Three short cuts to succeeding with online sales in foreign markets
E-commerce continues its strong growth
People buy online more than ever before and online shops have become the primary sales channel for many companies serving as either a supplement to or replacement of physical shops.
The Internet has completely changed the way in which we shop. Both consumers and online shops have become increasingly global and are no longer confined by national borders. This has increased competition, since your nearest competitor might as well be a foreign online shop.
According to the report “E-commerce in Europe 2018” prepared by PostNord, e-commerce has increased significantly. In just the past year, European consumers have purchased goods online for EUR 198 billion, an increase of 9.4% or EUR 17 billion in one year. At the same time, 3 in 4 consumers buy goods from abroad. The trend of an increasing number of online consumers who spend more money is clearly illustrated in the following graphic from Statista. The US, for instance, has 259 million e-commerce consumers, who each spend about USD 1,952 a year.
It’s easy to buy, but hard to sell
Consumers find it easier to buy online, but harder to sell.
To be successful, you should start out by getting all the practical and legal matters in place. This includes:
- Observing the rules in the individual markets
- Being on top of logistics
- Having a website and payment module that works
Besides that, it is a good idea to examine your website more closely. Is it fast, user-friendly and able to convert visitors into customers?
Translating your e-commerce platform may be the way to success
The path to converting your visitors into customers includes translating your website. Studies show that as many as 75% of consumers prefer buying from online shops where they can read about the products in their own language.
Many online shops have come to this realisation, so the increase in e-commerce has increased the need for translation. This has made some opt for the easiest solution and add automatic machine translation to their platform. For some, this might be a quick-fix solution in markets where the company does not want to spend too many resources, but it is a signal that you as a company should consider whether you want to purvey. If you are a serious online shop and have strong ambitions of conquering customers in foreign markets, investing in a professional translation can quickly prove worth the trouble in the form of increased sales.
A translation is more than just a translation; you need to take several factors into account to create the optimum translation, a website that converts and a process that works seamlessly. Follow the following three tips to get well on your way.
What to take into account when translating your e-commerce platform
- Adapt the language to the local market
In other words, localise your texts, as we would call it when you don’t just make a word-by-word translation but also consider local and cultural differences that might require you to adapt the language and formulations. This prevents unfortunate translations that might offend or scare off local consumers. In this blog post, you can read how things might go wrong when your texts are not localised.
- Think SEO from the beginning
When you think SEO from the beginning, you make sure that you use the right keywords in the local languages. A Swedish consumer will probably not use the same keywords for the same thing as a German consumer would.
So if you want your products to be found by the consumers, it is money well spent having a keyword analysis made so that you know that you use the right keywords in the different languages and markets.
Read more about how you best search-engine optimise your translations in our blog post “How to speak search-engine language across borders”.
- Make it easy to get your text translated
To make it as easy, flexible and quick for your to have your texts translated while ensuring quick time-to-market, you should consider whether you want an integration between your e-commerce platform and your translation provider’s translation platform.
This will make it easy to manage large volumes of text into many languages. AdHoc Translations offers a solution called SmartConnect where you can order translation of your texts with a single click of the mouse and just as easily integrate and publish them on your site.
Universal Robots is one of many customers that we have helped with an efficient integration between their CMS system and our translation platform. Read the case here.
How do you find the optimum solution that meets your needs?
Every customer is unique, and no need is the same, calling for customised solutions. To be able to tailor the best solution to you and your company, you should:
- Consider what you want to achieve.
- Define your needs (into which languages should your text be translated, do you require keyword analyses, what is the scope, etc.)
- Define your budget
You should then engage in a dialogue with your translation provider to discuss your options and the solution that is best suited to you.
AdHoc Translations is ready to help you succeed with your online sales in global markets. Request a quote today if you want to learn more about how we can help you and your company.
