Even though it’s not a new marketing approach, email marketing remains one of the most effective communication methods. After all, with about 3.7 billion email users worldwide (a figure that’s expected to grow to 4.3 billion by 2022), there’s no wonder email marketing survived for this long!
In fact, when it comes to working with international clients, email marketing may be the most profitable method. It’s simple, easy to create and use, and email is a universal service all over the world. So, reaching customers and pitching them your services or products becomes easier.
But, before you click that Send button, let’s have a chat about the effort required to create an international campaign. Besides the regular marketing techniques, when you tailor a campaign with an international audience, you also need to factor in culture, geographic location, language, and other aspects that don’t usually come up in regular campaigns.
As a translation agency, we offer localisation services for a wide variety of marketing materials, so we have a few tips for marketers who want to reach out to an international audience.
Always Keep Geographic Location in Mind
How would you feel to receive an email written in a different dialect than the one people use in your region? Would you even consider reading it? Probably not…
So, before you start writing that email addressed to Mexican customers, in plain Spanish, know that the Spanish spoken by Mexicans is not the same as the one spoken by Spanish people. It is a dialect of the language, meaning that some words and phrases are different.
Furthermore, in marketing, timing is crucial. If your email doesn’t reach a possible customer’s email at the right time of the day, you risk losing their attention. But things get a bit trickier with international audiences, as you need to adapt to their habits and timetables.
So, another thing to keep in mind is the time difference, and the time people start their workday in the targeted region.
Translate for Marketing Purposes
In marketing, one wrong word can make the difference between failure and success. Considering this aspect, why would you risk the success of your entire campaign by using an improper translation?
A text designed to attract and entice possible customers must be translated and reviewed by a professional with marketing experience. Furthermore, they need to understand the target audience in order to create an accurate and equally alluring translation of the original text.
This is the only way to create a translated message that retains and transmits the emotions of the original.
Culture Should Not Be Forgotten
Each culture has a different view of the world, attributing different meanings to signs and colours. For instance, the colour green is associated with luck in Western cultures, fertility and wealth in the Middle East, and adulterous wives in China. Furthermore, Indonesia has banned the use of green all together!
Our example shows just how important it is to consider the culture of your audience. But, while these differences can easily be researched, you will never get to know the culture as well as someone who lived or still lives there.
We work with native language professionals, so our localisation will be 100% accurate, without any embarrassing mistakes.
Wrap Up
When it comes to international marketing, things become a bit more sensitive. As such, to create a successful campaign (even something as simple as email), you must enlist the help of language professionals who can help you understand the target audience.
After all, you only have one chance at making a good first impression!