Importance of Localization in Business Entry Strategies in India

Abhishek Kumar

30 Mar, 2024

Localization is the method of adapting a product to meet the linguistic, cultural, and other requirements of the target market. Global brands that have adopted a localization strategy know that their users enjoy a perfectly adapted experience as per their preferences and customs. In this blog, we have discussed Localization Strategy in India.

What is localization strategy?

Localization is the process of adapting content, products and services based on the culture and language of customers in the target market. Localization strategy is a market approach adopted by a business to address customer behaviour, purchasing habits and overall cultural differences in the country the business operates in. It is adopted to give the buyers a familiar and comfortable customer experience. Localization strategy is creating country-by-country localization strategies that ensure customers abroad benefit from the same quality experience they expect from a local business.

Importance of localization strategy in India

1. Localization will help you enter new markets easily: While launching a product in the global marketplace, there are many barriers that a business has to face. These barriers can be in the form of legal issues, logistical hurdles, and also cultural and communication barriers. These barriers can slow down your business. Localization strategy deals with cultural obstacles and helps you avoid the cultural barrier. With a good localization strategy, a business can attract more customers quickly.
2. Localization gives you a competitive edge: Localization strategy gives you a competitive edge not just over the local competitors but also over the global competitors. Competing with local competitors can be tough as they are native and are able to gain the trust of the customers easily as compared to the foreign players. So localizing a product will give your business an edge over the local business. Further, if other global competitors have not localized their products, then your business will have a clear advantage over other global competitors.
3. Localization increases customer satisfaction: Localizing your product will show your commitment to your customers. Understanding their needs and addressing them will make them comfortable and make it more likely for them to buy your product or services. From providing user manuals, and multiple payment methods to multilingual customer support, localizing makes the buying decision easier for the customers.
4. Localization increases the brand loyalty: Providing a satisfactory user experience will help you gain trust which is essential for building brand loyalty. Tailoring your product and communicating in the customer’s native language helps gain customer trust. Customers will stick around and be loyal to your brand if they are satisfied with your product and services.
5. Localization increases the revenue: Bigger the audience, the higher the potential for more revenue. If you localize your products, you will definitely see an increase in revenue.

How does localization work?

Based on the nature of the product or service, localization comes in different forms. Let’s look at the most common ones.

1. Software localization (web/mobile): Software localization is important. If the actual software product is not localized well, then other elements of your localization process may not matter much. It means that a business will have to adapt UI elements, in-app tooltips, splash screens, and other in-product copy to make sense to the target market. Software localization includes units of measures, currencies, and date to match the local standards.
2. Website localization: Website localization should be taken seriously as your website is the first thing a potential customer will see. If they don’t get past your homepage then they are not going to see your product. It also includes translating texts into the target language.
3. Marketing localization: Market localization is more than translating marketing materials into foreign languages. It is also about understanding the target market and adapting a message to resonate on a cultural level. It includes developing taglines and slogans to create new campaigns for the target market. In some cases, the business might need to adopt an entirely different brand identity.
4. Product documentation localization: Product documentation means localizing the product and supporting content such as user manuals, how-to videos, FAQs, etc. Provide multilingual documents as it is a key factor for customer retention.
5. Video game localization: This is the process by which a video game is adapted as per the culture and language of players of a target market. It includes elements such as spoken dialogues and instructions, characters, marketing assets, characters, game manuals, etc. The aim of video game localization is to make a video game look like it was made in the target language and culture.

Procedure to create a localization strategy

The process of creating a localization strategy varies from business to business but it generally involves the following three steps:

Stage I: Analysis

This stage involves understanding the company’s needs, objectives, and goals. Market research, competitor analysis, and target audience analysis are components of this stage. At this stage, the information needed to make informed decisions is gathered. Considering the business environment and establishing stakeholders’ expectations are important components of this analysis stage.

Stage II: Choice

In this stage, the information gathered in the analysis stage is used to select the best possible course of action. In this stage, the following decisions are made:

1. Which localization technology is to be integrated into the digital ecosystem¹?
2. Which localization services are to be used to adapt the products or services?
3. Which language service provider should be relied on when needed, etc?

 Stage III: Execution

 After gathering information and taking all necessary decisions, in the execution stage, the localization strategy is put into action. In this stage, the workflow is outlined and a detailed roadmap is discussed and roles and responsibilities are assigned. At the time of execution, the below steps are undertaken:

1. Internationalization
2. Preparing assets for localization
3. Setting up the localization environment
4. Content localization and revision
5. Deploying the localized content
6. Localization testing and quality assurance

Benefits of a Localization Strategy

1. Extraordinary Customer Experience: Customer experience is important for the success of a business. Customer experience is a result of many factors working in harmony. Localization allows a business to tailor the product or service to meet the specific needs and preferences of its target market.
2. Fully adapted content for local marketS: When the localization is not fully or properly done, it is evident to the customers. Half-hearted localization is a trap that businesses unknowingly make for themselves. A sound localization strategy ensures that the selection of content for localization is based on concrete business goals. Fully localized content reflects the brand identity and resonates with target customers.
3. Saves time and money: Localization may require an initial investment but saves you investment time and money in the long run.
4. Provides a framework for measuring success: A localization strategy helps you track your progress and measure return on investment. The data can be used to localize buy-in from stakeholders, adjust your local budget to reduce costs and allocate resources more effectively.
5. Helps you get it right the first time: In present times, customers expect brands to understand their needs and provide a seamless experience irrespective of the experience. This makes it important to get it right the first time or risk losing customers to competitors. Localization strategy helps understand the impact of cultural differences on customer behavior and identify potential pain points in customers. This data can then be used to make localization decisions, ensure that the content is culturally relevant and engage target audience.

Conclusion

At last, it can be said that the localization strategy will help you meet the customers where they are. Localization strategy broadens the potential customer base. The businesses that have adopted the localization strategy can tell you how effective it is in attracting customers.

FAQs

Read Our Article: The Role of Culture in Business Entry Strategies in India

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_ecosystem