Does localization REALLY matter to your customers?
Budgets are tight these days. If your business is like so many others, you go to great lengths to make the smartest spending decisions for your company. You research products and services before you make a purchase and estimate the return you will see on your investment.
Your consumers are not much different than you in that regard.
That’s why not only translating but also localizing that language on product packaging is essential. You want to make it dead simple for potential customers to visit your website, read about your products, and quickly make the decision to purchase from you.
Translating your marketing materials is a must
One of the first things your client sees from you is your company’s website. At this stage, your sales force has not yet engaged with your prospect. Her first impression is based solely on your marketing materials and information on your website.
In several surveys conducted by the Common Sense Advisory, buyers stated that they prefer to view and read websites in their native tongue. Buyers expect to find localized product information and marketing materials on a website to use when making a purchase decision.
This finding demonstrates the importance of localization online. Even if your customer speaks and understands English, localization impacts her buying decision. She looks to your company’s website when comparing your products with your competitor’s products. If you translate and localize your website into her language, she is more likely to buy from you over a competitor without a translated website.
Localized product packaging directly impacts the purchase decision
Another important consideration buyers use in the purchase decision is the language of your product. One Common Sense Advisory survey found that 90% of respondents in non-English speaking countries preferred to purchase products that were translated and adapted to the needs of the local market.
The report looked specifically at products that had a user interface, required detailed documentation (such as medical devices and pharmaceuticals), and offered technical support.
Your customer wants to know that she is purchasing something that will meet her needs. When she can read the product packaging, she has a greater understanding of what she is buying. With translated product information, your customer gets a clear idea of how you will make her life a little bit better. This will ultimately impact her decision whether to buy, or not buy, from you.
Localization is no longer an option
When it comes to making a purchase, consumers in foreign countries want to know that your company understands their language and culture. In some industries, localization is especially critical.
- Pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceutical drugs have side effects, dosage instructions, and other warnings that consumers need to know about. Your customer wants to know what to expect before going to her doctor to ask for your drug. Localizing your marketing materials for your life-changing drug enables you to get medicine into the hands of the people who need it the most.
- Medical devices. In a similar vein, consumers need to feel comfortable with using your medical devices. Knowing what to expect and how to use a medical device is critical in your consumer’s decision-making process. When your medical device instructions are left up to interpretation, your customer will not use your product because the risk is too great.
- Manufacturing. The products you manufacture have special instructions. For your customer to buy from you, she cannot have any doubts in her mind about safety, usage, or warnings. Translating product packaging in the manufacturing industry is essential. It encourages sales by answering your customer’s questions in a language she feels comfortable reading.
Don’t leave your product’s vital information up for interpretation. Give your customers a reason to trust your business and feel comfortable buying from you. Survey results show that localization really matters to your customers, so it should matter to you too. When you make the effort to translate your products up front, sales will follow.
