A growing number of business owners, especially from the Small and Medium Sized sector, decides to approach foreign markets with the help of the digital media, such as websites. In today’s world, where internet is widely accessible, a company based in the UK can easily trade with customers and partners based in different parts of the world, which is clearly noticeable in larger cities, for example, London.

In fact, London has the highest number of businesses per number of residents. In 2017, there were 1,464 businesses registered in London per every 10,000 residents, totaling around 1 million business. This is an astounding number and shows the true potential which lies in the SME sector. You can see the latest business statistics for the United Kingdom by clicking here and visiting the Office for National Statistic’s website.

Nevertheless, before approaching and expanding to a foreign market is even at all possible, it is essential to look at some recent figures. According to a survey by the Common Sense Advisory, over 72% of consumers feel more inclined to make a purchase if the information about product/service is provided in their native language and more than 90% of internet users always chooses to browse websites in their mother tongue, whenever given the chance. The survey based on 3,000 participants had also revealed that 60% of customers rarely or never buy from online retailers offering information about their products/services only in English.

As you can see, the ‘one-for-all’ approach simply doesn’t work anymore in the globalizing world. Although in the B2B world English is still the first language, businesses approaching potential customers must show a little more initiative and do their best in order to please consumers, swaying them their way. Else, in a saturated market, a competitor offering information in the customer’s native language will always be one step ahead of one which doesn’t.

What to translate?

Within the UK SME sector, in the majority of cases, a company’s website will usually be the very first point of contact between a business and the consumer. This can be especially true if the company is approaching an overseas market without a physical store in the target country.

One of the most important factors, which can directly influence a company’s expansion and marketing efforts is website translation. As previously mentioned, the majority of internet users prefer to shop in their native language, consequently, allowing them to find such content on your website and providing information about your products and services in a language they fully understand can in many cases strongly influence their consumer behavior.

Although there is a number of different types of marketing translations available, one of the most popular ways of handling such project is working with a professional translation agency, which specializes in offering accurate marketing translation services. Such an agency can guarantee that your website and other marketing material will not only be carefully translated but additionally carefully localized, ensuring that it is fully suitable for your target market.

Website Localisation

Often, translating your website word for word and keeping its literal meaning simply isn’t enough in order to be successful abroad. This can be especially true when approaching markets with business customs entirely different to the United Kingdom. When approaching Asian, African, South American and even some of the European markets, a company must take into consideration a number of different aspects such as social, economic, cultural or political factors, which can directly impact how the content is perceived within that market. In such a case, a website should not only be accurately translated but also carefully localized. You can read more about website localization here.

Again, working with a translation agency which specializes in website and marketing translations is usually the best solution. London based companies such as Translation Services 24 or LR have extensive networks of translators, who are native speakers of the target language, and consequently, have an in-depth knowledge not only of the language but also of the country’s customs and social norms.

Translating your marketing content

Website translation and localization is definitely a significant part of approaching foreign markets, nevertheless, in some cases, it is also vital to translate further marketing materials, such as brochures, leaflets or even business cards. As this is print material, however, the translation simply must be conducted by a professional translator to ensure it is completely error-free and print-ready. Majority of expert translation companies will offer an additional proofreading service for your documents by a second, independent translator. This will ensure that before your materials are printed, they are double checked for any spelling or grammatical mistakes. It’s crucial that such documents are proofread before printing as in the case of spotting an error after printing the batch, a company will have to spend double the budget for amending the mistake and re-printing the material.

Translating and localizing your website should be the initial step in approaching a foreign market. It allows potential customers to understand your message better and build a stronger, professional company image, which is especially significant when entering new markets.

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