Ecommerce Marketing and Translation – The Perfect Pairing for Global Conquest?
A rapid way to expand your company’s reach and increase the number of potential customers is to work on a global marketing strategy. However, the most daunting aspect of expanding internationally is often the language barrier.
After all, what happens if your market research shows that your product might really take off in an Asian region, but you only speak English? By using the right strategies, your global marketing efforts will run more smoothly.
When targeting Australia for my print on demand businesses I use local Australian suppliers, but I would use suppliers closer to the UK if I was targeting a UK audience. I want the shipping times to be as reduced as possible. Customers do not like waiting in todays market.
We touched on cross-culture marketing but have you considered the type of business model you need for running a global ecomnmerce store? Heres a handy guide that outlines the different business models..
Building Global Marketing Strategies
Let’s start with the basics. What exactly is ecommerce? Ecommerce lets people buy and sell over the internet. It’s a business model that operates mostly or entirely online.
That makes global marketing strategies all the more important when it comes to making people aware of your website and brand, particularly since ecommerce businesses usually don’t have a physical presence in the community.
You’ll need to connect appropriately with audiences in multiple countries if you’re serious about the operation of your global ecommerce enterprise. Global marketing strategies focus on this need to handle all aspects of the marketing process in order to connect with audiences around the world.
That includes the translation of adverts, ecommerce websites, content marketing copy, brochures, catalogues, promotional social media posts, landing pages, sales letters or anything else needed in global marketing.
Clearly, you’ll need a professional service with plenty of relevant experience to handle all of this. Opt for reliable and speedy service delivery rather than the cheapest option – and certainly don’t be tempted by automated services.
Communication that happens as part of a global marketing strategy is often very creative and figurative. Any ecommerce website that has artistic and engaging video ads is an example. Or consider commercials that act as mini comedy skits.
But saying that not every country finds the same things engaging. Your global marketing strategy has to consider local trends, local interests and have some reliability to the local market its targeting.
Using these to connect with international audiences will play a key role in your global marketing efforts, so think carefully about the tone of your ads and the way that you use language, so that you can be sure your marketing materials land with the new culture and consumer habits
Why Converting Global Marketing Content Matters
40% of consumers won’t buy from websites that are in other languages. That means that any global marketing strategy worth the paper it’s written on needs to include localization.
Localization is the process of updating all parts of the product or message so that they fit in with the local culture and make for an intuitive experience in the new consumer culture.
For instance, the localization of an ecommerce website might handle many aspects of the site’s design. In addition to translating the text, localization makes sure the layout of a website looks good in the new language, ensuring that the text flows in the right direction and fills all of the spaces correctly.
Localization can also update small formatting details that are easy to miss, like currency symbols, address formats and phone numbers. It also addresses graphics, ensuring they fit the new language or culture, like finding photos featuring models that represent local demographics.
Localization can also make sure the website fits with local regulations, like privacy or cookie notification policies. It also makes sure the product and message fit into the new culture overall, in a way where nothing is culturally insensitive or confusing.
To make sure a message is culturally sensitive, it might make sure certain references are avoided or adjust phrases that have no literal translation in the new language.
Focus on Ecommerce Experience
To have the best experience possible when working with a professional service on your global marketing strategy, you have to make sure the service you work with is experienced in ecommerce. Ask to see samples of past work or client testimonials, if these are not listed on the company’s website.
Those you hire should have a firm professional background in the countries that you’re targeting as part of your global marketing efforts. That can include extensive work experience in the countries in question, belonging to professional associations in those locations and range of other connections with them.
To keep an even playing field you can look up independent reviews of the services before you work with them. 55% of consumers look up online reviews and recommendations first – this is a key part of the process of deciding which service to use. You can also ask around your professional network to see if anyone has had a good experience with a global marketing company that is knowledgeable of the ecommerce sphere.
My e-commerce team eats, sleeps, breathes and dreams about e-commerce from sunrise to sunset.
