Localization in Business: Building a Strong Strategy

What is the secret to successfully expanding your business to a new location? Undoubtedly, the key lies in implementing localization in your business plan. 

As the world gets smaller and people get more connected, businesses want to explore new markets and establish a global presence. 

Thanks to online shopping and eCommerce, you can sell your products to customers all over the globe, provided you have a strong localization strategy. 

If you’re a business owner wondering how to penetrate into new markets with localization, this post is just for you.

Let’s see how you can adopt localization successfully into your marketing strategy not only to do business in different locations but also to ensure consistent growth. 

Let’s get started. 

What is Localization in Business? 

Is localization just another word for translation? No, there is a lot more to localization in business than mere translation.

A localization strategy refers to a comprehensive adoption of content, products, and services to cater to your audience at a particular location.

Localization in business will not only help you break down language barriers but also go past the cultural inhibitions to create a strong customer base.

Some of the top benefits of localization in business include: 

• Can help you enter a new market 
• Enables you to connect with the local target audience 
• Makes your brand more credible and trustworthy
• Gives you the competitive edge
• Helps enhance customer experience 
• Will generate more revenue for you 
• Can help establish a brand presence in more markets in a short time

6 Steps to Successfully Incorporate Localization Into Your Business 

The benefits of localization in business are plenty, and you can reap great results if you incorporate it strategically. 

Take a look at 6 important steps that can help you implement localization systematically.

Here they are. 

1. Select Your Target Market

Before you step into a new market, choosing the right market and understanding it is extremely vital. This is the first and most crucial step in implementing localization in your business. 

But how do you decide on the market that you want to step into? 

Your research begins by shortlisting a few prospective regions or countries where your small business can grow. 

It’s good practice to analyze your website traffic to see where the visitors are coming from.

If you are consistently getting visitors from a particular region that you are not yet targeting, you can consider entering that market. Your lead generation platform can also provide valuable input in choosing the new target market. 

Once the market is chosen, you can thoroughly research it to ensure that it is the right choice for you. 

2. Analyze Your Target Audience 

When you decide to enter a new market, it is natural that you have a limited understanding of your target audience there. To successfully implement localization in your business, gaining a thorough understanding of your audience is vital. 

This research encompasses many aspects, including the language your target audience speaks, the cultural values and preferences they have, demographic characteristics, the product choices they have in your niche, and so on. 

It is important to remember that localization in business is not just about marketing your products or services in a local language. It is all about understanding the land, its people, and its culture and presenting your brand in a way that relates to them. You may also have to tweak your products or services for them.

By analyzing this cumulative data, you will be able to understand your audience’s thought processes, pain points, and preferences which can help you to craft a highly targeted localization strategy.

3. Hire Local Resources 

If you want to truly implement localization for your business, it is imperative that you hire local resources. They bring to the table what your team currently lacks — an in-depth understanding of the local language and culture. 

When you hire local experts who are well aware of the local cultural values, they will be able to communicate your brand message in a way that will connect with the local audience.

Whether you are localizing your website content or marketing content, incorporating local resources in your team will help achieve the best results in a quick time. 

4. Localize Website Content 

With all your research and analysis done, the next step in incorporating localization in your business is to localize your website content.

English may be the most spoken language in the world but a greater percentage of the global population speaks other languages. 

You may have a well-optimized website in English, but that content will not resonate with the target audience when you enter a non-English speaking market. Localization of your website content is the way forward.

You can even consider using an AI chatbot that offers multilingual support to answer your visitors’ queries in their local language. Once the local target audience is able to read the content in their preferred language and relate to it, it is easier to engage and convert them.

5. Localize the Visuals

Localization in business is not only about the text, but about the whole UX your website delivers. That’s why localizing the visual elements on your website is equally important to resonate with the local audience. 

Small business owners tend to rely on video-making software to create branded videos that can effectively wrap their brand message in local culture, making it easy for the audience to relate to it. 

But if you have the funds, offloading that kind of work to graphic designers, motion designers, and video producers with the help of an in-house content manager will overall produce better results.

If you deem that the return on investment rate is not worth it, you could instead add and translate subtitles to your videos. While it’s not as effective as localization, you can still use that method to approach more regions.

With localized visuals, your brand can confidently identify with a specific region and win new customers.

6. Test and Measure 

The last and equally crucial stage in implementing localization in your business is to test your localized website.

Even when you translate the text, modify the visuals, and tweak the website’s layout, the overall look and feel of your website should be similar to the original design. 

The localized website should be tested several times to check the minutest details and ensure that they are correct and culturally appropriate. 

Along with accuracy comes effectiveness. Irrespective of the language preference of your visitors, your landing pages should be able to engage them effectively. 

You should check for things such as website visitors, customer conversions, bounce rate, etc.

Are You Ready to Adopt Localization in Your Small Business? 

In this day and age, your small business can penetrate multiple markets much easier than ever before. And developing a strong localization strategy is of utmost importance in achieving this success. 

The above-shared steps to implementing localization in your small business are extremely helpful in developing multilingual content and delivering great CX.

Go ahead and build your business plan for the new market around these points. Your new target audience will surely welcome you with open arms when you connect with them in their unique way.

This post is a contribution from Gaurav Sharma, the founder, and CEO of Attrock. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram.