How has your business been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic? Have you seen your customer numbers fall off a cliff or are you one of those fortunate companies that have gone the other way, and had to rapidly ramp up production in order to cope with a surge in demand? If your business is floundering, then could branching out into new markets overseas be the answer to expanding your customer base? Read on to discover how to do so rapidly in order to make the best of your eCommerce business during the pandemic.
Expansion through translation
If you’re planning to expand your business internationally, you’ll need a translation company in order to help you enter into any markets where you don’t speak the local language. This may mean using document translation services to help with your marketing and with meeting your legal obligations – all as part of a coordinated international marketing strategy.
Document translation services can help you to connect with consumers in the right way, shaping your marketing materials to meet their needs and expectations. They can also help you to ensure that any legal paperwork you need – contracts or import/export papers, for example – is in good order in all of the languages in which you need it.
Before we look at how to move your eCommerce business rapidly into new markets, let’s look at why now is the right time to do so. The eCommerce industry is huge. eBay celebrated its 25th birthday in 2020, while Amazon will do the same in 2021. This speaks volumes about the maturity of the marketplace. Ecommerce websites change constantly to fit in with new technology coming out, to stay ahead of the game online businesses should want to see how they can use product matching software so they are aware of similar products out there that they are up against. To discover this type of AI, businesses may want to go onto websites like price.com and see how this can be used in their favor.
Many buyers still prefer the in-store experience, but the COVID-19 pandemic has done much to change that, with many shoppers trying out eCommerce platforms for the first time. Nasdaq’s latest eCommerce report states that approximately 16% of retail sales in the second quarter of 2020 took place online. That’s up 44.5% from Q2 2019. This massive jump in online demand presents an unprecedented opportunity for eCommerce businesses looking to move into new markets.
How to use translation to move into new markets
When it comes to new markets and particularly international markets, companies need to make market research the centre of their attention. Understanding customer appetite, cultural norms, local selling and taxation regulations, data security requirements and more is essential for rapid and successful entry into a new market.
So, where do you start? You could just tap translation company UK into a search engine and start hiring translators for the languages you need, but it would be much better to start with creating an international marketing plan. Some of the best examples of international marketing are those where the company has taken the time to plan carefully before ploughing headfirst into translation.
An international marketing plan allows you to take a strategic, high-level approach to move into new markets. You can map out your target audiences, their values and motivations and the languages that you will need in order to connect with them. You can also build in localization priorities, so that you connect with each audience in the right way.
Once your international marketing plan is in place, it’s time to proceed with practical tasks such as website translation. The quality of your eCommerce platform translation can make or break your success in new international markets. As such, be sure to use a reputable translation company that uses native speakers of each of the target languages that you require. This will help to drive up quality, as will using specialist marketing and eCommerce translators for your website.
Make sure that the translation company you use is experienced at providing localization services. Professional advice on how to adapt your eCommerce platform to different audiences can do much to ramp up the ease with which you slot into new marketplaces.
Where to find inspiration for your international eCommerce expansion plans
What are some examples of global marketing strategies? There are examples all around us. Consider Netflix. The streaming service has generated over 97 million international subscribers by expanding into more than 190 countries. This scale of expansion may feel a little ambitious for your business, but there’s a lot that we can learn from Netflix’s approach to localized service provision and localized marketing.
Shopify is another striking example of the power of localized language and content. In terms of product localization, both Starbucks and McDonalds have shown how well a core product range can be complemented by locally-focused additions. Uber is yet another example, with services adapted to account for local spending habits and customs.
Note the emphasis on localization in each of these examples. If you’re serious about conquering new markets then you need to adapt your wares, whether they be goods or services, to the specific requirements of those markets. For an eCommerce platform, this encompasses everything from using the right regional version of a local language to updating imagery, product information, packaging/labelling and, of course, currencies and payment systems. After all, a beautifully translated site will be no use at all if you can’t accept payments in the local currency.
The business challenges posed by COVID-19 have been numerous but the pandemic has also created opportunities for companies that can think creatively and focus on eCommerce. If your business is one of those, now could be the perfect time to innovate and break into new markets overseas.
