Gone are the days of brands paying lip service to local needs! How to take your marketing on a trip across the globe to reach new customers
In today’s digital world, globalization and interconnectivity are creating a world of new opportunities for B2B organizations to exploit and access new markets quicker than ever before. The pressure is now on for B2B marketers to react and adapt their marketing strategies to meet the cultural and language needs of these new markets.
Given the importance of brand equity to B2B organizations and with 89% of consumers expecting businesses to produce content that is grammatically and culturally correct, B2B marketers must localize their marketing strategy to ensure strong brand equity is built in the language and culture of their audience..
Old tactics of brands paying lip service to ‘global’ market needs and quickly translating content simply will not cut it in these emerging markets. Despite being a key factor for a product’s success or failure, localization is often underestimated even by some of the biggest brands. Just take the example of Chevrolet’s ‘Nova’ which translates to ‘doesn’t go’ in Spanish. It’s no surprise then that sales dropped across Spanish speaking countries due to this translation snafu!
Let’s take a trip and explore how B2B marketers can localize their marketing strategy and messaging to better position themselves to build brand identity, trust, and a stronger customer base across the globe:
1. One-size does not fit all in a global context
B2B marketers can not take the approach of one-size-fits all when planning content. New emerging markets across Africa and Asia are rapidly growing in strength and power in the B2B landscape. This has created new considerations for B2B marketers planning campaigns as they now have new languages, dialects, and legal frameworks to contend with.
This is where a global-first mindset but allowing for regional nuances is crucial for B2B marketers as what may resonate in one market could be interpreted differently in another market. International considerations need to be in mind in the first steps of the planning stages, to ensure the right content is being targeted to the right country.
Through choosing the right countries to target and localizing their marketing efforts it can help B2B organizations penetrate the target market on a deeper level, create a competitive edge over businesses that go with a one-size-fits all approach, and win new clients.
2. Transcreation is now in first class
Translation alone will no longer cut it in international markets. The next stage of localized marketing is understanding no two cultures are the same. This is why a transcreation approach is required when adapting brand messaging. Transcreation is a blend of both translation and localization, taking into the consideration the messaging, tone, style, and context of that culture to resonate with consumers and create emotional connections.
Extensive research is required as marketers need to guage an understanding of the culture to ensure no messages are sent out that could be offensive or misinterpreted. Transcreation can be created by marketers when localizing their marketing efforts by adapting their content with localized content such as country-specific stats, customer stories, partners, or research. This will help to engage the buyer through their buying experience as a connection is made on a deeper level by using unique references.
This can differentiate brands from competitors who take a slap and dash approach with translated content. Tailored localized marketing can help B2B businesses drive greater customer engagement and is a powerful tool for preserving and building brand identity within a new market.
3. Adapt your content strategy for long-haul and short-haul content
Of course, we are not talking about every single piece of content needing to be adapted to for every single target market – there needs to be a degree of common sense and an evaluation of what is a best fit for individual geographies. B2B marketers need to implement a tiered content strategy based on business value.
High-value campaigns with a long-shelf life such as SME articles/comments or flagship events need to be prioritized for cultural localization as this is where real business impact can be made. Whereas short-term content may best just be translated as customer want it instantly available in their local language.
One strategy that cannot be forgotten is social media, a real wildcard in localized marketing with little margin for error given the same platforms can be easily accessed from almost any country, giving rise to a truly international audience blend. Often viewed as a short-term strategy to update customers quickly, marketers should tread carefully to strike the balance between speed and cultural accuracy. As we know social media is a minefield of cancel culture, so one cultural mishap could go viral causing damming effects on brand equity not just in one market but across other target markets too.
4. Leave AI behind on your translation trip
Once marketers are confident their content is a cultural fit, the final step involves translation. AI may seem like the answer to quickly translate content, but the risk of misinformation is high, with research showing only 60-90% of AI translations are accurate.
Enter, human and genuine intelligence. This is the next evolution of intelligence to give oversights for sensitivity and cultural appropriateness when localizing high-level content. Marketers need to remember the importance of the human touch and the three human eyes when creating localized content. It’s the views of humans, written by humans, and read by humans! Something that AI translation simply cannot match.
Human translators can gain a deeper understanding of the content at hand to tailor content and ensure the meaning, tone, context, and emotional meaning are translated into the correct language.
Packed and ready to go on your localized marketing trip?
Emerging markets are making inroads into the B2B landscape and marketing pros cannot ignore the impact they are making. By localizing their marketing strategies now, B2B marketers can strike the right balance and gain a competitive advantage. But remember speed needs to be matched with cultural awareness and appropriateness to ensure their brand equity and image is protected.
Sam Walker is PR Executive at IBA International.