They say that the world is shrinking. And even though it sometimes feels like a divisive, polarised place, in reality, we’re more in tune to what’s going on in far flung locations than ever before.
The rate of globalisation in the e-commerce industry, in particular, is growing exponentially. Cross-border transactions and website reach which traverses continents both have the potential to be an absolute game-changer for many brands, serving the needs of a worldwide demographic rather than something overly niche and local.
But how do you truly expand your reach and capitalise on this new way of doing things globally? Well, the foundation of this for so many online brands is the implementation of a multilingual website.
Of course, British and American English remains the dominant language of the internet, but it is by no means hegemonic. With Mandarin, Spanish and Hindi all used widely in the online sphere, broadening your brand’s voice will undoubtedly help you to increase your company’s exposure. On the flip side, by failing to provide your products or services in other languages, you’re narrowing your potential market considerably.
If we’ve caught your attention and you’re keen to explore further, then here are 5 IDEAL reasons why your business’ website should be multilingual.
ADAPTABILITY
Nike is arguably the biggest sporting brand on the planet, and that’s because of its ability to understand local audiences and adapt its content to the needs and cultural norms of each target country.
Such flexibility and fluidly enables a company to react to ever changing world events and shifting landscapes with nimbleness and precision. Because of this, flat-pack giant IKEA has also acknowledged the need to tweak their messaging away from their Swedish values to other European audiences and further beyond to Africa, Asia and America.
EXPAND YOUR AUDIENCE TO NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING USERS
Did you know that only a quarter of all active internet users are native English speakers, according to Statista data? That means some 2.7+ billion non-English speaking consumers are sitting there, clicking away and waiting to interact with your brand.
A multilingual website that covers Spanish, French and German, as well as Asian languages including Mandarin, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese, can open your brand to new segments of the market which will have a dramatic impact on your bottom line.
Of course, with such opportunities come new challenges, and you’ll need to diversify the way in which you deliver your product or service to reach new markets in one piece and to the high standards you’ve set. But you love a challenge, right?
TRANSFORM BOUNCE RATES AND CONVERSION RATES
Speaking of bottom lines, if you have discovered that your bounce rate (when someone alights on your website only to leave it rather than clicking on some of your other pages) is surprisingly high, it might be because you are attracting plenty of overseas organic search traffic who find your site to be impenetrable.
If your website is only in English, you may well have overseas visitors leaving your site from the same page they landed on (i.e. bouncing). Multilingual websites can improve a user’s confidence in your offering, which can help to optimise conversion rates too. Ultimately, all of this translates into income.
ENHANCE YOUR BRAND’S IMAGE AND TRUST
In hyper-competitive markets, it can be difficult for brands to provide a point of difference from others in their industry. In reality, whatever product or service you provide may well be available elsewhere, and it might even be cheaper or of better quality. That’s the nature of the globalised world; there’s always someone ready to overperform or undercut you.
Multilingual websites can add immeasurable credibility to your business, establishing it as a truly global brand – even if you don’t serve all four corners of the globe. And in providing such credibility, you can separate yourself from the pack, displaying the inclusivity of your brand. In the modern world, an open arms approach online translates into growing sales.
TAKE A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC APPROACH TO GET A LEG UP ON YOUR COMPETITORS
When you translate your website into multiple languages, it’s essential to appeal to a user’s needs and challenges. Localise your content and contextualise it to resonate with new visitors to your site. In doing so, you’ll broaden your appeal.
Each language has its own cultural differences. Some are more direct and up-front, while others are more subtle and focus on solving problems rather than fixating on price and discount. Should you be dexterous enough to not only provide multiple language options but also respond to cultural demands, then the world is your bilingual bivalve.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Translating your website into a multilingual platform is more cost-effective than you might think. It’s certainly cheaper than many other forms of digital marketing, helping to drip-feed new channels of organic search traffic to your site and expand into markets you never even thought you could access. Good luck!