60% of customers would rarely or never buy from an English-only website. What’s more, 44% of internet users in the EU are concerned that they’ll miss crucial information if it’s not presented in their local language. Here we show why localization is essential for global business.
These numbers clearly show that even though globalization is taking place at a record pace, today’s consumers and internet users still value the ability to access information in their native language so that they fully comprehend it and don’t have to struggle with absorbing it.
And that means modern businesses must take steps to ensure that their audiences across the globe have consistent, seamless, and convenient interactions with the brand, no matter what language they might be speaking in.
To help you better understand why localization is so important, let’s look at some of the biggest benefits it can offer below.
Increase Customer Satisfaction in Global Business
When developing your localization strategy, it’s important to understand what you’re trying to achieve. Adapting your business to the local market only makes sense if you can identify the specific ways it can help you boost your business performance.
And one of the main ways that localization can help your business is by improving customer satisfaction. By catering to the unique needs and preferences of local audiences, you can ensure that they have a frictionless experience and can fully understand and enjoy the services and products you offer.
Entering competitive markets is difficult enough, so having a way to match or exceed the level of service that your competitors are offering is a great way to get a stronger foothold and become a reliable choice that consumers trust.
Reduce Risks of Entering New Markets
Entering a new market is a risky and costly campaign. You are already facing an uphill battle trying to build trust with a new audience, so you need to take all the steps necessary to maximize your chances of success.
And that’s where localization can make a huge difference. Localization allows you to remove a lot of the friction for the audience you are trying to cater to, providing a more seamless and natural experience that matches their expectations.
Of course, countless aspects go into entering a new market, and many of them will need to be solved before you start communicating with customers. But at the same time, any challenges you face will be easier to overcome if you at least have a way to communicate with your customers effectively in the local language and in the way they are used to.
Build a Loyal Customer Base
Loyalty is a key ingredient of long-term business success. In fact, it may be the single most important factor that will determine whether your company can become a global power, since the reputation you cultivate with your audience will have a ripple effect, impacting the number of new customers you can attract.
And with the help of a comprehensive localization strategy, you can build a foundation that will allow you to establish a much stronger relationship with each person that buys from you.
By removing friction and making it easy to understand your messages, you will set the right expectations and get more people to believe in your message. What’s more, when you do a good job of explaining what your services are about and what customers can expect from your products, they will be much more likely to fully enjoy the experience and come back for more.
Better Revenue Potential
There’s a limit to how much you can grow your company in the local market. And because of that, most organizations end up looking for opportunities to expand abroad, which allows you to greatly enhance the pool of prospective customers and create numerous growth opportunities.
But one of the biggest roadblocks to expanding is not having a reliable process for launching your brand and products in local markets that are not the same as the ones you currently operate in.
That’s why perhaps the biggest game-changer for your company’s growth is creating a proven system for localization that takes into account the unique challenges you might encounter. When you use a proven localization platform, you can take advantage of powerful tools and a systemized process that removes the guesswork and many of the challenges you’d otherwise face.
Bottom Line
Localization is an integral part of expanding into new markets. Only by catering to the needs of local audiences can you expect to succeed and stay ahead of the competition.
The benefits listed above are just a few of the many reasons why localization should become a top priority in your company, but they highlight just how powerful an effective localization strategy can be.