To involve foreign customers, in addition to text localization, you cannot ignore the website and e-commerce localization process. The translator, an expert in the target market, will take care of localizing your communication, becoming responsible for a cultural mission and an upgrade of your business.
“The world is beautiful because it is varied”: no axiom is more famous than this. However, the world is full of so much culture and diversity that sometimes we paradoxically tend to forget about it, hiding behind a banal excuse of “globism”.
We should rather capture the image of the variety around us from a g-localized angle. Probably harder said than done. But let’s try to put ourselves in the shoes of an entrepreneur, who scans the horizon for the indefinite opportunities to be seized in order to expand his business abroad.
Which countries to choose? Who to contact? When to enter the market? But above all, HOW to act? These questions are part of the repertoire for a businessman who has decided to ride the wave and throw himself into the international market.
In defense of cultural and linguistic diversity
Companies that plan an international marketing strategy must pay attention to every detail. The reason is simple and can be traced back to two words: novelty and diversity. A new market for a company is also something unknown and new.
Therefore, to start the expansion plan, the company knows it needs the assistance of some actors, including translators. Their task is to carry out a localization service for the destination country and to coordinate effective and direct communication.
The diversity that drives a company’s curiosity to cross its border must be the same cultural and linguistic diversity that must be protected and safeguarded. Otherwise you risk getting bankrupt or getting into legal trouble. Only with the professionalism and skills of a team of expert linguists will the company be able to achieve success on an international level.
Safeguarding diversity in terms of translation means going beyond the literal transposition from language to language. Following the first step of translation, the text localization phase involves a much deeper and more sensitive analysis of the translated text. In fact, in this multidisciplinary phase, the translator, also guided by experience, operates a localization aimed at the target audience with the aim of positively overwhelming them.
It is as if the translated text were reinterpreted based on who reads it, so as to be spontaneous and accessible. In order for the customer, placed at the center of the business, to be won over, the so-called CX (Customer Experience) must be impeccably personalized. Consequently, using professional translators can only be a guarantee.
To err is human, but to persist is diabolical.
To err is human, but to persist is diabolical.
The concept of communication localization extends to various aspects beyond the purely linguistic one, typical of text localization, in which the text is reworked, giving it greater fluency and understanding. Localization of an Arabic text must consider the writing and reading direction from right to left, for example.
But today’s user is not satisfied with the linguistic aspect, far from it. As he browses online, his search turns to something that he can feel as “familiar” and singular at the same time. The localization of a website involves a thoughtful choice of graphic elements, colors or layout, so that the customer can feel at ease while exploring the translated site. For example, attention to the time format or the size guide, depending on whether the user is American or Italian.
In a software localization, the most used search engines are promoted and how to obtain greater visibility in the country of interest is studied, adapting the domain and metadata from an SEO perspective. Or again, the most popular devices are identified, conforming their display on the screen – as happens for the localization of apps for mobile phones or tablets. This last point should not be underestimated at all because, in the field of “search marketing”, the most recent studies demonstrate an exponential increase in online research on mobile devices.
The user who chooses to visit your site must immediately have the impression that the page has been tailor-made for him. According to data from CSA Research, 72% of connected users worldwide are more inclined to visit or buy products from websites localized in their native language. Indeed, a company’s brand identity would be compromised if the user realized that the translated site had been drastically simplified or was not correctly localized compared to the main site.
In conclusion, from an internationalization perspective, the customer must be taken by the hand and welcomed through localization and transcreation processes.
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