With online technology being accessed by almost everybody in the world, it seems the world itself is becoming smaller and smaller. Companies are going beyond the US borders into a global market that has a the potential to expand their businesses to new clients and customers but as you know, the rest of the world is not the same as the US. There are differences in language and culture and so a company’s marketing strategy may not work as well in other countries, especially when it comes to promoting your business online.
Google Zeitgeist, an online tool that offers a view into global, regional, past and present search trends, reports that half of all Google users are searching in languages other than English while internetworldstats.com, an international website that features up to date world Internet usage, population statistics and Internet market research data globally, revealed that 78% of internet users are non-English native speakers. Now that’s a big percentage of an opportunity that you can tap into but it makes little sense to select a target segment of consumers based on their language abilities without first determining whether a product or service will meet their needs. Marketers need to re-examine their campaigns to make sure that they have taken the necessary steps to identify their target segment(s) and their needs. Yes, language is important but you have to also study the benefits, product usage, lifestyles, and consumer behavior.
It’s important to do your research into each particular target market because different cultural groups look for completely different things in a website. Countries from Asia, Middle East and Europe have different perceptions and expectations when being communicated to by a website or some other form of media so you should study the particular county or countries that you want to target and adapt your message to the way they interpret it. By thinking of your specific local audiences from the start, you can make sure your website will appeal to any demographic or language group and successfully expand your business and international presence.
Online technology makes it possible to efficiently communicate to your target audience and the easiest and most effective way is of course your company website. In order to reach that multicultural level of marketing, you have to build a website that can be adaptable for each change of content, this saves on time and money which would’ve been spent building a different website for each target country. Also, take advantage of CSS coding in the web design, this makes it easier to change the content. I highly recommend you work with a professional web design company or freelancer that will help you with a selection as well as with the site design and development. I also suggest you hire a professional to translate the text according to your target market because automatic translators like Google Translator aren’t 100% correct.
Going multicultural will place you above your competitors and strengthen your brand but by taking the proper steps from the beginning will you be able to successfully maintain a strong international presence.
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