Most companies dream of conducting their business on a global scale. Yet, very few make it nationally let alone globally. So what exactly is the determining factor that makes a business successful on a global scale? What makes Apple, Shell, Nestle, and more thrive internationally?
One of the things you will come across in your research is that each of the global scale companies has its localization strategy. It outlines how a company plans on adopting its business operations into a new region that has people of a different culture and speak a different language.
A localization strategy is vital for bettering customer experiences while ensuring effective communication with your audience. This will help you interact with potential customers as well as establish that your company can relate to their local region.
Once you have consumers’ trust, your brand can compete favorably with the local brands. Let us look at what exactly you should prioritize in your strategy:
1. Research Your Market
It is crucial to research your potential audience. You should conduct customer-focused research. It will include the people’s cultural norms, demographic characteristics, local languages, and their buying patterns.
Before you invest you should ensure that your product or service is suitable for this market. Your research scope should be deep enough to find out what the local population thinks about your brand’s insignia and color combinations. You should not be surprised to find out that some color combinations are offensive in some areas because of their beliefs.
2. Establish a Connection With Your Customers
For your business to stand a chance, it should feel local. Your business should blend in with the local people, meaning it should look and speak like it is local. Your content localization strategy should ensure that your websites and platforms have a localized version. The version should be in the people’s language and even with payment methods in their currency.
You should have media accounts for every region. Your customer’s feedback is essential at this level. Get conversant with what platforms are relevant in the different areas for example, in China WeChat is more relatable than Facebook.
A perfect example of a global company connecting with its different audiences is Netflix. The company has several different variations of its application for the regions they operate in. The differences in application development are notable not only in the languages but also in the interface.
3. Understand Your Local Competition
It is wise to know how the target market you are dealing with is performing. At first, a market may look full, but with research, you may establish a marketing gap you can fill, or you may realize you have an advantage over your competition.
You may win people over if you offer better services or a speedier, less expensive method of delivering things to clients. People also gravitate toward global brands because of their illustrious reputation. So, customer curiosity may come to your aid to help you establish yourself.
4. Use Local Resources
One of the best ways to save on costs is using local resources for both mineral resources and labor. Relying on local resources will reduce your importation costs and help promote growth in the country. An opportunity to use local labor is during the translation of your websites and marketing material to the local language.
Translating from one language to another may be simple, but it can always go wrong if you do not pay enough attention. Ensure you get a competent translation team that will help translate your content to its local equal. You do not want the poor translation to hinder your business success.
5. Create Relevant Material
When it comes to product marketing, be sure to stay culturally relevant. You should create content that fits the local population. Staying relevant may include incorporating local holidays and events from their cultural calendar.
Your content has to be relevant otherwise, it will alienate your consumers. It should never be a generalized approach when it is time to come up with advertisements. You should also take advantage and use local media to spread the word about your brand.
Take up advertisements spots in their local newspapers, television stations, and magazines. This will get across many demographics, unlike social media. You can also sponsor local events and competitions to ensure that your brand shows its relevance and is relatable to the population.
6. Factor in Logistics
When shipping and delivering, the timing and costs will not be equal in all your countries of operation. You also need to factor in-country policies and the cost of hiring labor for each country. There are many different factors to consider, and each will affect your cost of operation. These factors will translate to a difference in pricing, which will impact how you compete locally.
You should also conduct regular internal audits. The audits will help you make sure your company is running optimally. The results of the audits will also help you make decisions that may affect your operations.
7. Conduct Tests
There is no room to make mistakes on a global scale. You should conduct tests before making any new campaigns. Make sure to go over all the details, no matter how small. Enough testing will help you establish your brand and avoid losing customers.
Let your customers know they can count on your brand for excellent goods and services. Testing will also ensure consistency in meeting quality and satisfying customers, which will help you tramp complacent competition. You can do this by using part of your team or getting part of your audience to take part.
Conclusion
Many different factors affect the success of a business globally so it is wise to come up with a content localization strategy early. The plan will reduce the chances of failure by eliminating the immediate language barrier and cultural differences.
You can even incorporate your localization strategy into your business plan. Doing this will ensure you are constantly aiming to meet consumer needs at a global level. This will give you an upper hand against whatever competition you have in your field.
