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How to Correctly Market to Foreign Customers

Certified Translation

Marketing is two parts science and one part sorcery. There are thousands of factors that come into play when trying to convince someone of the quality of a product or service, and it can be hard to know just what the best approach will be. However, the underlying need for any good marketing campaign is the ability to communicate effectively with your audience. When you understand your customer base's needs and concerns and can directly address those concerns in a way that they will respond to, you can begin to convince them to adjust their buying habits and desires.  Of course, this is much easier said than done.

 

At The Spanish Group, we have worked hand-in-hand with several small and large businesses and have provided key assistance on hundreds of advertising, promotional, and marketing campaigns. Over the years, we have learned quite a bit about what makes an international campaign successful and what will cause it to sputter out.

 

In this article, we will break down what we have learned regarding key aspects of a successful campaign and go over how you should approach building interest in a customer base when entering a new region.

 

Speak to Them in Their Own Language

 

Speaking the same language as your customers goes beyond simply using words that they can understand. You need to speak to your target audience in a way that catches their interest and makes them want to respond. Doing this means using the same terms, slang, metaphors, and short-hand that they use when conversing with their friends and family. You also want to be directly addressing their concerns and desires.

 

Doing this requires quite a bit of research and insight regardless of what medium you are communicating through.

 

Note: Many Translation Companies that specialize in Document Translation Services often are locked into one mode of speaking and are rarely able to adapt their "voice" in a way that can catch an audience's attention. The Spanish Group has made great efforts into being able to adjust our content towards specific demographics.

 

In order to effectively communicate to your target audience, you need to factor in and consider a good deal of personal attributes. These attributes include:

  • Gender
  • Age
  • Occupation
  • Income

 

Of course, you could go much deeper into these personal profiles and investigate hobbies, social statuses, politics, etc. But these four are the absolute minimum you need to understand about your audience as these play the most prominent role in dictating your messaging.

 

Identify with your audience and figure out what you want to achieve with your messaging. Keep in mind how your target demographic prefers their media (younger generations prefer much more visual storytelling). Quickly address their concerns that you are trying to solve for them and let them know why they should give you their attention.

 

Don't be overly technical with industry jargon; instead, focus on how your audience talks and thinks. Talk to them like they would talk to a friend. Use words that trigger emotions and make your advertising about them.

 

The Importance of Translation in Marketing

 

Often, businesses will assume that since most of a country can understand a particular language (for example, English in Germany), there is no need to translate their content for them. This is actually a huge mistake.

 

For the same reasons we previously covered, failing to translate your materials into the language a consumer is most comfortable with will drastically cripple your chances of selling anything to them. This is true across industries and cultures. There is a powerful link between language and one's likelihood to make a purchase.

 

According to the Harvard Business Review and a Gallup survey of language preferences:

 

  • Over 70% of buyers spend most or all of their time on websites in their native language.
  • 90% of consumers said they would choose a website in their native language when given a choice.
  • Almost 20% of Europeans said they never look at content outside of their native language.
  • Over 40% said they never buy goods or services offered outside of their native language.
  • Over 50% said the ability to get information in their language is more relevant than the price.
  • Over 70% said they would be more likely to buy a product with information in their language.

 

Simply put, your customers are both willing to buy more and spend more if they are marketed to in their native tongues. This means that even the most basic of translation services, even without the ability to communicate naturally, will likely do better than the best marketer using the wrong language.

 

Now, suppose you are to use translation companies or translation services skilled in adopting both the language and the voice of your intended market. In that case, you are likely to see exponentially better results on your ad's return on investment (ROI).

 

Finding the Correct Translation Services Online

 

Luckily for the average business owner, getting Professional Translation Services is easier than ever, though this can be a double-edged sword at times. With so many competing translation services online offering everything from Legal Translation Services to Certified Translation Services, it can be hard to find a company capable of giving you the best results.

 

While at The Spanish Group, we would, of course, recommend ourselves over other professional translation services, we have a good reason for doing so. As this article should demonstrate, we have spent considerable time learning and understanding why certain marketing ventures work, while others do not. At the same time, we have ensured that we have roughly the top 1% of translators working today on our staff, with native language experience, capable of speaking in familiar and friendly tones proven to attract more customers.

 

As a translation business, we have done this work ourselves and expanded into overseas markets through successful utilization of marketing and language best practices. We operate in multiple regions effectively and have seen considerable growth in each of these markets.

 

While we offer other options like Legal Translation Services and general Document Translation Services, we understand that marketing and advertising is its own art form and have gone above and beyond to ensure you are getting the language solutions you need.

 

Try our Marketing Translation Services today!