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Did you know that 2/3 of internet users won’t buy from a website that’s not in their preferred language?1 So, if you operate globally – or you’re exporting your business into new international markets – you need to speak to your customers in their language. If you don’t, you could miss out on potential sales and limit your revenue growth.

Exporting can be an effective growth strategy for your business. Research from the Minnesota Chamber’s Grow Minnesota! program shows that 80% of exporters visited reported increased revenue, compared to 69% of non-exporters.2 But to be truly effective when exporting to new markets, you need to connect with your customers in ways that resonate with them personally. Engage using their language preferences and cultural norms to take the guesswork out of the equation, help them understand your business, and increase the chances of making a sale.

What should you translate? We say: pretty much anything you want your customers to understand! But, in reality, your budget may not allow you to translate or interpret every customer touchpoint, so you should prioritize your most impactful content. How do you do that? Analyze, choose, and measure.

There are over 7,000 languages spoken across the globe! That means you need to evaluate your target audience to understand their language needs, cultural norms, and communication preferences. Make a list of the languages they speak, the communication channels they use, and how they prefer to engage with organizations like yours.

It’s safe to say you have content for days, but you may not need to translate everything. Look at which channels your customers use most frequently to engage with your business and be sure to translate all relevant content that flows through those channels. The most common high-priority content is websites, articles and blogs, and SEO metadata. Multilingual keyword research and content localization is complex, but essential to connecting with your customers.

As you shift to a multilingual marketing approach, keep an eye on how content is performing in each language, as well as by channel. You may find opportunities to finetune your approach based on the performance metrics, and it’s worth continuing to monitor until you feel confident that you’ve optimized your plan to its fullest potential.

There may be millions of people out there looking for a product or service like yours, but if they don’t understand what you’re offering, they’ll likely buy from someone else. Don’t let those customers pass you by! If expanding globally is part of your business plan, the Wordologists™ at Minnesota Chamber member company, INGCO International, can help! Learn more about our translation, interpreting, localization, and marketing services that will help you overcome language barriers and connect with customers across the globe.  
 

The above is sponsored content courtesy of INGCO International. For more information or to sponsor content, contact Elizabeth Sherry.