The Power of Localization

SummaryAdequate translation allows you to truly connect withpotential buyers while maintaining control of yourmessage.American businesses with an international footprinthave increased their translation and localizationefforts by almost 50% between 2010 and 2015.On average, American companies with Europeanpresence translate their website in 4 Europeanlanguages.

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Introduction

#2 When in Europe: Localize, Localize, LocalizeIf you are based in the United States, would you accept to be sold to in a different languagethan English? Probably not. The same principle applies to Europe. When given a choice ofproducts, business buyers will purchase the one that is marketed in their native language,even in a country or industry with high English literacy. Science shows that if material ispresented in the second language of a decision-maker, the rational mind prevails. The buyerwill rely more strongly on rationality and logic than emotion, because a second languageprovides cognitive distance and reduces emotional reaction. When all your marketing materialis in English, you disengage from your Europeans customers. Translation is therefore necessary. Not only to win the mind, but also the heart of your B2Bcustomers. Local sales teams and distributors tend to develop their own material, which maybe misrepresenting your brand. Adequate translation allows you to truly connect withpotential buyers while maintaining control of your message.Translation efforts should not stop with just the marketing material. Customer service after apurchase is essential; for support via phone, live chat or in the form of FAQs and specificationsheets. Especially if the product is highly technical, a language barrier can be very frustratingto the customer and detrimental to your brand. Finally, think about your local competition. B2B buyers might be swayed by attractive costand efficiency, but if your local competitors can reach the same buyers with skillfullytranslated content, you will lag behind.

American B2B companies looking to gain a foothold in the European market face manychallenges. One of these challenges is to reach the right audience through the right channels.First off, traditional marketing channels are not dead, far from it. Cold calling remains the #1method to generate warm leads, and the power of face to face interactions cannot bereplaced. However, times have changed swiftly and today’s B2B buyers have gone digital formost of the buying process. The bottom line for American B2B brands: if you want to win European market share, staycompetitive and hit revenue goals, digital presence is key. To sell to the modern B2B buyer,sales teams need to understand the factors that influence B2B buyer behavior and the stepsthey can take to sell more effectively. In our previous article (Understand the new B2B buyerand their evolved journey) we looked at the importance of understanding the modernEuropean buyer and how they research future vendors (hint: online). Today, we focus on theimportance of speaking your buyer’s language, to get found and build trust.

People will do business with people they know, like and trust. Business customers alwaysappreciate the time companies take to speak in their native language. Translating content isnot about looking better to international audiences. Research from 2016 showed thatAmerican businesses with an international footprint have increased their translation andlocalization efforts by almost 50% between 2010 and 2015 (from $26 billion to $38 billion).Why? Because these companies see clear return on investment.

Benefits

When given a choise of product, business buyers will purchasethe one that is marketed in their native language, even in acountry or industry with high English literacy

,Adequabuyers

Increased salesin target market

Improved userexperience

Increase in leadgeneration

Top 3 Benefits of Content Localization

Solution 

Localize some content but do it well: you do not have to translate your entire website toget benefits. A foreign language landing page or microsite with carefully selected content cangreatly boost visibility, when done right. In the context of Europe, less is more. Americancompanies with European presence translate their website in 4 European languages onaverage. Translating the entire website and updating it constantly in several languagesrepresents a huge undertaking with no assurance that the content will speak to your foreignaudience.

Cultural assessment is key: besides the languages spoken by your target markets, culturalfactors can be of crucial importance. Only a native speaker will recognize specific idioms orgraphics that might be inappropriate for the local audience. You want to be sure that thetranslated site at least does not contain content that would be offensive in another culture.Native language copywriting is translation done right, adapting your message to maximize itsappeal to local buyers. The bottom line is: you want to make sure your audience feelsconfident that you understand their challenges and have a solution to help make their liveseasier.

Localized SEO and website for Europe: why translate content to target a specific country ifit does not appear in their search engines? It is not enough to write your content in a certainlanguage. If you do not tell them, search engines do not know that you are trying to target aspecific country. That is why competitor and keyword research are essential. Start bytranslating and localizing your current keywords and do some local competitor research to seewhat terms they are using, before picking the optimal keywords for your selected landingpages. For the strongest geo-targeting of your website in search engines, you can choose betweencountry-codes domains (www.mycompany.fr), subdomains (http://fr.mycompany.com) orsubdirectories (www.mycompany.com/fr)

You want to make sure your audience feels confident that youunderstand their challenges and have a solution to help maketheir lives easier

,To be competitive, B2B vendors need to create content that speaks to younger, more digitalsavvy influencers and decision-makers. They need to developing inbound marketing campaignsto keep the connection alive for weeks, months or even years. Understanding who your truecustomer is, by developing Buyers Personas for each European market you wish to penetrate,will help cater content to each audience. When the time is right and the customer is ready tomake a purchase, your sales people know exactly what to say to support a prospect’s businesscase and advance the purchase process.

The complexity of the process

Lars Ruiterkamp, MSc.8 years experience in digitalmarketing and communicationSpecialisms: Communicationstrategy | AnalyticsLanguages: English, Dutch andGerman

VP DIGITAL MARKETINGInterested?Are you interested in the added valueof Digital Marketing for your business? Contact our VP of Digital Marketing atlars.ruiterkamp@eurodev.com.

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