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May 15, 2018 |

5 Reasons Website Localization Will Increase Customer Engagement

Taking your business global is an essential step towards growth. As you expand your activity outside national borders, you reach a broader audience and attract more customers through your funnel and increase conversions. Website localization is vital for achieving your sales goals.

When you localize your website, you do much more than translating your English site into a foreign language. You go beyond translation and rewrite the content for a new audience, to overcome cultural barriers as well as language differences.

Website localization means adapting your message to a public with a different cultural background. This way, you explain in a language they understand what you do and how you can help them.

And here are five ways in which website localization can help you increase customer engagement.

1. You Show Your Customers That You Respect Their Culture

Almost 75 percent of internet users don’t speak English. If you want to reach them and increase brand awareness globally, you must dedicate significant resources to connect with non-English speaking users and get new leads.

A localized website makes communication easier between you and your public, regardless of what country you’re targeting. People are more likely to visit and buy from a site that speaks their native language because having access to information allows them to make smarter purchasing decisions.

With website localization, you provide your audience with more than an offer or a special discount. You deliver data in a language they can understand: with local currencies, standard units of measurement, and local methods of payment. Plus, localized content that can hook local audiences.

A blond woman smiling next to her two beautiful children doesn’t mean anything to a Chinese audience. You need to come up with new visuals, something that can draw attention and make people react to your message.

From changing the colors of your website to redesigning landing pages, there’s a lot you can do to tailor your content to a new audience.

When you localize your website, all your content becomes available and easy to understand. Your public sees more than a brand that’s looking to sell them something. And when you take the time to translate and localize your content following local cultural guidelines, you send a more profound message.

You show that you care about your public’s background and that you respect their language and culture. And you’re more likely to get a positive reaction from your readers when they feel appreciated and respected.

2. Website Localization Helps You Gain Trust

Translation has a massive influence on the way your public interacts with your brand. A study of more than 3,000 consumers in 10 countries, by Common Sense Advisory, revealed how information in local languages influences buying decisions.

The study found that:

  • 55 percent of consumers prefer buying only from websites available in local languages
  • 53 percent of them are more at ease buying in native languages

At first glance, you could say that when you localize your website, you increase your chances of selling. But there’s more than that behind these numbers.

The study shows how important languages are when looking to create a relationship with your audience. When you speak a language that your public is familiar with, you’re more likely to gain their trust.

Your public won’t have doubts about misread words, communication errors, hidden information, or extra costs. When they can understand all your terms and conditions, they’ll trust you. You can improve your reputation online and offline, increase brand awareness and grow your sales.

3. You Connect with Your Public on Local Social Networks

Implementing local social media channels on your website is vital for building a stable image in a local market. People love social media, no matter what language they speak. And they also like brands that have a consistent presence on popular networks.

Having local Facebook pages can help you connect with your audiences in most parts of the world. Coca-Cola, for example, has over 100 million fans on Facebook, thanks to its customized content.

Another method of connecting with your public is to create a page for every country you target. Starbucks uses this strategy to develop localized content for their Facebook pages, based on the specifics of each audience.

In some countries, you need more than a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and some photos on Instagram to get noticed. China, for example, has its own favorite social networks, such as Wechat (900 million daily users) or Sina Weibo (China’s Twitter – 340 million monthly users).

When customers can connect with your brand and communicate with you via their favorite social networks, they’re more likely to engage with your content and do what you ask them with your CTAs.  

4. Localized Content Helps You Educate Your Customers

One efficient method of increasing customer engagement is by educating your public through high-quality content. When doing global business, this means you must provide proper content for each category of customer you’re targeting, in their native languages.

This way, your customers make educated purchasing decisions, which increases their satisfaction and helps you to consolidate your position in local markets. Website localization also includes a localized content strategy, based on the specific content consumption in every country.

To reach your marketing goals, you should mix localized content with pieces written by local contributors. Following this approach, you get a unique global image that reflects your values, with a local touch that allows you to connect with native audiences.

5. You Improve Customer Service

A localized website means improved customer service. Your public gets all the information they need, right from your site. Possible clients can read product descriptions, reviews, and other details that can help them make their decisions.

The language element becomes more important as you move forward in the buying process. Even if people are comfortable with discovering your product through English content, they’re more likely to spend more time on your website and to buy when they find content in native languages.  

In fact, according to the Common Sense Advisory, 56 percent of consumers say that having product information available in their native language is more important than price when making a decision.

Most of them are looking for post-sale assistance in local languages, above all other features. If you localize your website and provide visitors with local customer support, you’ll improve customer service, which will increase customer engagement significantly.

As internet penetration rates grow in emerging markets, the number of non-English speaking visitors will also rise. This means you’ll have to adapt your business to attract more people to your website through localized content.

Website localization is vital for reaching broader audiences and increasing your number of potential customers. It’s the most effective strategy to get new leads, improve conversions and boost your sales as well.