Global Insight The Language Opportunity Speaking the languages of your customers seems fairly basic, but many companies struggle with the notion of translating content into a language they themselves do not speak. In the past, going global represented a massive undertaking at least, conceptually. The notion of international expansion brought to mind opening up new offices in countries far away, learning about local tax and employment law, and dealing with accounting across multiple currencies. In other words, taking a company global sounded like a daunting proposition.
A Modern Business Is a Global Business 7.4% of consumers said they would be more likely to buy a product with information in their own language 9/0 internet users always visit websites in their own language when given a choice If you are in business today, you are global by default. If you have a website, people from anywhere in the world can find you. Even if you only have a neighborhood store, a tourist from another country, or a person who speaks another language but is a local resident, can walk in at any time and that person could be your next loyal customer or big sale. The Undeniable Case for Translation Speaking just one language to customers is not enough. Here are some key things you need to know about the global language opportunity: In-language content positively affects likelihood of purchase. A study of,430 web consumers in eight countries found that 7.4% of consumers said they would be more likely to buy a product with information in their own language. Customers are willing to pay more for information in their own languages. The same study found that more than half of consumers were willing to pay more to companies that provide information in their languages. Internet users nearly always visit websites in their own language. A European Commission study based on a Gallup survey from 3 countries revealed that nine out of 0 internet users always visit websites in their languages when given a choice. Nearly half of shoppers refuse to buy without information in their languages. The same EU study showed that 4% of consumers never purchase products or services in other languages. Even people fluent in other languages prefer to buy in their native languages. Call it the comfort factor people prefer not to have to work too hard to get information that shapes their purchasing decision.
The Good News? It Doesn t Take as Many Languages as You Might Think There are up to 7,000 languages on earth. How many does it take for you to maximize your global economic opportunity online? Translating into just a few key languages enables you to double the online spending power available to your business. For example, if you are in just English today, you can reach $6 trillion in online spending power. Adding five languages Japanese, German, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and French gives you access to $7. trillion. Globalization is not a passing trend. Companies are finding that international revenue can quickly overtake domestic revenue, especially in online environments. Language Countries Online Reach (Millions) Online Spending Power (US$B) English 4 473 6,93 Japanese 0 4,744 German 4 79 3,468 Spanish 4 0 3,447 Chinese Simplified 38 3,4 French 3 73,699 Italian 36,07 Portuguese 9,4 Arabic 06,03 Russian 80,03 Dutch 930 Korean 40 9 Chinese Traditional 3 3 60 Swedish 9 47 Norwegian 4 Turkish 3 3 339 Polish 3 Danish 80 Persian 34 39 Finnish 4 06
Use These Questions to Guide Your Language Selection Here are some questions to ask yourself when considering which languages your company should offer: Which countries and languages already account for a significant amount of our online traffic? What percentage of our revenue comes from international markets, and how does this compare to our competitors? What percentage of our customer base is located in other countries? What are the top countries and languages represented among our customer base? Where do we already have locations, branch offices, distributors, or partners? In which countries and languages do our competitors currently operate? Which countries account for the greatest percentage of market share in our industry, and which languages are spoken there? Which other languages are spoken in countries where we already have a presence for example, Spanish in the United States or French in Canada? Do we have any ties to another country that would give us an early competitive advantage by entering that market before our competitors do? What content are we already translating into other languages, if any? Which languages are our top priorities?
Technology Makes It Easier than Ever to Go Global Taking your website, web apps, mobile apps, and documents into other languages and countries is easier than ever before. Using technology, you can simplify and streamline the process of creating, managing, and delivering multilingual content to your customers. Technology helps make the process faster, more efficient, and more cost-effective than ever before. Contact Us To learn more about taking advantage of the language opportunity, contact us. + 866.70.SMART www.smartling.com