Did you know that 88% of companies surveyed by Lokalise state that they are either already localizing their products or planning to do so in the next 18 months. Localization has become an essential part of the industry, but it is not as easy as it sounds.
When expanding to a new target market, it is important to understand the challenges of Localization.
It will help your company to be better prepared for the road ahead. It is wise to be aware of the challenges you may face when expanding your business in a target market to prepare the localization team in the best possible ways.
Here in this blog, we have been able to identify some challenges of Localization and tips to overcome these localization challenges.
Challenges of Localization.
Localization is a process when a product or service is adapted and developed from one language in a controlled manner to make it adapt to the local environment of the target market, community, or people. But the localization process comes with its own set of challenges.
Here we have curated a list of common localization challenges faced when entering a new target market.
1. Cultural Nuance
When expanding your product or service to a new target market, cultural nuance and attention to detail are the key components. As we all know, our world is a thriving market made of millions of communities and cultures, and every culture has its mindset, beliefs, and things they buy and won’t buy.
Expanding a business without doing proper homework about cultural nuances can backfire.
2. Communication Style
Every culture has its way of communicating and addressing people, it is the most common mistake businesses make when trying to promote and attract potential customers from the new target market. Communication is the number one obstacle in the Localization of a product or service.
It interferes with the project. A professional translator will have a hard time providing high quality translations that will resonate with the local market if the communication is not properly established.
3. Local Language
Language is considered the main problem for any business that is trying to expand globally and increase its sales and revenue. We all know, the majority of the population resides in countries like China, India, the United States, Bangladesh, and Brazil.
All these countries have their own native languages like English, Hindi, Spanish, and Portuguese. Every native language has its nuances.For instance, ‘Thumbs Up’ in the United States means ‘ All is good’ while ‘Thumbs up’ is regarded as an insult in Middle Eastern Countries and Iran.
Such mistakes can completely change the message of the product or service and cause severe damage to the business.
4. Adapting Documents and contents
It is one of the difficult challenges businesses face while expanding into target markets. Adapting the documents and website content for potential customers and target market. It is a challenging task when modifying documents and website content because it involves more than just translating documents from the source language to the target language.
Many things are taken into consideration when localizing content, such as language slang, colour scheme, images, website content, business branding, and many more. Many localization problems are there in the localization process but, having a good team and a solid game plan for your business can turn out beneficial for your business.
How to overcome localization challenges?
Localization challenges are very much present in the translation and localization industry, and overcoming these challenges can be a complex process.
Here are some lists of steps to overcome localization challenges.
1. Understanding the cultural and linguistic differences
Before starting any localization process, it is essential to research and understand the target language and the target market’s cultural and linguistic differences.
It includes language nuances, cultural customs, and preferences. For this, you can easily hire a professional translator or local expert to gain insights.
2. Adapt your content to the local market
Just simply translating your content word-for-word might not be enough.
You should adapt your content to fit the local market. It includes adjusting images, colours, symbols, and culturally specific content to suit the potential customers.
3. Work with local experts
It is an essential step to ensure that your localization efforts are successful, and it is essential to work with local experts or professional translators.
These experts can provide valuable insights into the local market and help ensure the content is culturally relevant.
4. Test your localized content
Once the content is localized, it is essential to test content thoroughly.
It includes testing cultural or linguistic errors and ensuring your content is user-friendly.
5. Use localization technology
There are various localization tools and technologies available that can help streamline the localization process. These include translation management systems, machine translations, and quality assurance tools.
All of these strategies help to overcome the Localization challenges and ensure that the content is well received by the target audience.
Before beginning your localization process for your product or service, identify these challenges and try to solve them with the help of a professional translation and localization service provider.
At Naarg, high-quality Localization is our specialty, and our team of native multilingual professionals is trained to deliver culturally adapted content in more than 250 languages.
Our localization services include- Translation and adaptation, Editing, Proofreading, Transcreation, creative writing, Geopolitical assessment, Consultation on the localization process, and Expertise in project management.
We support our clients in reaching a global audience in the target audience’s native language and provide a world-class customer experience.
For more such pieces of information, reach out to us at info@naargmedia.com
