Getting Local To Get Global
Every business is in competition with every other business across the planet. And enterprises all over are always willing to walk that extra mile for methods that set them apart from their competitors. Despite meeting all the customer’s requirements, there are times when you end up watching your competitors luring customers right from your backyard for their own benefit. With online marketing and search engine optimisation strategies changing rapidly, its time to reconsider your approach in building a reputation as a trusted brand in the global market.
Sometimes the only problem holding back a sale in the global market is not having a translated version of the sites, which is a prerequisite for most of the customers. With social networking sites( Social Media Optimization ) growing daily by millions of participants from different cultures, communicating with people in their own cultural, linguistic and business contexts could be beneficial in attaining global customer satisfaction. Content localisation could be a saving grace for global enterprises as many nations are populated by people speaking different languages.
Research reveals that more than 56% of online consumers say that obtaining information in their own language is more important than the price. Restricting the statistics to just one nation, in China alone 95% of the consumers have greater comfort level is purchasing products from websites in their language. Yet, only less than 5% of foreign online retailers offer sites specific to China. (Forrester Research).
Content localisation in the first instance could help enterprises in winning potential competitive advantages. In addition, it could also help you in reaching your globalisation ROI goals such as leveraging quick global revenue opportunities and cost savings. Treating it as an afterthought could mean losing out on such advantages as improved global customer satisfaction, faster time to market, and global brand consistency.
The concept of localising the content may not make sense with all the sites. But the choice should be conscious and should be reconsidered as markets change. However, content localisation is considered by many as a systematic approach toward standardising procedures for globalisation. The chances of increasing visitor traffic and page views are also more as you add on local versions to your sites.
Finally, enterprises should also keep in mind that although content localisation may take considerable time and effort, it also has numerous advantages. Least of which being improved ROI and improved communication about the product.