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Localization drives market growth by reaching global customers by breaking down language and cultural barriers. But if delivering a brand-consistent, locally relevant experience sounds daunting, you’re not alone.

To help ease some of that anxiety, here are some things to consider in order to better prepare your team for its localization efforts.

1.     Plan Ahead

“Going into translating support blindly isn’t a good idea for companies that are just starting to know multilingual customer support,” says Patricia Shipley, a marketer at 1Day2write and Writemyx. “First, you need to plan ahead and create a localization strategy that not only fits your budget, but also fits your company’s ability and capacity. Once you get the hang of your current strategy, then you can start offering support to more and more languages as you move further on.”

As with any major initiative, localization efforts will require a thoroughly developed project plan with a clearly defined vision, budget, target language personas, and stakeholder buy-in to reduce your risk of scope creep.

2.     Establish your User Personas

Customer behavior is something else that you should always consider. By examining website metrics like IP data and location you’ll have a better understanding of your visitors, and the language(s) they speak.

Some factors to consider:

• Many countries speak English as a second language, but some, like China, don’t.
• Localize your products. Ask yourself which areas need your product, before offering it to the masses. Translations will come later.
• While only 20% of online content is in English, look at the web as a whole. Are there any language trends to consider? Are there any languages currently on demand? Figure these out, and you’ll know exactly who to cater to online.

Having a clear understanding of your target audience will influence how your content is translated and the overall efficiency of your localization project.

3.     Use API Integrations

Zendesk is a software that lets you connect into your localization platform, so that content can flow smoothly and automatically, saving your time and money. In general, API integrations can help you localize efficiently, so if your platform isn’t Zendesk-supported, then use one that can – here is a helpful list of Localization APIs.

4.    Content as a Service and Localization

Content as a service is a relatively new approach to presenting digital content that collects all of an organizations assets in a cloud-based server and intelligently presents it to users upon request. According to Agility CMS, one of our headless CMS partners, the “centralized nature of CaaS makes it super easy to reuse and repurpose content.”

If you’re still using a traditional CMS like Wordpress, you’ll need to update multilingual content manually across each of your websites and applications. Is this doable? Sure. But is definitely not ideal for brands with multiple websites, applications, and mobile experiences to manage.

If you’re considering a move off of your coupled CMS to a headless approach click here to schedule a (free) 15 minute brainstorm session to see if CaaS makes sense for your organization.

5.     Give Customers Online and Self-Service Tools

“In this day and age, people want things to be done in a timely manner,” says Oscar Turner, a web developer writer at Brit student and Next coursework, “which means they might not have time to stop and talk with a customer service rep either in person or on the phone. With more and more people being online-savvy, they want their information quick and easy to find. And with 81% of all customers looking for solutions on their own before calling a customer support agent, it’s important to have the right info at the right time.”

Make sure that your company has effective online tools, as well as self-service tools like an FAQ, glossary and dedicated help page, to ensure that customers have a quick and easy experience.

6.    Don’t forget your Live Chat and/or Chatbot

When carefully implemented, your website’s live chat or chat bot feature will move users through your marketing funnel at an accelerated pace. Is your chat bot technology prepared for multilingual conversations? This might seem like a no-brainer but it’s an aspect that tends to be overlooked, frustrating visitors, leaving money on the table. With 67% of customers globally reporting using a chatbot for customer support in the past year, now more than ever it’s important for your customer service software to be programmed with the right information, and serve in multiple languages.

By taking these into consideration, you’ll be on your way to providing more meaningful experiences to customers across the globe. Ensuring localized digital content will expand your brand to new markets, driving growth and profitability.

This post was co-authored by guest blogger Michael Dehoyos, an editor at Thesis writing service and Write my essay. Michael also contributes to various website and publications, including Origin Writings. As a content marketer, he helps companies both improve existing marketing strategies and develop new ones.