Thanks to the internet, the world has become one big, global market. And, it has now become more important than ever to cater to the needs, sensitivities, likes and dislikes of every segment of your customers. To be successful in the global market, you really have to think local!
Spanish, the official language in twenty one countries across the world, is also the third most spoken language in the world and the second most spoken language in the United States. Hispanic population is also the biggest minority community in the United States, constituting about 18 percent of the total population. By, 2015 the Hispanic community in the U.S. will have a purchasing power of 1.5 trillion Dollars. You certainly don’t want your business to miss out on this growing segment in the market, and it makes tremendous business sense to address them in their native language.
Multi language websites are costlier to develop and maintain, but the extra money you spend will help increase your potential customer base. The development and Spanish translation are often one-time costs and they are well worth the goodwill you earn from your Hispanic customers. People are likely to spend more time on a website and more likely to purchase when the content is available in their own language. While you could reach out to so many more peopleby making the decision to translate your website to Spanish, it is very important to make sure that you choose a competent person or agency to do the translation for you. What you don’t want is your message to get diluted or lost in translation. You certainly don’t want something that misses the mark or worse, something that could offend a potential customer. Many businesses make the mistake of doing an incomplete or poor job at it, often creating Spanish versions websites and marketing material that arepoorly translated and culturally irrelevant.
You might be tempted to use machine translation which is fast, easy to use and doesn’t cost you any money. Even though machine translations are getting better and more accurate, they are not quite up to the mark. The result is likely to miss the context and dilute what you are trying to send across. A poor attempt like this is likely to give a potential Hispanic customer an impression that your business does not care about him and turnhim away from your business. Hiring a professional translator who is experienced in your industry is a good start to tackle your multi-cultural needs as a business.
Representing in another language what your business or organisation stands for is often not just about translating it. It is important to make sure that the content of your website is culturally relevant too. The best strategy is to go for a professional who can do a trans-cultural adaption for your Hispanic customers. A trans-cultural adaptation professional will review your content and rewriteit if necessary so that it conveys exactly what you want, in a way that makes sense for a Hispanic person. It is also very important to note that the Spanish for the U.S. is quite different from the Spanish for Spain which is different from the Spanish for Argentina. Though this is an expensive option than just getting your content translated, it would be better for your business.
When people see your website in their native language, they will appreciate the effort you make to make them feel comfortable, and love your business for it. The benefits of doing this cannot be calculated in cash, but it is a sure shot way of winning the hearts of your Hispaniccustomers. All this means more business in the long run!