Localization marketing offers numerous benefits but requires commitment, resources, and careful planning. Before embarking on this strategy, it is crucial to understand its key elements. This blog presents some pointers to businesses in building an effective localization marketing strategy.
Assess the Need for Localization Marketing
It is generally advisable for businesses operating across borders to implement some level of localization in marketing to help companies with a global marketing strategy who are seeking to improve their regional outcomes. However, it would be best to consider whether localizing existing campaigns would be more cost-effective. In general, the cost-effectiveness of localization marketing aligns with the size of the business.
Establish Teams and Building Workflows
The first thing to do in localization marketing is to create region-specific teams or hire local experts. Developing customized marketing strategies for each local audience is a substantial undertaking, necessitating well-staffed local teams. Alternatively, you can consider outsourcing to local firms as a cost-saving option with reduced investment risk, but an in-house project manager should oversee localization.
Regardless of the chosen approach, building workflows that foster collaboration and ensure consistency, such as using an efficient translation management system, is essential.
Analyze Target Markets
A solid understanding of the target audience is pivotal to the success of any localization strategy. After establishing teams and determining workflows, the next step is to analyze different markets.
Start by analyzing internal data to identify the most well-received content types and promotional forms in each region and the performance of landing pages in different countries. Studying external data sources for search engine optimization and exploring what people search for in each region are also very helpful.
Design Localized Marketing Strategies
With the insights from the analysis, you can develop robust strategies for each target region. You should consider various aspects, such as the preferred marketing channels of potential customers (e.g., social media posts, SEO content marketing, SMS marketing), the best platforms for allocating advertising budgets, messaging that resonates well, and the prevailing topics and trends in the target market. Allocate resources wisely to ensure a good return on investment. These considerations should receive equal attention in each regional campaign. If there are overlaps between different regions, combining efforts is acceptable, and this is where a localization partner becomes valuable.
Partner with a Localization Service Provider
While much of the content for localized campaigns will be created in the local language, not all aspects of the brand require translation. Elements like taglines and logos may need to be optimized for regional audiences. Collaborating with a localization service provider is highly recommended to address these needs. These providers offer services such as translation, transcreation, and brand localization. Choosing the right provider enables the effective handling of multiple localized campaigns simultaneously.
By following these pointers, businesses can build an effective localization marketing strategy and tap into the benefits of reaching and engaging diverse regional audiences. Localization marketing requires investment, but with careful planning and execution, it can yield substantial rewards in terms of brand awareness, engagement, reduced barriers to entry, enhanced brand affinity, and accelerated international growth.