With lighter days and daffodils blooming, it is clear that spring is well and truly upon us. And with that, it may be time to have a little sort out!
Yes, spring is the perfect time to refresh, saying goodbye to former, ineffectual habits and hello to revitalised, propitious behaviours. Such changes may take place within your personal life, but such a spring clean can also be carried out within your business.
This is why, at Web-Translations, we wanted to help. Although we may not be able to advise on finance or product creation, we can certainly assist you with the marketing of international campaigns. As such, in this blog, we’re going to go back to basics and explore the five key points to consider when branching out into international trade.
1. Language
It may sound like an obvious starting point, but if you’re planning to target international markets, then it’s important you do so in your target market’s language. Not merely does this illustrate respect to your customer, but it may also increase conversions. This is because online customers are statistically more likely to buy from a website in their own language. For example, a study found that 40% of internet users stated that they would never buy from websites outside their native language. What is more, 65% of people would rather look up content in their native language.
Making an effort to localise your content yields benefits. However, if you’re going to localise, you need to do it right.
In other words, if you’d like to expand into Argentina, it isn’t simply sufficient to get your website translated into ‘Spanish’. You need to ensure that your site is professionally localised into Argentinian Spanish. Furthermore, if you’d like to branch into the Canadian market, you can’t simply reuse your French for France content. You’d need your content localised into Canadian French.
See the pattern? Research is vital to ensure you’re translating into the right language for your target market. If you need guidance, we would be happy to advise.
2. Time Difference
Nowadays, it is taken as a given that any successful company will have a thriving social media presence. Whether it be via Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram, a global presence is key. However, it isn’t simply the case that one tweet suits all.
Across the globe, there are more than 24 different time zones. Consequently, when planning your social media campaign, these time zones need to be respected. For example, if you’re a British company trying to branch into Mexico, tweeting at 9 am GMT is futile. Whilst 9 am is a great time of day to tweet to achieve maximum outreach, the same cannot be said for 3 am in Mexico City.
When planning your social media campaign, therefore, take a moment to reflect upon the time zone of your target market.
3. Seasonal Difference
Heralding in longer days and warmer climates, March in the Northern Hemisphere signals the start of spring. As such, many businesses move away from the snowy and cosy advertising of winter and shift towards the bright and pastel tones of spring.
However, if you’re targeting international markets, it may be worth holding back on such advertising. Whilst spring may be in vogue in the Northern Hemisphere, the same cannot be said for the Southern Hemisphere. Similar to how time varies in different countries, climate varies too. You should thus consider this when launching any global campaigns.
4. Cultural Difference
Every corner of the world has its own set of cultural traditions that are unique to them. It’s what makes the world a beautiful and vibrant place. However, within these cultures there are sensitivities that need to be respected.
For instance, whilst an image of a sausage sandwich may be enticing to a British audience, this would unlikely be the case for an Arabic-speaking audience. This is because, in many Arab countries, pork is a forbidden food. Any advertising including such meat therefore may not only be fruitless, but it could be disrespectful.
Consequently, when engaging in international trade, an awareness of cultural traditions and sensitivities are essential.
5. Local Competition
Finally, when journeying into international waters, it is important that you know your local competition.
By knowing what your target market currently has to offer, you will be able to ascertain the correct marketing approach. For example, it would be futile advertising a building block related toy as revolutionary and unseen in Billund, Denmark – the home of Lego. Perhaps it would be better to present it with a new twist, building upon an aspect that Lego doesn’t provide… We’re not sure what that could be, but it could be anything!! The world’s your oyster!
When expanding into international markets the basics to consider are: Language, Time, Climate, Culture and Competition.
We hope this blog has helped you go back to basics and encouraged you to have a bit of a spring clean. After all, it is that time of year! Or at least it is for us in the North!
Any other tips you fancy sharing? Get in touch via our social media channels!
22 March 2022 16:24