In a world where your website is the first place people look to decide if they want to buy from you, having quality written content is essential in order to reach new markets. While the upfront costs of establishing your brand image in another language may seem hefty, making the investment and maintaining your marketing materials in another language truly pays off. Here are just a few of the many benefits.
Growing your bilingual business
Speaking from experience, running a translation business is the epitome of serving a foreign language-speaking clientele. It is well known in my field that it is not only is it essential to have polished marketing materials in your primary language, the content you provide to your potential foreign-speaking customers must be equally flawless. This is even more so the case since statistics show that 72% of people are more likely to buy products and services when information is provided to them in their native language.[i] If your translated materials don’t speak to your potential foreign language-speaking customers, or even worse, if there is a typo or grammar mistake, it is almost guaranteed that you will lose those potential customers.
Using consistent brand language
According to Dawn Lerman, a professor at Fordham University in New York City, language is the most important element of marketing.[ii] Lerman studies the language of marketing and has found that the best marketers use the interplay between words, brands and customers to influence consumer behavior. Taking things a step further, Lerman also recommends that companies carry out a “brand language audit” to take stock of the linguistic devices they use to market their products and services. Just as your original marketing content is strategically developed, so, too, should your translated materials, which is why ensuring that you convey a consistent brand image in both languages is essential.
Working with a qualified translator
Since it’s nearly impossible to evaluate the quality of the translation provided to you when you don’t fluently speak the foreign language, hiring a professional translator who only translates into their native tongue ensures that the image you present to your target customers reflects the quality of your products and services.
One last tip: to the extent possible, continue to call on the services of the same translator or translation company to ensure that your brand image in your foreign language is consistent and harmonizes with your previously translated content. As the saying goes, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.”
[i] “Speak to Global Customers in Their Own Language,” Nataly Kelly, Harvard Business Review Online, August 3, 2012, https://hbr.org/2012/08/speak-to-global-customers-in-t
[ii] “A Professor Has Uncovered The One Element That Has The Biggest Effect in Marketing,” Michael Schein, Forbes.com, August 23, 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelschein/2018/08/23/a-professor-has-uncovered-the-one-element-that-has-the-biggest-effect-in-marketing/#6e5a5ec570be
