What is a Multilingual Marketing Strategy?

We think English is the only language used online, but it is not!

Billions of people around the world do speak English, whereas even more people communicate in languages other than English. This means that there’s a huge opportunity for businesses to capitalize on this growing market. English is not the most important language online.

A multilingual marketing strategy is a strategy that involves using multiple languages in your marketing research. This strategy helps retain the original message while also moving content across multiple languages.

A multilingual marketing strategy needs to consider the differences between cultures and people because this kind of marketing strategy involves more than just professional translations.

Creating content that is both native and translated is an important step in any multilingual marketing strategy. One of the first things you should do is translate content from one language to another. There are plenty of tools out there to help you do this, but they don’t capture all the nuances of language.

Although it’s important to reach your goals, adding a multilingual marketing strategy may seem like an initiative that’s too large to tackle.

Switzerland attributes 10% of its GDP to its multilingual heritage. Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian and an ancient Latin-based language called Romansh.

Britain’s population has relatively poor language skills, it is estimated to lose out on the equivalent of 3.5% of its GDP every year because of this.

How multilingualism helps market research?

One of the most critical factors that businesses need to consider when it comes to developing effective marketing campaigns is being able to listen. Through global market research, they were able to identify the various cultural and language filters that will help their campaigns stand out. Researchers have found that multilingualism is good for the economy.

Countries that nurture different languages reap a range of rewards, from more successful exports to a more innovative workforce.

The Language(s) of Good Business

A lot of business leaders are starting to see the potential of a multilingual workforce. They are absolutely correct. For one thing, it can attract new business if companies can attract customers from outside the country.

Why is a multilingual marketing strategy important?

A multilingual marketing strategy will help your business gain a competitive edge and reach your target audience.  Your website and online content gives you the ability to reach people around the world.  By creating content that speaks to the native speakers of your target audience, your company can generate new revenue streams and tap into emerging markets.

It is important to speak in the native tongue of your customers because it helps you build trust with prospective buyers.

Companies increase sales when their online stores are translated into the reader’s native language.

English has been the most popular language used in business and web content, therefore the majority of companies only use English on their website, online store, and other marketing material.

Six Reasons why you need a multilingual marketing strategy?

Top six reasons for introducing an international communication strategy:

1. Can’t read, won’t buy

A 2014 survey called “Can’t Read, Won’t Buy”, found that 75% percent of respondents from ten non-Anglophone countries preferred shopping in their native language. This survey study also showed that 60% of consumers rarely or never buy from English websites.

What conclusions should we make from this?

You need to communicate with clients in their native language if you want to be competitive on the global market. Reaching the target group from people abroad  without a proper translation strategy is a waste of great potential and your marketing budget.

2. Global marketing is more than just communication in English language

People use between 6,000 and 7,000 different languages around the world. Translating content into all of these languages would be arduous and expensive, of course. Entire global population is 7.4 billion people, and by limiting only to English, can only reach a potential of 1.5 billion customers.

3. Adapt content to the multilingual market

Get your inspiration from the biggest brands when you prepare a multilingual marketing strategy.

4. Localization must go hand in hand with e-commerce translation

Making it fully understandable and accessible in various cultural circles, content translation must go hand in hand with localization.

What is also so important?

To simplify the path of purchase it’s also important to change the currency and units of measurement into those used in a given country as well. Elements like graphics, videos, and even source code should also be altered during the process of localization.

5. Hire a bot to improve customer service

Customers also need the opportunity to send a question and receive a prompt reply in their native language, so it’s not enough to have translated instructions, regulations, and technical support content.

Chatbots are created through machine translation and artificial intelligence, they can support this multilingual help desk support.

6. Let them find you: bet on multilingual SEO

An international SEO strategy  is also important. This strategy should include both content marketing and website optimization so that your site can be found on search engines in every one of your target markets.