As the business world nowadays always puts the customer first, all companies are competing hard to attract customers. Localization is one of the strategies that is becoming very important, and it means adapting a product or a service to a specific locale, including its cultural, linguistic and physical aspects.
It’s becoming a must for all types of businesses to localize their websites, products, marketing materials and campaigns. The main goal behind doing this is to reach out to your target audience and make them feel that you are talking to them directly in their own language.
The Virgin Country- A Promising Business Opportunity
A study conducted by the International Monetary Fund confirmed that between 2012 and 2015, the top 7 fastest growing economies and markets were in Africa. So we can say that Africa is an untapped business opportunity.
So if you are planning to start your business in a country like South Africa, you need to understand how linguistically diverse this country is and you should, consequently, pay great attention to Localization!
According to a research paper by Common Sense Advisory, we got the following results:
- English is the first language for less than 5% of the Africans.
- 470 million Africans speak English as a second language
- 72.4% of African consumers say that they are likely to purchase a product if the product description is in their own language.
This means that the factor of language will be your key to connecting with people in a country like South Africa. The country’s linguistic and cultural diversity will need an immense effort to understand them and communicate with them in the right language.
Companies like Vodacom and Nandos understand this concept pretty well and have applied it to their business plans, which had a great impact on their target audiences.
Let’s provide you with the best practices of localization efforts in South Africa and how you can apply them to your business plans.
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A Local Language Service Provider
Africa is not like Europe or the US, as most of the terms are not documented, and that’s why you will need the help of a local translation company. Also, you can benefit from the local native linguists that are part of local translation companies’ teams, which is a guarantee that your translation matches the local culture.
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Quality Really Matters
Make sure that your local translation company is following a clear and valid quality process. ISO Certification is one of the things that guarantee that your partner will stick to a high level of professionalism while translating. Wrong translation might affect your brand positioning and cause a catastrophic impact on your business.
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” Nelson Mandela
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Customize Your Products
One of the most important things you should consider in the South African market is to customize your products to suit the culture and traditions of people. Therefore, you should understand very well how they think, their purchasing styles, and their preferences.
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Business Scalability
Whenever you are entering a new market like South Africa, you should start with small steps, not to invade all regions and cities, not to translate your website and materials into all languages. This will be considered a testing phase to know how the market will interact with your business. For example, Toshibaentered South Africa twenty years ago; it only translated its products into 3 languages and now they are translated into 24 different languages
So if you are planning to enter or expand your business in the South African market, why don’t you give us a call for support?
AfroLingo is specialized in most of the African languages like Zulu, Swahili, Xhosa, Afrikaans and many more. We are capable of providing you with a huge network of native translators who will help you at every step of your localization journey. As one of the local translation and localization companies in South Africa, we truly understand that adjusting your website and your product to the local market is inevitable, so translation won’t be enough! That’s why we’ve equipped ourselves with the latest technology and the best expertise in the market to be capable of delivering the right message. We are not just a translation company. Our website localization services go beyond this, as we work on the below points while localizing your website:
- Higher rank in the search engines.
- More conversions.
- Better return on investment (ROI).
Still thinking! Our advice to you is you must consider localization as part of hour short term strategy, and the sooner the better. You can drop us an email or contact us at (+27) 213002355 and one of your sales support will help you with the best to your business. We will be waiting for you!
