MARKETING LOCALIZATION
In todays digital age, superior customer service and unique marketing strategies are more important than ever. Customers want to be able to connect with brands that deliver an authentic service. This means that brands need to become more human and not just operate as institutions or corporations. An integral aspect of this is the understanding of the importance of culture and language in connecting with customers. In creating a more human brand there needs to be a focus on creating a strong culture within in the organization, as well as taking into consideration the culture of the target markets. Language is also an essential element of any marketing strategy or service when working across different target markets. Utilizing transcreation is important to ensure that marketing strategies evoke the same emotion across different cultures.
WHAT IS CULTURE?
Culture is made up of different elements such as belief systems, experiences, shared values, attitudes, religion, ideas, customs, knowledge that shape the way a person sees the world. How people view the world is extremely important and can impact on the way that a marketing strategy is viewed and if a product or service is accepted or rejected. Culture also dictates the value of what is and is not acceptable in business practice. For example in individualistic societies such as the United States of America, people tend to make purchases based on personal preferences. Yet in collectivist societies such as Japan, people will tend to make a purchase with their family or collective group in mind. Culture not only affects how people react to marketing campaigns, but also the expectations they have in regards to the service they receive.
BRAND CULTURE
In supplying superior service, brands need to recognize the importance of creating a strong culture within the organization. Customers are strongly showing their preference for brands that have a strong culture and human element. This means that in order for a brand to appear human, there needs to be a focus on building a strong internal culture within the brand. Brands must have a strong mission statement and understanding of this mission first and foremost. This is an integral part of the brand creating a strong internal culture. This is then aligned with the marketing strategy and service being provided.
Potential customers or clients want to connect with brands that have a human element, and will provide an authentic interaction. If a brand is seen as more human, then the client will respond more positively towards that brand. This is essential when crafting marketing strategies. Once a brand has a strong internal culture and mission, then the next step is to adapt to each market and tailor the marketing strategy and the service they provide.
TARGET MARKET CULTURE
Once a brand has developed a strong mission and understanding of it’s internal culture, it is time to look outwards. In order to meet the needs of the customers, you must first understand what they want and how to go about providing it. This is where it is crucial to understand the culture of the target market you are working in. In some circumstances this can include multiple countries or cultures that need to be taken into consideration. It is essential to take into account the cultural factors of the target market in order to adapt the marketing strategy and service accordingly. This is where language plays a strong role. In order to craft marketing strategies that work, culturally appropriate language needs to be utilized. This also extends to the language used when interacting with customers. In some cultures, informal language and building a rapport with a customer is very important. In others, the use of formal language shows respect and must be used when providing service.
In regards to marketing strategies, understanding the culture and the use of language in the target market is essential. People from different cultures have different thought processes. If you present the same advertising campaign to two different cultural groups of people you will gain different responses. People from one culture may notice background items and be more interested in the details, whereas people from another culture may only identify with or notice the central figure and ignore the rest of the image. This has an impact on the way that a marketer presents their messagebased on cultural thought processes. By understanding the culture of the target market, the marketing strategy can be altered to ensure maximum customer engagement.
Culture plays a role in the perceptions, behavior, and expectations of the customer. Therefore adopting culturally nuanced policies and practices is also important in ensuring that service practices are culturally sensitive. For example in some cultures upselling of a product is not appropriate. Response time is also important when interacting with customers and providing service. Some cultures expect an immediate response to emails, where as others are ok with a longer response time such as 24 or 48 hours. By understanding the culture of the target market that you are working in, you are able to best identify how to provide the best service possible to your customers.
LANGUAGE
When crafting a marketing campaign or service strategy, brands must be mindful of the role that language plays. As mentioned above, culture is a very important element that must be considered when working within the global marketplace. Yet language plays an essential role too when it comes to marketing and service. Working across different target markets often means that marketing text and customer service text need to be translated from the original language into other languages. Language is affected by the culture of the place the language is spoken and this also has an effect on adapting a marketing strategy. It is not just a simple process of translating from one language to the next. You need to ensure that your original key marketing messages are being received in the same way in all of your target markets. Language is also important when it comes to providing service. Understanding the language of the market you are working in ensures that you are able to provide the best service as expected by the customers in that market.
TRANSCREATION
Transcreation is basically the creative side of translation. It requires recreating the branding and marketing behind a product or service into another language with cultural elements considered for optimum marketing success. Transcreation is taking an original marketing message, and customizing it for the target market in regards to language, culture and consumer behavior. This can also include changing and adapting aspects of the marketing strategy including design, colors, words and images. In some cases this means that a product needs to be adapted or recreated to fit the cultural nuances and language of the target market. The goal of transcreation is ensure that your marketing strategy gets the same response from different target audiences of different cultural backgrounds. It also makes the marketing messages more relevant to the target market. This means adapting a message from one language to another whilst maintaining the style and tone of the original message. If a message has been successfully transcreated, it will evoke the same emotions as the original. Standard translation alone doesn’t get the message across without ensuring that cultural nuances are taken into account for the best outcome for your marketing strategy.
Transcreation is an effective marketing tool to use to place your marketing campaign beyond cultural and language barriers. It helps to ensure that your content resonates with other cultures and languages. For example if your marketing campaign contains images, these might need to be changed for different target markets. What might be seen as appropriate imagery of young women in bathing suits for a marketing strategy in the United States of America might be seen as distasteful or culturally inappropriate in other more modest cultures. Transcreation also applies to service and the language that is used when providing service. Service procedures and scripts need to be transcreated into the different language of the target market and cultural nuances taken into account to ensure that a culturally acceptable service is provided.
ELEMENTS OF TRANSCREATION:
TRANSLATION
Translation is the process of converting words from one language into another. When creating a marketing campaign that works across different target markets it is important to have your campaign translated into different languages. You must ensure that an audience can understand the original meaning of your messages in the new language. This means that word for word translation only goes so far. It is also vitally important that content is adapted from the original language to suit the target market in the new language. Translation of the marketing text is the first step in the transcreation process. Yet it is vital to ensure good translation occurs as it can have a negative impact if poorly translated.
LINGUISTICS
Linguistics is the study of language and how it is structured, including grammar, syntax and phonetics. It is essential to have a good understanding of how the language in your target market is used to ensure optimum translation of the language. This can vary within cultures that use the same language, but in different ways. It is essential to have an understanding of the use of the language in your target market and how the local culture specifically uses the language.
LOCALIZATION
It is really important that you adapt a marketing service strategy to fit the target market that your brand is working in. Localization ensures that the marketing strategy is adapted to a certain audience in every way to make it locally specific. This can include the translation of language used, cultural nuances and even colors or images used. Localization goes one step beyond simply translating text and it ensures that language is adapted to fit the local dialect. Therefore localizing the service or the product to fit right in and be desirable in the culture of the target market is essential.
COPYWRITING
Copywriting becomes important when it comes to language, as it is a key tool to ensure transcreation occurs. Once the language of the marketing text has been translated, it is essential that creative rewriting occurs to get across the same original marketing message in a culturally appropriate way. This means utilizing copywriters with who are locals in the target market. They need to be experienced wordsmiths who are able to rewrite your content to make it engaging with the target market. This means understanding the language that is spoken locally and incorporating the local dialect.
UNDERSTANDING LANGUE AND CULTURE ENSURES THAT:
IT ESTABLISHES TRUST WITH THE CUSTOMER
In providing service to a customer an essential aspect is establishing trust with that customer. If a customer feels that they are understood and the language used during the service is appropriate then trust can be established. Customers want to trust in the brand they are interacting with and as this level of trust is unique to different cultures, then cultural understanding is a must. Creating trust also applies to the marketing strategy being used. If the marketing strategy shows cultural sensitivity and the language used is consistent with the service provided then trust will be established with the customer. Creating trust with a customer ensures that they will become loyal to the brand.
PERSONALIZE THE INTERACTIONS
If you understand the culture of the market you are working in then you can provide a more personalized interaction with customers. Customers expect more of brands these days, so the more personalized the service the better their response and loyalty. Understanding the culture will ensure that the marketing strategy is tailored to ensure maximum engagement. It will also ensure that appropriate language is used when providing service that is culturally suitable. This applies to how formal or informal the interactions can be in regards to language based on cultural norms. When a service is using localized language that fits the culture, then it shows that the brand really understands the market it is working in and this builds trust.
LEADS TO BETTER DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT WITH CUSTOMERS
Social media is one of the most important tools when it comes to digital marketing and providing customer service. Yet in different cultures social media is used in different ways and certain platforms are more popular or effective than others. Understanding the culture of the target market that you are working in will ensure that you harness social media in the most effective way. In regards to marketing, some cultures still rely on traditional marketing resources, whilst others are relying more on social media. Some cultures expect more formal language used social media, others less so. Some rely on social media to give feedback and demand that brands respond to them via social media and this is essential for giving good customer service.
ENSURES THAT YOUR MESSAGE TRANSLATES ACROSS DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
When running a marketing campaign in different markets you want to ensure that your key messaging is consistent. This is where language plays such a big role. Literal translation of marketing text sometimes does not ensure that your key messages are being effectively received. By utilizing the elements of transcreation you can ensure that your marketing strategy is adapted to elicit the same response in different target markets. This means understanding the culture of the market your are operating in and how to adapt your marketing strategy accordingly.
Understanding how culture and language plays a big role when it comes to customers is essential. Understand culture, and you can provide a human service experience as well as tailor marketing strategies that will grab customers attention. Brands need to become more human as a way of better connecting with their customers. Without a strong internal culture, brands can not hope to craft a strong marketing strategy backed up by excellent customer service. Understanding the target market means that brands can not only create a strong marketing strategy that will work, but also ensure that it is sensitive to the cultural nuances by using appropriate language. Language plays a big role in adapting a marketing or service strategy to a different market. Without effectively utilizing language you can not hope to engage with potential customers. Transcreation involves the creative side of translating your text and adapting it to ensure it is localized in a different target market. This also ensures that your key messages are the same across various target markets, but that the marketing strategies are localized and relevant to each different culture.
