The importance of localization for global businesses.

Why literal translation isn’t enough when you want to expand to foreign markets. 

If you live in a city like New York, Berlin, London, or Amsterdam, you might feel like a member of the global community. Hopping on a plane (which, by the way, only about 5 to 10% of the world population have actually done in their lives) and spending the weekend or a week in another city in Europe or the U.S. doesn’t feel much different than being at home. Usually, the stores are the same. The restaurants often feel the same. You can even get an avocado toast (usually the only vegan option on the menu) in most cities around the world. 

Most companies I’ve worked with in the past are based in these sorts of metropolitan cities. Their employees – just like me – are part of the 5 to 10% of the world’s population that has boarded a plane and will most likely do so in the future as well. When I talk to them, it doesn’t feel any different than talking to my friends from Cape Town or Copenhagen. However – and when it comes to international marketing – things actually are wildly different. 

The first time I became aware of how vital localized communication is was when I represented Kickstarter during their launch in Germany. 

For Kickstarter, I traveled around Germany and hosted events to talk to people about how to run a crowdfunding campaign. Kickstarter provided me with slides that were translated into German. After a few events and based on the questions I received, I knew I’d have to adapt how I delivered the talk to meet the needs of my (German) audience. 

Instead of talking about the different ideas others presented on Kickstarter, I emphasized the practical part and explained what it means to run a Kickstarter campaign in great detail. 

Over time, I realized there are patterns in the questions people ask in Germany. However, they weren’t the same questions creators asked in the Netherlands or Denmark. 

I also noticed that people’s attitudes are very different in Kiel, which is a city in the northern part of Germany, compared to, for example, Munich or Cologne. And I also learned that the crowd would be much more engaged in Braunschweig, with its 250,000 residents, compared to Berlin, for example. 

I wanted to take this opportunity and explain why it’s important to localize your brand’s strategy, content, and marketing initiatives. 

In the following paragraphs, I’ll give you specific examples of why pure language translations are a waste of your money. Generally speaking, national values and cultural quirks are shared ideas of what is good, right, and desirable in a society. And it’s important to have that in mind when you want to enter a new market. 

Here are some of the most significant cultural differences.

People value different things

Whenever I’m asked to localize copy for a brand, I usually read through a few articles and jot down adjectives that I believe the copywriter was trying to get across in the original language. Different cultures encourage, legitimize, and reward a different set of core cultural values. So, whenever localizing communication material, it’s important to adapt it to the set of values you want to express in the different markets that still reflect what your brand stands for.

One of the clients I work with, Plentific, focuses on communication about the digital revolution and changing the way the industry works in their home country of Britain. In Germany, however, the team and I are busy emphasizing security, reliability, and the importance of handicraft. So, when I edit their copy to fit German needs, I keep staring at these words: “trust, faith, quality, cost efficiency, effortlessness.”

Another client I’ve worked with in the past featured calculations on their blog. They’d talk about money management and highlight things such as average income, rent, and how much people spend on groceries and going out. That, too, is very different in different countries. And it’s not just the average percent of spending on groceries – it’s also because what people buy varies in different countries quite a bit.

*** I wanted to include this picture because I asked my friend for a glass of water with a slice of lemon, and he climbed up the tree to get that lemon. When I asked him what he was doing, he simply replied: “TIA – This is Africa.”

People do things differently

So far, I’ve lived in five countries. It’s six when I count my extended stays in New York. One thing I’ve learned over the years is how we all believe that the way we go about our everyday lives is not out of the ordinary. The other day, my partner and I were having breakfast, and, once we finished, I told him it was easy to see that I spent my childhood in an Eastern-European country. He grew up in Western Europe: My plates are always much cleaner than his (We’re talking about minimum amounts, but still). It’s because, if I’d leave even just a little bit on my plate after declaring I’d finished, my grandparents would never miss the chance to tell me off about wasting food. Trust me – even the way you hold your spoon or your fork might be very different from how I do it. 

Simultaneously I also know he will be much more considerate to his neighbors than I ever will – to be considered to others is much more of a Dutch trait than it will ever be an Austrian/Czech trait.

People engage differently

I’ve always found it baffling that the majority of my favorite places in Vienna, Austria, get such an “average” rating on Foursquare. As my friend Martin said to me: “We don’t go to places that aren’t 8+.” And while I’d generally agree, I don’t when it comes to German-speaking countries.  

I’ve once looked into it (unfortunately, I can’t find the source anymore) and learned that people from different cultural backgrounds value different things in their lives, which is reflected in the average rating of restaurants. 

If someone values the friendliness of the staff and uses that for how well they’re going to rate a restaurant, then it doesn’t surprise me Viennese places rank so badly. In an Austrian café, it’s part of the culture for the waiter to be unfriendly and sometimes cheeky. I’ve had plenty of waiters telling my male company off for not paying for the whole bill. **

What’s unfriendly or a no-go in one country might be ok in another. Ask a Russian how uncomfortable they get when someone blows their nose in public. Or what a German or Austrian will think of you when you slurp your tea. It’s tiny things, but it’s these things that matter.  

People behave differently

One of my favorite events is CreativeMornings. It’s a global event series and a community with local chapters that gathers in 65 countries across the world. Whenever I travel, I always try to make it to a local chapter. I love it! 

Because CreativeMornings is what you could call a franchise, the schedule of the events around the world is the same: You arrive at 8:30 a.m. and get in the queue for free breakfast and coffee. (So amazing!) The official program starts at 9 a.m. Between 9:25 and 9:30 a.m., the moderator will kick off the Q&A part. There will be a few 30-second pitches from the community, and the event wraps up around 10 a.m. In other words, between 8:30 and 9 a.m., people are supposed to mingle. But you can be sure that in Germany, the majority will grab something from the buffet and sit down, waiting for the official part to start. From what I’ve seen in other cities, the local hosts have a hard time getting the people away from the coffee queues over to the seating area because people are so excited about chatting. But in Berlin, it always feels awkward to chat up random people because most of them sit quietly in their seats and wait. 

I’ve had the same experience across Germany with the Kickstarter events I organized as well. 

So, if you organize events or any personal outreach, you should also think about how to (and at best team up with a local freelancer to help you) create a localized experience. A local will know how to approach people and make them feel at ease.

To summarize based on my experience, people in different markets have a very different understanding of things, such as how much individualism is too much individualism. Is it ok to speak about money? What is rich? And how is being rich perceived? What’s too personal? And what perspective will make people take a closer look at what you’re trying to communicate?

If you host an event, how will people react and what will they need to feel at ease? 

In the past, I’ve worked with companies like Kickstarter, Plentific, and Target Internet on their localization efforts.

If you’d like to expand to Germany or Austria and are looking for someone to help you localize your website copy, blog posts, videos, or events, please get in touch. I’d love to learn what your company does and how I can help.