Did you know that misunderstanding a culture can cause a downfall for your company? Cultural misunderstandings (and literal translations) are one of the three reasons why companies don’t succeed on an international level. In fact, 65% of companies fail because of that.
Last week, we already discussed the importance of thorough adaptation to language and culture in our blog post titled Global Business: 5 Languages That Dominate the Market (Part 1).
But showing you only 5 important languages and cultures might not give you an overall insight. That’s why we decided to research 5 more languages and consumer profiles of their speakers.
Arabic
The Middle East has become one of the most promising export markets regarding consumer goods. Consumers are attracted to all brands, especially by international and luxury ones. For them, a brand ensures supreme quality and therefore something worth investing in.
Once a brand is established on the national market, its products will be perceived as a status symbol – regardless of the fact that some products may be impractical.
Even though you own an established brand, its status symbol won’t be an adequate decision-making factor for prosperous revenue. In fact, consumers are highly affected by opinions and reviews from their friends. In the end, even social media have a role in affecting the decision-making process.
Social media will provide you with an option of (partially) free promotion and a platform for communicating with your potential and existing customers – from afar. The best decision is to begin with some research on online behaviour of your target audience. An insight like this will help you find the perfect way to communicate your product/service on the internet.
Studying online behavior will also be vital for you if you plan to engage in the e-commerce niche. In Saudi Arabia, the e-commerce market for consumer goods was estimated at $ 6.31 billion in 2020. Here, we need to emphasize that 51% of the purchases are made via mobile phones.
So if you plan to enter the Saudi online market, make sure your websites and content are mobile-friendly.
French
In France, it is believed that consumption equals pleasure – this is also exhibited by their shopping patterns.
What’s the most fascinating about the French consumers is their decision-making process. They don’t shop impulsively, but rather dwell on the acquired information for some time and decide afterwards.
Furthermore, influencers and reviews easily influence them. They highly appreciate themselves on an individual basis as well, meaning they portray a higher demand in the lifestyle market niche.
France is a foreign market that also appreciates non-generic products since consumers have an eye for detail. According to Santandertrade, a higher consumer confidence in small shops and artisans (80%) in comparison with mass retailers (40%) can be observed.
Does your product excel visually and functionally? Can your company be categorized into one of the growing French sectors (TV, automobile, telecommunication, electronics, culture, entertainment)?
Then it is very likely that this market will say oui to your business.
Japanese
Japan is an immensely attractive foreign market where certain science and technology sectors are highly advanced. This can be explained by the efforts they put into projects and businesses. They are extremely active in terms of making research and development.
Its import and export industries are highly dynamic, which makes Japan a promising foreign market. It’s important to know that the ways in which Japanese shop have changed due to the economic slowdown. Now they extensively shop online and keep an eye on discounts and low-cost products.
The change COVID-19 has brought is rather interesting. According to the Mckinsey’s Survey, 40% of consumers tried new products since they value better prices and promotions, while 36% of consumers tried new products due to stock availability.
‘Japanese consumers have not shifted dramatically to purchasing online, though they have picked up new digital and low-touch activities such as video conferencing and online fitness.’
If you specialize in any products or services regarding those activities, Japan could be the perfect foreign market to choose. Besides, they are vastly open to international brands. A product gets bonus points by default if the source country is considered to be specialized in an imported product (e.g. Swiss watch, French wine).
Yet, the average Japanese consumer is still greatly influenced by the Japanese culture – including lifestyle, buying habits and taste in design. Only by incorporating those traits into your marketing strategy, you’ll trigger the desired effect. This process is called content localization. Did you know that localization is a step further from the classic translation process?
If Japan is your get-go foreign market, this advice might help you at winning the hearts of Japanese consumers.
Russian
Russia maintains its strong economic power, prevailing in natural resources and the real estate industry. COVID-19 has also brought significant changes to the consuming patterns. The most prominent observation is that it has accelerated e-commerce growth.
Before, Russians weren’t fond of buying online because they reluctantly trust and dislike prepaying for goods. Since the corona crisis forced people to buy online, there was no choice. To make this transition even easier, online stores established strong customer support and free returns. This evoked many positive feelings about buying online.
Thus, it has certainly become a more compelling foreign market – especially for e-commerce. The Russian language has obtained the title of the second most frequently used language on the internet – it comprises 8.6% of all internet websites.
What does this mean for your company? If you wish to enter the Russian market, you better translate your content into Russian.
On our blog, we’ve already written about the importance of providing your content in the native language of your consumer. Otherwise, bid farewell to satisfactory revenues.
Hindu
India is becoming a destination for multinational companies focusing on mobile media and technology. Both science and technology sectors invest a lot of resources and efforts into development.
Several market and financial analysis have shown a slight surge of consumerism, meaning that consumption patterns have shifted towards materialism. According to the forecast from the IBEF, by 2025, India will be the 5th largest consumer goods market in the world. By 2020, the durable goods market is expected to reach $ 20.6 billion.
Although they are known to be one of the most hard-working nations, their disposable incomes have just started to meet a reasonable norm. Thus, it is interesting to notice they have begun setting money aside for electronics and durable goods.
What’s more, consumer behavior is strongly influenced by the caste system, distinctive for India. Within the caste system, there are strong rules and different levels of income, so any foreign company has to adapt its offer to the target audience (in this case to the castes as well).
Due to the caste system and strong community within each caste, a brand is most easily promoted via the recommendations of parents and word of mouth. In other words, consumers are again affected by reviews.
Important for you to notice is also the significant growth of e-commerce due to broader Internet access. This creates a better opportunity for you to reach the target audience online. If you’re looking for a foreign market with a soft spot for electronics, India is a market of choice.
Frequently asked questions
What does localization mean in business?
Localization is the process of adapting content to the language and cultural specifics of the target audience. The goal of localization is to adapt your business to make it appear like a local business.
What languages are in high demand?
The top 10 most spoken languages in the world are:
- English
- Mandarin Chinese
- Spanish
- German
- Portuguese
- Arabic
- French
- Japanese
- Russian
- Hindu
How do you successfully enter a new market?
If you want to successfully enter a new market, make sure to do the research and see which market would be most beneficial for your business. When you decide upon the market, include localization in your strategy, as it will make the best first impression on your new target market.
Do you find any of those foreign markets appropriate for your company’s offer? If you do, but don’t know which translation service to use, find out how can the Taia platform help you with your translation and localization needs.
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