Raising Your Global Marketing Game Through Localization

Thanks to the far-reaching abilities of the internet, your business is now facing competitors from all over the world. Business has evolved globally, and you need to understand how to compete in this new digital age.A plethora of marketing tools have been developed that are specifically designed help you market your business to the entire international market. Since these marketing tools are often easy to use and understand, many companies simply go full steam ahead when they start using them, sending out their message to the international market without any hesitation.Even with the best intentions at heart, many of the companies that use these marketing tools without a strategy in place fail right at the outset. This can be a costly lesson to learn. These marketing tools make it so easy to get started that many businesses forget to analyze their global market customers before they start promoting their products and services to them.

Identifying Differences In Global Markets

Before you can effectively market your business in the international marketplace, you need to understand the key differences between global marketing and localized marketing.

Understanding Global Marketing

Global marketing is a general message that you broadcast, that is meant for all consumers regardless of where they reside. This includes your website homepage, as it is probably written in such a way that, no matter who visits the page, they will understand your company’s message and the products and services that you offer.Most global marketing content is written in English, as this is the most widely accepted language that most people can read and understand.The use of a global marketing campaign can help raise awareness about your business and about the products and services that you offer. You can also use it to send sales inquiries to a larger company within your sector. If English is not your first language, you will need a translator to help you develop the information and materials you need to reach an international audience with a global marketing message. In addition, you’ll need to concentrate on SEO and employ an experienced individual who can optimize your content so that it will rank as high up as possible when consumers search on global search engines, such as Google.

Understanding Localized Marketing

Now, Localized marketing uses a more dedicated approach. It hones in on a smaller target audience. For example, you may choose to send an advertisement via email only to customers in Germany. Because you want the highest possible number of conversions from your promotion, you need to ensure that the message is translated into German and abides by German traditions and customs. You would want to use these techniques for each and every international market you are looking to reach with a Localized message. This also includes your website landing pages for specific regions of the world. Using localization takes some effort, but the results can be worth your time and budget. You need to create a targeted campaign for each language/country you are looking to reach. It is imperative that you work with native speakers who understand the language of the region you are aiming your promotions at, as well as the standard practices in the country in question.

The Benefit Of Using Localized Marketing Over Global Marketing

You may have considered Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising through Google. PPC allows you to use text ads that are displayed in search engine searches for people within a specific market. This makes it more likely that people will click through to your company website.While it can create the illusion of providing localization, PPC can’t actually segment your marketing as neatly as you would like it to. You need to have a landing page that is specifically tailored to this target market, or else you won’t see the return on investment that you were hoping for with your promotions. In addition, you will be charged for clicks that don't generate any revenue, thereby wasting your marketing budget in a hurry.As a marketer, you need to spread your marketing dollars more specifically. According to a report by Common Sense Advisory Inc., leading companies spend only between 0.03 and 1 percent of their annual revenues on activities related to multilingual code and content. Your chief financial officer may think this is a significant investment and consider it excessive in some regards. However, evidence has shown that an investment in multilingual code and content can, in fact, drive your business revenues. It can easily cover the outlay and add to your overall profits. As many as 67 percents of businesses that have extensive localization plans invest as much as $2 million every single year in language services. They understand that this makes a big impact on their revenues and can drive their business forward. Overall, you will find that localization can, and does, outperform a global marketing strategy, because of its ability to target your specific audience more effectively.

Adding Localization To Your Marketing Strategy

Localization can be employed in the same ways that you would go about starting any other marketing campaign. The difference lies in the resources that you will need to launch your campaign to the market.

1.Research Your Global Customers

When employing a global marketing campaign, there is no need to identify the location of every potential customer you are looking to reach. You just want to hit as many customers as possible. With a localized marketing campaign, you need to be more targeted with your reach, so you need to think about which specific locations you want to hit.You also have to consider which of your products and services will perform best in which countries. Some will not hold any appeal to the region, while others will be ignored if they are not properly marketed. You want to maximize your budget, so it is important to have a critical eye when it comes to identifying your target customers. You will then need to focus all your attention on these markets and target your message directly to them.

2.Identify Your Specific Markets

You don’t need to look very far to find a company that made a colossal mess out of an international product launch simply because they didn’t understand the country and its culture. For example- Coors used the tagline “Turn It Loose!” in the USA. When the beer maker expanded into Mexico, it tried to use the same tagline. The company used a direct translation into Spanish, thinking that it would mean the same thing and have the same effect on its audience.The results were disastrous. Just a few months after the launch, sales fizzled out and were lower than anyone had anticipated. Why? The new Spanish tagline actually meant, “Suffer from diarrhea.” And, as you can imagine, this was a complete turnoff for the Mexican market.

3.Ask For Assistance

Even with the best-laid efforts and plans, you can only conduct so much research into a market in an effort to understand your customer base. By joining forces with a localization expert like TRAVOD, you will have immediate access to an experienced team of linguists based within the country of your choosing. By using in-country linguists, you will be able to maximize your localization efforts. And you’ll certainly be able to avoid costly mistakes like the one made by Coors. In-country linguists are able to create a message that has the exact meaning you are looking to convey.

4.Launch Your Campaign

Lastly, you need to begin your marketing campaign. You have completed the research that you need and developed a fool-proof plan to reach your target market. You are now ready to launch your campaign using the same techniques you would use in your home country. You’ll want to keep in mind any advice that you receive from your localization expert, as they may have valuable insights into the nuances of your target country.Want to move forward with a localization marketing campaign? Contact the localization experts at TRAVOD now! We can help provide the guidance you are looking for, to execute a localization campaign that is effective and reaches your target market with the proper message while maximizing your budget.
Eugeniu Topolschi is a Digital Expert with focus on identifying winning strategies for B2B & B2C companies. A digital marketer by day and a reader by night, he now strives to promote TRAVOD International - a language service provider helping companies tell their stories to people in Central and Eastern Europe in their native languages.