to see whether the person you want to work with is qualified, the qualifications they have and so on. The more you know about that, the better.

Also, you need to think about technology options, such as file compatibility, whether you can be involved in the process or not, how you access the result, if the content is portable, if there’s security and so on. Generally, you also want to think about the overall schedule and costs. For the most part, you will notice that most people end up dealing with localization challenges, since they can’t afford a complete localization package. Since localization is crucial for business growth, it’s important to go for a complete localization if possible. This way you will have a much better chance of connecting with your audience, and the benefits can be incredible.

Conclusion

Localization is very important if you want to reach a market that is not composed of English speakers. Sure, some people might speak English, but most of them don’t. As a result, you do want to ensure that everything is fully localized for that audience. Not only is it easier for you to show the true value of your company and products, but it’s simpler for them to initiate the purchase process too. In the end, you will have a much better return on investment, and the benefits can be incredible. Take your time to ensure that you pick the right localization partner, and you will be very happy with the results!

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 localisation and how we can best help your team.

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