We live in a world where the borders between countries are more blurred than ever before. Globalization has combined with technology to make it possible to hire employees from around the world; to sell to customers in countries you have never visited; and to build business-to-business relationships far outside of your local community.
The charge of globalization has been undeniably beneficial for businesses, who are able to source staff, build relationships, and – most importantly of all – sell products to customers they would previously have never been able to reach. If you run a product manufacturing business, exploring the opportunities to sell to overseas markets can expand your potential customer base by the millions – but there is one potential problem: the language barrier.
While English is a very common language across the globe, if you wish to sell your products into an overseas market, you are unlikely to be able to rely on English-speaking customers alone. If you have a lot of Spanish-speaking customers, for example, it may be prudent to study spanish online, so you can communicate better, and appear to be more conscientious. Whatever, you do you will need to try and make your English-speaking business work in a second language – and here are a few ideas of what may be required to help you achieve just that.
Investigate shipping options
By far the biggest challenge in selling to non-native speakers is actually getting the product to them. You will need to investigate your shipping options first; unless you can find suitable ways to dispatch products to people living overseas, there is little point in continuing the endeavor. Thankfully, there are plenty of online guides that can point you in the right direction and ensure you are able to find a shipping method for your products. With this decision made, you can begin to strategise how you will communicate the benefits of your products to non-English speaking consumers – speaking of which…
Understand the importance of quality translation
The key to selling to non-English countries is quality translation, and particularly in regards to your website and promotional literature. It may be tempting to try and translate written documents and information yourself or using apps, but realistically, this isn’t going to work. We’ve all seen examples of bad English translation; native speakers will always be able to identify poor translations that have been done without genuine expertise.
Translation is an art, and if you wish to sell to non-native customers, it’s important you appreciate this. Translation performed by humans will always deliver preferable results, as it is nuanced and allows for context to be applied – something that apps and AI systems are years away from even coming close to replicating. While you could produce something that sort-of resembles another language using software, it would immediately be identifiable as an imperfect job by a native speaker – and that would reflect very poorly on your business.
Thankfully, it is relatively easy to find translation services for a variety of different languages; whether you’re looking for English to Norwegian, English to Spanish, or English to Arabic, you should be able to find a translation service that can convert your existing promotional and website text into another language.
Consider customer service
By the time you reach this consideration, you should have almost everything in place: you know how you’re going to get products to people living overseas, and you have invested in quality translation. However, there is one final step before you can sit back and wait for the overseas orders to roll in: customer service.
When your non-native English customers seek to make a complaint, they are going to do so in their chosen language. This will present a challenge to your customer service team, and it’s one that you have to have a solution to before you move into fully selling to non-native speakers. While you may be able to handle customer service using apps and stock responses, you will be far better off either continuing to use a translation service or to hire an employee who is proficient in the language of the country you wish to sell to. This is, of course, another expense, but it is one that is likely to pay off, given the higher sales volume you should be able to process thanks to your overseas expansion.
In conclusion
Selling products overseas to non-native speakers is undeniably challenging, but it can be hugely rewarding, resulting in access to a new marketplace that can push your business to the next level. If you keep the points above in mind and only begin selling to non-native speakers when your business is ready to do so, then you too will be able to take advantage of all the benefits globalisation offers.
