Expanding your business into international markets is a major decision and requires careful planning. For eCommerce brands, this move isn’t just about translating website copy and advertising across borders. It also requires adapting each element of the global marketing mix to audiences based on their purchase behavior, cultural norms, and expectations.
One of the first things you need to do is tailor your content to local languages, search habits, and market preferences. For example, Japanese customers are interested in different topics and trends than their Western counterparts. They use more formal language, prefer detailed product descriptions, and expect brands to align with their cultural values.
Even your website builder plays a role here—it should support localized domains, multi-language content, and various payment methods. While you can use third-party apps to add these features, it’s cheaper and more efficient to have them ready from the start.
But why is localization so important for global marketing success? And what does it take to create a winning localization strategy? Let’s find out.
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What Is Global Marketing Localization?
If you have a Netflix account, you know that the content library changes based on your location. For example, the Top 10 movies list differs from one country to another. Basically, Netflix curates content to match regional tastes and cultural preferences. That’s localization in action.
This practice involves tailoring your marketing messages to each region or country where you do business. Depending on your branding strategy, you can adapt the following elements:
- Website content
- Ad copy
- Email newsletters
- Social media posts
- Imagery
- Measurement units
- Currencies
- Language
- Tone of voice
For example, an American brand may publish content about Christmas gifts as part of a nationwide marketing campaign.
If that brand targets a global audience, it should adjust the messaging for regions where Christmas isn’t celebrated, focusing on end-of-year sales, New Year’s celebrations, or other topics. The brand in question would also adapt its newsletter, social media ads, and promotional offers to each market.
This approach ensures relevance, resulting in higher engagement and (hopefully!) increased sales. At the same time, it makes it easier to get your message across and build rapport with customers.
Why Localization Matters for Local Brands
Imagine relocating to a new country. Would you expect locals to embrace your customs and way of life, or would you adapt to theirs? Probably the second option.
The same happens in business. You’re the one who needs to adapt to the markets you’re entering. This doesn’t mean you must revamp your brand but adjust your messaging for maximum impact.
If done right, marketing localization can boost sales and brand recognition while fostering customer loyalty. Other potential benefits include:
- Higher engagement
- Improved brand perception
- Increased customer trust
- Better SEO results
- Enhance compliance
- Improved customer relations
- Revenue growth
In one survey, 76% of shoppers said they prefer buying products with information in their native language. What’s more, 40% admitted they would never purchase from websites in other languages.
These findings show that simply translating your website could increase sales and grow your reach. The benefits are even greater if you adapt your overall marketing strategy to local audiences.
Let’s assume you sell fitness apparel in the U.S., Denmark, and Sweden, but you only use English on social media. Unless you’re a top brand, you’ll have difficulty reaching Danish and Swedish consumers because they most likely search for content in their native languages.
What you should do is create social media pages for each country you’re targeting—and publish content in the local language.
Not only would this approach boost your visibility, but it could also increase engagement and conversions. The more people see your content, the higher your odds of converting them into buyers.
Think of the Japanese apparel brand UNIQLO. Chances are, you wouldn’t know about it if it hadn’t tailored its marketing to a global audience. The company decided to expand overseas in 2002, adapting its messaging, product offerings, and store designs to each region.
Marketing localization can also prevent misunderstandings and potentially save your reputation.
For instance, Coca-Cola launched the bottled water brand Dasani into the British market in 2004. Its marketing campaign used the slogan “full of spunk” to convey energy and vitality, making Brits raise their eyebrows.
The problem was that “spunk” has a completely different meaning in British slang, an aspect overlooked by the campaign managers. The PR disaster, coupled with product quality issues, forced Coca-Cola to recall Dasani from the UK within weeks.
Best Practices for Implementing a Localization Strategy
Implementing localization can be expensive and time-consuming, but you don’t have to do it all at once. Start with small steps, such as translating your website or blog, and make further changes along the way.
Here are some best practices to keep in mind:
- Get to know your audience: Understanding and connecting with a local audience requires researching their cultural norms, values, online behavior, and other aspects. For example, Black Friday campaigns with aggressive discounts work great in the U.S., but they can come off as pushy in Denmark or Germany, where consumers prioritize quality and long-term value over impulse buying.
- Put together an expert team: Assemble a team of professional linguists, translators, consultants, and other local experts. Their insights can help you avoid cultural missteps, awkward phrasing, or tone-deaf messaging and ensure your content resonates with the target audience.
For instance, a translator would tell you that French-speaking Canadians prefer the word “achat” instead of “commande” for “order.” Using the wrong term can make your site feel clunky and unprofessional.
- Adapt your site to a global audience: Revamp your website so it supports multiple languages and currencies. Also, use a color palette, images, and graphic elements that resonate with local audiences. If, say, you’re targeting consumers in South Africa, avoid the color red in your copy and visuals. Many African cultures associate red with mourning, not excitement or urgency.
- Fine-tune your SEO: Align your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts with your expansion strategy to gain visibility and get targeted traffic. Focus on international SEO tactics like:
- Optimizing your content for local search engines, such as Baidu (China) and Yandex (Russia)
- Localizing keywords (e.g., you’ll use the keyword “sneakers” in the U.S., “trainers” in the UK, and “baskets” in France)
- Creating country-specific subdirectories (e.g., yourwebsite.com/us/de/ for Germany and yourwebsite.com/us/fr/ for France)
- Acquiring backlinks from local and regional websites
- Using hreflang tags to tell search engines which language and region a web page is intended for
- Comply with local laws and regulations: Each country has specific rules for advertisers and businesses in general. For example, the Danish Marketing Act prohibits brands from claiming a product is better than others without clear evidence. Also, companies cannot advertise their products as “free” when additional costs (e.g., shipping charges) are involved. Failure to comply with these regulations can lead to hefty fines and tarnish your brand’s reputation.
Once you have a localization strategy, test it on a small scale to see what works and what doesn’t. Monitor the results, collect customer feedback, and make adjustments as needed. Roll global marketing out gradually, focusing on one market at a time instead of jumping all in. If something doesn’t go as planned, refine and improve until you get it right.
