International Markets can be reached with Multilingual Websites

If They Can’t Read It, They Won’t Buy It

This is a short overview to help start your thinking process about new international markets.

Your company is looking for new opportunities to grow and build revenues, retain clients and increase exposure. Here are some statistics to help you determine if you should have a global strategy.

What new markets should you consider? Generally speaking of course, here are some areas to explore.

Canada and Mexico – ease of entry, close proximity, our 2 largest trade partners

China – even with their reduced growth, their GDP is still outperforming most countries. They are our 3^rd largest trade partner and have half a billion middle class consumers!

Africa and India – These regions are emerging markets that are building; hospitals, airports, highways and more. Their spend on infrastructure will be increasing and they welcome outside resources with better systems and technology. From 2000- 2014 Africans internet use grew +6000% and Asia’s grew +1000%!  World internet use from: www.internetworldstats.com  

 

Should you translate your website?

More than 70% of users speak languages other than English. Other languages are resourced more than English and growing presences on the web.

Over 95% of consumers are outside of the U.S. By eliminating the language barrier, you have created a multitude of opportunities.

75% of web users state they buy from sites in their native language.

This is the age of the internet, many business people (>50%) engage, shop and purchase on the internet. If you are not telling your story in the consumer’s language, you will lose that sale, connection and future sales.

Most clients state once they start translating their export sales increase comparatively to their U.S. sales each year.

Adding as little as 8 languages will increase your viewers to 80% of the world’s population.

 About the Author:

Linda Richardson is the President and owner of All Clear Translations, LLC.  Since 2010 the team of All Clear Translations had helped companies grow into areas like Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, France, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Russia and more. Their translations and localization transform websites, software, technical manuals and marketing materials into all languages helping to increase sales. Their unique process can include Plain English to help companies increase understanding and comprehension while reducing translation and production costs of manuals. Their audio voice-over technologies  and video translations enable spoken and written communication in many languages. Email Linda at linda@allcleartranslations and visit their website http://www.allcleartranslations.com

Market Distribution Concerns To Keep In Mind When Creating Software.

Don't stop at English. Expand your market! When developing software here are 3 key things to keep in mind.

1.       TARGET - Most probably your target is not just the U.S. Keep in mind future growth and where that growth will come from. Who are your targets? Where do they come from? Who will be using your product? Over two thirds of buying power comes from foreign countries.

2.       LANGUAGE OF YOUR TARGET(s)  – Now and future sales need to be considered when developing your software.  Is there room for an expanded language, have you thought about adding software translations? Does your new market target use Latin, Cyrillic, Asian or Arabic characters? Is your technical writer and software designer aware of the complexities of adding other languages? Can your software handle bi-directional or Asian characters?

https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/language_map.html The Census Bureau developed an interactive map to help you access what languages you might need to include in your marketing efforts for the U.S.

http://www.sba.gov/content/explore%20-exporting The U.S. Commercial Service has an export readiness assessment tool online. This is a good start to help you determine where, what languages, etc.

3.       INDUSTRY – Will you be selling your software across Industries? Is your terminology general enough or too specific to easily translate to other industries? We have a client with an asset tracking tool that we are translating into several languages. This tool can be utilized across vertical industries. Instead of naming the specific asset the software tracks currently, we developed a more generic term that still conveys understanding in several languages for different industries. Initially, the client took the time to help us understand what they are doing now and where they wish to go in the future.  Because we have met with them, talked with them about future value and vision of their company and products, our translators created an effective communication tool to be utilized across several platforms. Helping your Translations team understand what you are working on now and what you see as a future application will enable better communication now. This step will save you money and time as well as the headache of re-working your software to fit new markets/regions.

To learn more about developing International ready software contact me at linda@allcleartranslations.com or 866-489-9109 to talk about increasing sales.