Understanding the benefits of business localization in a globalized world

When businesses expand into international markets, they face a host of new challenges. Decision-makers must understand the local culture, linguistic differences, and audience preferences before marketing their product or service to a new customer base. Localization helps organizations overcome these challenges and leverage opportunities by adapting their branding for international markets.

Localization of a product offering often includes translating marketing materials or website content to the native language so locals can effectively read promotional materials and connect with the business. A company may also modify product features, packaging, or even colors to suit cultural preferences.

This guide will define localization, explain why localization is important when entering global markets, and outline its benefits for an expanding organization.

What is localization in business?

Localization adapts a business’s content, products, or services to fit a specific target market’s language, culture, and preferences. Businesses that adapt to local expectations do this to facilitate trust and engagement within those markets. 

Localization is more than translating into another audience’s language. An organization may change images to fit cultural norms, adjust prices to reflect the local economy and currency, and ensure marketing appears natural and appealing.

Business localization can also extend to internal processes. Companies that work with international partners must translate business documents into their native language. These translations need to be accurate and legally compliant to uphold local regulations and requirements. Improper localization can lead to misunderstandings, legal issues, contract disputes, and even tarnished trust between business partners.

7 ways localization boosts global success

The benefits of localization go beyond language, helping businesses adapt to cultural expectations, local preferences, and consumer behaviors. Here are the top benefits global businesses gain from localization:

1. Increase sales by expanding into new markets

Most people would rather buy from a localized site that presents products in their native language. In fact, 65% of consumers prefer content in their language, even if it’s poor quality, and 40% of consumers won’t buy from websites in other languages at all. That’s a major audience your business could be missing out on.

Localization services remove these language and culture barriers, helping customers understand what they’re buying so they feel confident making a purchase. Businesses that invest in a localization strategy see higher conversion rates and better sales in new markets.

2. Boost brand relevance and connect with local audiences

In a globalized marketplace, businesses must vie against competitors from around the world to stay relevant and keep their customer base engaged. Through localized marketing, businesses can build stronger connections with local audiences by adjusting messaging and product offerings to fit each region’s cultural expectations.

If you speak your customers’ native language, adapt to their cultural holidays, and offer familiar shopping experiences, your brand will be more accessible than one that simply translates its website and hopes for the best. A company that localizes its content and user experience for local audiences will consistently outperform a competitor that only offers a single, English-language customer experience worldwide.

3. Enhance your international SEO and ASO for better visibility

It is important for brands to optimize their website for international search browsers. Search engines and app stores rank content based on local keywords, user behavior, and language preferences.

For example, a clothing brand in the U.S. might rank for “sneakers,” but this won’t help in the U.K., where people search for “trainers.” A localized website that uses the correct terms for each target market will perform better in search rankings.

The same applies to app store optimization (ASO). If an app isn’t adequately localized, it won’t show up in searches for users who speak different languages.

4. Improve customer support with multiple languages

Getting help from a company that doesn’t speak your preferred language can be frustrating, and a global business without localized customer service is a recipe for unhappy customers. Businesses that employ a multilingual support team can provide faster responses with fewer misunderstandings, promoting customer loyalty.

5. Create personal connections with customers

Communication is the cornerstone of understanding. Customers feel more comfortable reading, asking questions, and shopping in their own language. That’s why successful global brands invest in a localization strategy that supports multiple languages across websites, customer support, and marketing materials.

Even if two people speak the same language, differences in dialect and slang can massively impact how a message is received. For example, a phrase that makes perfect sense in American English might sound unnatural or confusing to someone in the U.K. The same goes for Spanish speakers in Spain versus Mexico. Instead of translating word for word, localization alters content to feel natural for each audience. Without localization, businesses risk losing potential customers due to communication difficulties.

Maintaining multiple languages and dialects across different platforms can get complicated fast. Fortunately, Smartling’s translation management system (TMS) helps businesses centralize and scale their localization efforts by managing translations, keeping branding consistent, and streamlining updates from a single hub. Plus, Smartling’s computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool gives translators visual context so they can see how the text fits into the final design before it goes live—avoiding awkward phrasing or formatting issues.

6. Make online shopping easier with localization

Would you buy from a website where the prices were in another currency, the measurements were unfamiliar, and the checkout page was hard to understand? Probably not.

A localized e-commerce site displays the correct currency and payment options, simplifying the customer experience. Without these adjustments, businesses risk losing sales due to an incorrect user interface.

7. Support long-term growth

Global localization helps businesses stay competitive by adapting their products, websites, and marketing to feel at home in each target market. Internationalization streamlines and standardizes entry into new markets so businesses can scale faster.

Whereas localization is about adapting a product for a specific market, internationalization ensures products and services are easily adaptable in the first place. Businesses that build their infrastructure with internationalization in mind—through flexible design, multilingual support, and globally friendly UI—can scale into new markets without rebuilding from scratch.

For example, Spotify uses internationalization to deliver a personalized music experience worldwide. Its internationalized backend can easily adapt to different languages, support linguistic nuances like right-to-left text for Arabic, and even adjust licensing agreements to comply with local regulations. This allows Spotify to easily localize playlists, featured artists, and recommendations based on regional listening habits when entering a new market.

Achieve seamless localization with Smartling’s all-in-one solution

Expanding into global markets is challenging, but localization can determine whether a business thrives or struggles. Brands build long-term trust and loyalty when they speak their customers’ language, adapt to cultural nuances, and offer a seamless shopping experience.

Smartling helps companies maintain an accurate and relevant message, no matter where their audience is. With Smartling’s translation management system (TMS) and translation services, companies can centralize their content translation and localization. Glossaries, style guides, and automated quality checks ensure that translated content upholds an organization’s identity.

Companies that integrate the latest advancements in translation technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) and neural machine translation (NMT), can translate content faster without sacrificing quality. Our eBook, “AI-Powered Localization: Achieving Quality, Cost, and Speed Objectives,” explores how businesses can use localization technology to efficiently scale into international markets. Download it today to learn how AI technology can maximize your reach.