The emergence of the internet has contributed toward a global village. Many businesses are reaping the benefits of marketing and selling their products to these new markets.
Within these global markets, there are many languages spoken aside from English. Sure English is often the Lingua Franca, but as a language, at 335 million, it’s only the third most spoken language after Chinese (1.2 Billion) and Spanish (414 million). Then you have Hindi, Arabic, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, Japanese, and Javanese respectively. That’s your top 10. And that’s not mentioning the many others.
Building a multilingual website allows you to more effectively tap into this global market. “But my business is doing just fine,” you may be thinking. And besides creating a multilingual website is a huge investment. Firstly, let me address point one.
Sure your business may be doing just fine. But what if I told you your business could be fairing much better? Consider these statistics:
- 73% of internet browsers are not English.
- 72.1% of users browse in their own language.
- 56.2% say browsing in their language is more important than price.
- 46% say they don’t purchase products in foreign languages.
Secondly, whilst creating a multilingual website may have been an expensive investment in the past, this is no longer the case. There are plenty of cost-effective tools out there, such as Bablic, making website translation available to the masses including startups and small businesses. Thousands of businesses use Bablic as tool to easily turn their website into a multilingual one, no matter the platform it’s using, no programming required! As a small business owner, you simply paste a code in the header of your website and voila!
If you’re still not convinced about the need for website localization, let’s delve into it a little more. Here are 10 further reasons why making your website multilingual is a good idea for your business.
#1 Enter Emerging Markets
Aside from tapping into a larger part of the global market, a multilingual website allows you to target one of the fastest growing, and most lucrative markets: the emerging market. Your established markets like the United Kingdom and the US are saturated, and in many cases – highly competitive. In contrast, many consumers in emerging markets are only now really engaging in online shopping. But the growth potential is there.
A recent report by Research and Markets – The Worlds Largest Market Research Store – forecasts that emerging markets will lead global online retail sales growth from the period 2016-2109. So jump in early, ride the wave, and experience the benefits.
#2 Lower Advertising Costs
The increased competition in established markets means that your advertising and marketing costs will be a lot higher. Why? To compete you’ll simply need to out advertise and out-market. Target emerging markets for lower advertising costs.
#3 Diversify Your Market
Targeting an international base also leads to business diversification. A multilingual website then reduces your exposure to risk. If you’re only targeting one market i.e. your home market, and the local economy is struggling, your business is jeopardized. By generating revenue from another market, you improve the chances of business growth – even during tough times.
#4 Improved SEO and More Organic Traffic
Including multiple languages on your site will also lead to a boost in search engine visibility. Why? You’ll be ranking for keywords that your competition isn’t ranking for and this will contribute to increased organic traffic to your website. And once on your site, they’re now in the market for your products.
#5 Builds Trust
By catering to a customer in their own native language you also make them feel more at home; more comfortable. This builds an added layer of trust. Trust is something that’s crucial online, where customers aren’t interacting with a person, but rather a computer screen. And that trust then is an essential ingredient in converting that customer into a sale.
#6 Increased Conversions
Both point three and point four contribute to increased conversions. More organic traffic + trust = vastly improved odds of making a sale. And that’s just the initial conversion; multilingual websites show you care and serve as a building block toward creating repeat and loyal customers.
#7 A Sign You’re Customer Orientated
What says that you care more than tailoring your website according to the unique language preferences of a customer? This establishes you as a customer orientated business and not just a profit monger. You’re then well on your way to increasing your repeat customers.
#8 Increases Repeat Customers
Repeat customers ensure that you can rely on a more steady stream of income. Imagine you only had one-off customers? You would have to continually invest time and effort in acquiring new ones. This is not sustainable, for any business, yet alone yours.
#9 Establish a Competitive Advantage
With many businesses not yet fully embracing website localization, you have the perfect opportunity to set yourself apart. Building a multilingual website will give you a distinctive competitive edge. And as a business who doesn’t want to beat their competition?
#10 Sign of a Forward Thinking Company
You’re not only establishing a competitive advantage, you’re positioning yourself as a company that’s forward thinking. A company that’s innovative, always thinking ahead and always one step ahead of the competition. After all, people love companies that do things differently. Just think Apple.
Building a multilingual website is not as costly as it once used to be. And with the many statistics pointing in favor of doing so, and the benefits, perhaps it’s time you built your multilingual site?