Consumer Behavior, Translation, and Localization: Quite a Powerful Bundle

There are a lot of complicated terminology when it comes to marketing translation! Most individuals are logically unclear about their significance. It’s crucial to distinguish between terms such as translation, localization, transcreation, marketing translation, and others.

Is it better to translate or localize?

Simply said, translation is the process of re-expressing meaning. Translators usually convert the meaning of an original text into an equivalent target-language text word-by-word or phrase-by-phrase. “I love you,” for example, is translated into German as “Ich liebe dich.” “Je t’aime” is the French translation.

Translation is included in localization, but takes it a step further by modifying content and design to what is appropriate and relevant to the target audience in their home country. To put it another way, the information has been tailored to suit the needs of the local audience. The goal is to make it appealing to the intended audience while still giving it a distinct local flavor.

When the source and target texts must be identical and precise, we utilize translation. It might be a user handbook, an e-mail, or an informed consent form, for example. Essentially, we’re talking about a direct translation of the source message into the target language.

When there are components in a text that need to be adapted to the target culture, we adopt localization. Adjusting the default currency, numerical systems, and date format, for example; altering visuals that need to resonate locally; finding analogous symbols for particular meanings; and even adjusting emojis are all examples of these features. (Have you ever thought if emojis will ever be considered a language in their own right? This article may be of interest to you.) As a result, we typically utilize localization for expressive text that is intended to generate an emotional reaction from the reader. Websites, smartphone applications, blog entries, and other similar items fall within this category.

Transcreation

Are the terms “localization” and “transcreation” interchangeable? No, its not. They do, however, share a few similar characteristics. Localization strives to give your audience the impression that the information was developed locally, that it talks directly to them, and that it fits to their preferences. Accepting local payment options via cooperating with local companies is an example of localization. Localization increases conversion by removing the sensation of foreignness.

Transcreation, on the other hand, is less concerned with UX than localization and goes even farther in terms of appealing to the target consumer since it concentrates on the message’s psychological impact and the feeling it evokes in the audience.

The goal of transcreation is to evoke in each target market the same reaction and emotional response that customers have in the source market. In other words, we’re talking about rewriting material in the target language from scratch in order to appeal to emotions and convert clients.

Translation for marketing 

This is a broad phrase that encompasses marketing collateral and copy translation, localization, and transcreation (defined as Copywriters’ work who create content that promotes people to purchase products or services)

Why Should You Hire a Professional Marketing Translator?

When it comes to international marketing, it’s crucial to remember the value of working with a professional marketing translation. This is especially true when it comes to localization and globalization activities. It’s unquestionable that bad marketing text translation not only wastes resources but also harms an image and reputation in that market. Isn’t that something that no one wants? We are happy to collaborate with skilled marketing translators all across the world at Crisol (Torjoman)Translation Services! The most professional translation company in Dubai and the Middle East.Your campaign will stand out from the crowd because of their distinct cultural and language expertise.

What Can You Expect from a Professional Marketing Translator?

Working with a professional marketing translator is fundamental when translating marketing materials. The field of marketing translation and adaptation is complicated, and many individuals ignore its importance. While a competent translator can easily translate from one language to another, things are more complicated than meets the eye. To put it another way, marketing translators must possess a distinct set of talents in order for your marketing activities to be successful.

Writing Ability

Despite widespread perception that translation is merely rewriting the original material in a different language, strong writing is crucial for marketing translation! In the target language, your translator must be able to produce material that is appealing and compelling. Furthermore, that information must have a local influence, and it will (necessarily) alter significantly when translated back to the parent language. A translation may occasionally need to use creative license in order to preserve the text’s intended message, a talent that is unique to a professional marketing translator. They must be voracious readers for the same reasons!

Brand Awareness

When working on a marketing translation assignment, the translator must first ensure that they have a good comprehension of both the campaign and the brand. As previously stated, the original text may need to be minimally modified to safeguard the message in the target language. This necessitates a thorough understanding of marketing strategies as well as the brand’s objective.

Understanding of the Target Audience

Translators must know who the project’s target audience is in addition to having a thorough knowledge of the brand. This allows them to make well-informed judgments regarding which language to employ during a project. This ensures that the audience engages with and appreciates the material your brand is displaying. A marketing translator’s cultural expertise is what sets them apart from the competition! This also gives you the peace of mind that your marketing efforts are on track to reach your objectives. Why? Because your localization campaign will strike a chord with your target audience — for all the right reasons!

IT Expertise

A marketing translator must be familiar with the “behind the scenes” of user interface and user experience. They must be able to operate with tags, placeholders, character limits, CTAs, and other similar elements.

Transcreation Expertise 

Transcreation is a special kind of marketing translation that may boost or destroy your localization efforts. Transcreation is a term that combines the words “translate” and “creation”. A translator must not only translate but also make major modifications to the text when undertaking a transcreation project. What do you mean by that? They must, after all, boost the target market’s comprehension of the material. This is a difficult procedure that should only be attempted by a professional!

Good Marketing Translation KPIs

The only way to judge a marketing translation’s performance is context. ‘What context?’ you could ask. The framework of a company’s entire marketing goals, to be precise (independently of the language).

Let’s start with the fundamentals: a digital marketing strategy is not the same as a digital marketing campaign. The first refers to the acts or steps that a business performs in order to achieve its overall marketing objectives. The latter, on the other hand, is exactly such a broad marketing objective.

Identifying this goal is the very first step in building a digital marketing campaign. In addition, the organization will need to determine the campaign’s overall purpose. This mission has only one goal (“increasing brand recognition in the UAE, for example”). Furthermore, they require quantifiable, meaningful, and time-bound objectives. “Increasing online sales in the UAE by 30% by May 2021,” for example.

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are used in this situation. An Important Performance Indicator (KPI) is a quantifiable statistic that shows how well a firm is meeting key business objectives, according to Kilpfolio. In whatever language, KPIs assess value!

So… how does this affect translators? A good marketing translator, on the other hand, should be able to maintain committed to the company’s digital marketing strategy and campaign in the target language, and produce the same quantifiable outcomes and KPIs. This will be used to measure whether the company’s localization Return on Investment (ROI) is high enough to justify continuing to localize content for future markets.

Marketing Translation Questions to Consider

Obviously, a marketing translator has a significant number of responsibilities. Is the number of page views in the target language comparable to the number in the source language? How quickly is the target market’s customer base increasing in comparison to the original market? What is the conversion rate for the translated website or app? How do you search for social media postings in the target language on social media? All of these questions should be asked by marketing translators.

Clients will evaluate all of these KPIs and more, and professional marketing translators must meet or exceed their expectations.

Marketing Consequences of Consumer Behavior and Culture

because of globalization, marketing research has shifted its attention to the impact of culture on customer behavior. Costumer behavior is influenced by culture, according to research. As a result, cultural values of customers play a significant part in the development of worldwide marketing strategies (Fisher et al., 2010). Consumers’ perceptions of a firm may be influenced by these principles, which go beyond personal views. As a result, if a company wants to flourish in foreign markets, it must consider cultural differences. They risk causing unfavorable reactions in the target market if they don’t.

Consumer Behavior and the Self-Congruity Theory

Consumers pick items and brands that have symbolic values and are consistent with their own beliefs and behavior, according to the self-congruity hypothesis (Sirgy, 1982, 1985; Litvin and Kar, 2004). As a result, cultural symbols and meanings take Centre stage. Simply put, while marketing internationally, a company should make sure that all of its messages match the cultural values of the target audience.

Furthermore, as demonstrated in this study report, self-congruity plays an important influence in brand personality perception:

The fit between the product’s value-expressive features (product-user image, or the image associated with the intended user of a product) and the audience’s self-concept is referred to as self-congruity (Johar & Sirgy, 1991, p. 24). According to self-congruity theory, consumer behavior is influenced by self-concept in a way that leads to product purchase (Johar & Sirgy, 1989).

to give an illustration, a given brand of shoe may have a product-user image of a lively, youthful, and active user, and potential customers may assume they share these characteristics—they believe they are outgoing, youthful, and active. The product-user image and the consumer’s real self-image are in sync in this scenario.

Personality of a Brand

“The collection of human traits connected with a brand” is what brand personality refers to (Aaker, 1997, p. 347). To put it another way, customers tend to associate brands with human traits.

Human personality traits, on the other hand, are produced purely via communication and are related to a person’s attitudes, behavior, beliefs, physical qualities, and demographic characteristics (Aaker, 1997). There is generally nothing inherent in a brand that determines whether it is successful or not. Instead, firms use marketing to portray themselves as, for example, young and inventive.

No company wants to be perceived as rude. Or it might be disrespectful. Or any other undesirable characteristics. It is at this point when cultural literacy comes in helpful. In other words, organizations may create customer trust by understanding the collection of common knowledge and implicit theories about the universe, which includes beliefs, values, attitudes, and other constructions (Hong et al., 2000, Sharma, 2010). Why is it important to develop trust? Because it leads to an increase in sales.

Cultural Dimensions Theory and Consumer Behavior by Hofstede

Hofstede’s Cultural Aspects Theory is a framework for understanding the dimensions in which cultures differ in relation to one another, devised by Dutch management scholar Geert Hofstede in 1980.

The tool developed by Hofstede is useful for examining cross-cultural variations in consumer behavior. Culture is divided into six groups, according to him:

1. Power Distance Index (PDI)
2. Individualism vs. Collectivism
3. Uncertainty The Index of Avoidance
4. Masculinity vs. Femininity
5. Orientation: Short vs. Long-Term
6. Indulgence vs. Self-restraint

We’ll go through Heftede’s model in more depth in our upcoming blog post because there’s so much to say about it. Stay updated.

To the Rescue: Marketing Translation

If consumers buy from brands that they believe are consistent with their cultural and personal beliefs, and brands shape their personalities through communication and rhetoric, marketing translation (which employs localization and transcreation as main strategies) is the most effective tool for influencing customer behavior across cultural barriers.

We hope this post has answered any queries you may have had. Please let us know in the comments if you have any other suggestions. Best of luck with your translation!