The buying and unboxing experience

Imagine you鈥檝e ordered a new watch or expensive piece of jewellery. You鈥檝e been saving up to buy it and finally been able to make the purchase, so you鈥檙e feeling excited about getting your parcel and seeing what鈥檚 inside. It arrives, but it鈥檚 in a cardboard box that looks like the packaging you might get from an Amazon order. How would you react?听

Most likely, you鈥檇 be disappointed. If you purchase something you deem a luxury item or that鈥檚 special to you, you want the excitement and anticipation of opening it. It shows effort and care on the part of the seller, and it creates a positive unboxing experience for the buyer. That鈥檚 why we wrap gifts for Christmas and birthdays, after all.听

The quality of the unboxing experience, which could be the first time the buyer sees their purchase first-hand, can have an impact on whether they return to your brand. How? Well, packaging communicates a brand鈥檚 image, values and messaging. It helps build excitement and suspense, leading to a better overall experience for the customer. For example, a perfume product will benefit from using packaging that appears more luxurious and feels personalised to the customer when they open the package, whether that鈥檚 through an ornate design, a handwritten note or a reusable box.听

Of course, while not all products require extravagant packaging, they do all require thoughtful packaging. If you have an eco-friendly audience, for example, it will be essential to use sustainable packaging and communicate this clearly to the buyer. If your customers are buying your product as a treat or gift, it鈥檚 important to use packaging that makes them feel special. If your product is more of a necessity for your customers, make sure it鈥檚 packaged carefully so that it arrives undamaged and is easy to open.听

A positive buying and unboxing experience for your customer not only means potentially gaining a repeat customer, but also, nowadays, both positive and negative reviews spread quickly through social media. In other words, putting thought and attention into how you package your product could make all the difference in improving product sales.

Cultural differences in packaging

When it comes to packaging, cultural differences can be found in the most unexpected places. For example, milk is sold in plastic bags in some parts of Canada, while you can typically find it in cartons or plastic bottles in the US and much of Europe. You may not think that this constitutes a big cultural difference, but a dairy company looking to enter the Canadian market might want to evaluate their packaging to make sure their product matches what people are used to seeing or buying. 听

A Dutch company called learned this the hard way. Initially, it had sold its powdered milk in African countries in tin cans but decided to switch to aluminium foil pouches instead. Local customers did not want to buy the product anymore because they were used to repurposing the cans for other uses, such as storing things and boiling water.听

Examples like Neerlandia prove the importance of doing market research prior to entering a new market. It鈥檚 essential to learn the cultural habits of customers that could impact your product prior to trying to sell it to them. What鈥檚 more, different colours, images and symbols carry different meanings depending on the country and you don鈥檛 want to harm your product sales because you didn鈥檛 do your research beforehand. 听

Conducting market research ahead of time also means you have the knowledge to develop new ideas that are unique to a particular audience. For example, using seasonal packaging or localised packaging that celebrates certain regional holidays can be very effective in building a positive relationship with a new audience of customers. This can be accomplished through extensive market research that includes surveying consumers themselves and collaborating with local artists and designers.听

Consider Coca-Cola鈥檚 campaigns for Lunar New Year, which run across multiple Asian countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia. They typically feature the Chinese zodiac animal of the coming year; for example, 2022 was the Year of the Tiger, so this was a central theme in Coca-Cola鈥檚 packaging. Other themes include family, food and traditional elements, such as red decorations and banners, which can also be seen in the packaging design for 2022.

Creating localised packaging

What does the localisation of packaging entail? First of all, there is the adaptation of the product itself to better adhere to local regulations or to suit local market preferences. This first step is based on market research, which should be done prior to starting localisation to ensure a focused and smooth process.听

Then linguistic and cultural elements must be adapted through translation to fit the target language and culture. This also ensures regulatory compliance in many instances because regulatory bodies typically require information on packaging to be translated into the local language(s). Content translated for packaging often includes product names, product descriptions, nutritional information, amount/size of the product, manufacturing location and date, composition, lists of ingredients (including allergens) and safety measures.听

For each type of content, there are specific challenges for the translator to overcome. Product descriptions, for example, are what could convince a customer to buy your product, as they provide information that isn鈥檛 given in the image, design or product name. They might also highlight specific traits of the product that appeal to your audience (e.g. gluten-free or vegan), and this needs to be accurately localised.听

Ingredient lists may seem like a more straightforward type of content to translate, but this is where regulations come into play. In some countries, certain ingredients must be referred to by their common name, while in others, they are assigned a number and listed as such on the label. Additionally, this part of the label frequently includes key information, such as allergens, which makes accuracy and rigorous quality checks of prime importance.听

Moreover, there are marketing elements that must be accurately translated, such as a brand name or a slogan, as these can have a particularly big impact on the buyer and, in turn, on sales of the product in a new market. For example, when Coca-Cola entered the Chinese market back in the 1920s, their first attempt at a direct transliteration of the brand meant 鈥渂iting the wax tadpole鈥� in Chinese. Unsurprisingly, this was not a very successful launch and they had to change it to the current name, which is phonetically very close to 鈥淐oca-Cola鈥� and means 鈥渢asty fun鈥�, a far cry from the original translation blunder.听

A big challenge in creating localised packaging is the adaptation of graphics and design, which is done for a number of reasons. A redesign may be necessary to avoid cultural misunderstandings associated with a certain symbol or colour. On the other hand, this could be done simply out of necessity, perhaps because local packaging regulations require certain information to be moved to the front of a package. 听

When a graphics-heavy sector like packaging needs translation services, a process called DTP (desktop publishing) is often done to check layout and design as it relates to the functionality and readability of the translated text. Then, at the end of the translation process, a QA (quality assurance) check is run to make sure that the linguistic, cultural and layout elements are accurate, consistent and relevant for the target market.听

Finally, an essential piece of the puzzle when it comes to localised packaging is requesting feedback from customers, as this can help pinpoint areas for improvement or adjustment. Ultimately, you want your product to resonate with customers. The best way to know if it does is to ask them, so following up with surveys or focus groups can be very useful.听

EU compliance through localisation

If you are looking to enter the EU market, you will need to ensure that your packaging adheres to EU regulations. This means that all product labelling, including packaging, must be translated into the official languages of the countries in which the product is sold. This can vary depending on the country; for example, Switzerland has four official languages and packaging must include three of them: German, French and Italian.听

Localised packaging must also accurately communicate all required information, including product ingredients, usage instructions, warnings and regulatory statements. Some EU regulations also specify the format, size and placement of certain labelling elements, such as ingredient lists and allergen warnings. By properly localising your packaging, you ensure that consumers across the EU can access essential product information in their native languages, promoting safety and consumer rights.听

In the EU, there are also certain industries that are subject to specific directives and regulations, such as food, cosmetics and medical devices. In the translation and localisation process, it鈥檚 essential to know how these regulations differ between markets and understand the changes that must be made to comply with them.听

Green packaging and sustainability

Sustainability is a key issue when it comes to packaging. According to a , 82% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging and 71% had chosen a product in the last six months based on its sustainability credentials. Eco-friendliness is at the front of consumers鈥� minds, and it should be a top priority for any company that packages and sells products.听听

Not only does more sustainable packaging significantly reduce your impact on the environment, but it is also a clear way to communicate to consumers that your company is environmentally conscious. However, the same study found that 59% of consumers search for sustainability information on the label before they make a buying decision, while 46% say that the biggest barrier to making a purchase is unclear labelling on the package.听

Localisation must be a key part of your transition to green packaging because clear communication with your customers in their native language could convince them to choose your product over that of your competitor. If you鈥檝e invested in greener packaging for its environmental benefits, why miss out on connecting with like-minded customers because you can鈥檛 communicate with them?听

In an interconnected world, successful businesses understand the importance of localisation in product packaging. Not only does it help you resonate with consumers and build brand longevity, but you can also communicate your commitment to cultural appreciation and global sustainability. As people look for increasingly personalised content from brands, localised packaging is what can help you stand out.听

For more on our packaging localisation solutions, click here.听

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Locally appropriate yet globally recognisable 

Product localisation is an essential part of an effective sales and marketing strategy. You might have heard of 鈥渃lustering鈥� 鈥� a well-known concept in store management which involves adjusting local offers to better fit the profile of consumers in a specific area. 

When it comes to going global, clustering can also involve language clusters; firstly because not everyone in the same country necessarily speaks the same language, and even if they do, they often speak it very differently. Sales and marketing professionals tend to consider this keenly when writing copy for their own language markets, but when content is localised, the text is often translated in a generic fashion, which may be wholly inappropriate for the target audience. 

Consider it as an inverted pyramid, where the starting point is the mass market 鈥� a shared language spoken in a country, for example 鈥� which is then narrowed down by segment, niche and lastly the individual consumer. At each step, the language is progressively adapted and targeted to the narrower cross-section of consumers. 

This model has been borne out by real-life business experience. American chain superstore Walmart has used localisation across its thousands of sites to provide consumers with locally targeted offers in different regions 鈥� even from one town to the next. As a from 2006 about this strategy summarised: 

鈥�Too much localization can corrupt the brand and lead to ballooning costs. Too much standardization can bring stagnation, dooming a company to dwindling market share and shrinking profit.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

One example of localisation leading to increased sales was seen during the re-labelling of a pesticide called 鈥淎nt and Roach Killer鈥�. This name sold well in the southern states of the USA, but not in the north. After some market research, the manufacturer decided to remove the word 鈥渞oach鈥� from the label, which helped increase sales dramatically.  

This demonstrates a company moving down to the sharp end of the inverted pyramid to appeal to a large target audience that had been put off by the word 鈥渞oach鈥�. It shows how localisation within a country and in the same language can lead to increased sales; and the process is very similar when you seek to localise product information and offerings in other languages and markets. 

Language clustering 

At the time the Harvard article was written, globalisation was really taking off. Many feared this would lead to greater homogenisation, with a few global players selling the same indistinguishable products in all countries and communities. The intervening 16 years have proven the article right in solidifying the exact opposite:  

鈥溾赌� a look at the emerging localization strategies of the leading companies in consumer markets鈥攃ompanies that once shunned customization but now embrace it鈥攔eveals how mistaken this assumption is. We are advancing to a world where the strategies of the most successful businesses will be as diverse as the communities they serve.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

One global brand that has built a localised product marketing campaign 鈥� right down to the level of local dialect 鈥� is Swedish furniture giant IKEA. In Malaysia, they used that reflected local usage of the suffix 鈥渒ia鈥� in the Hokkien dialect, as seen in a billboard featuring a picture of a chicken and the words 鈥榃e are not Kay Kia. We are IKEA.鈥� (Kay Kia is the Hokkien word for chick). Another example features a tall man and the Billy bookcase with the line 鈥榃e are not Lo Kha Kia (a tall man). We are IKEA鈥�.  

The IKEA products in question may be largely similar around the world, but perhaps precisely for that reason, using local dialect in the adverts showed that IKEA is aware of the local community they serve. 

Layering to target 

As demonstrated in the inverted pyramid model, localising into a particular language is only the first step in narrowing the localisation pyramid towards the most receptive consumer. The next steps involve employing other tactics to craft the right message in the right way, not least by securing a thorough understanding of who makes up the market segment. 

If you鈥檙e producing or selling stairlifts, for example, there is little point in localising the text in your marketing materials and product information to a style that is attractive to people in their twenties. Given that stairlifts are relatively costly, you鈥檙e likely to target social groups in high income markets that are more likely to live in suburban houses with more than one floor (urban flats are unlikely to need a stairlift). 

The niche thus consists of elderly, well-off, suburban people 鈥� they need a very specific linguistic approach, and your ability to adapt and adjust it is crucial to successfully selling to this demographic, both in terms of . This must also be reproduced when the material is localised from one language to another. 

Marketing that speaks to your prospect 

The sharp end of the pyramid is the individual customer 鈥� the one who is actually completing a purchase 鈥� whether a private consumer or a purchaser for a retailer. 

At this stage, it鈥檚 all about finding the right words to trigger the customer鈥檚 interest and willingness to purchase. 

Matt Lerner, co-founder and CEO at Startup Core Strengths, , 

鈥溾赌� when you find the exact right words to explain your product or service to prospective customers, words that resonate with goals and struggles that are already in their brains [鈥 a lightbulb in their heads switches on that says, 鈥楾hat is EXACTLY what I鈥檓 looking for鈥� 鈥�  they feel like you鈥檝e read their minds.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Finding the right words means understanding that a potential customer鈥檚 purchase decision sits within a wider context in their life. The words you use must therefore reflect their situation rather than just your product. But how can you guess what鈥檚 in your prospect鈥檚 head? 

Unless Apple are announcing the release of their new iPhone, it鈥檚 pretty unlikely that people are already thinking of a specific product. Instead, their minds are filled with daily struggles, fears, anxieties, hopes, dreams, and much more besides. So, if you want to get their attention, you鈥檒l need your marketing messages to resonate with what鈥檚 on their minds. 

That brings us to the million-dollar question 鈥� do potential customers overseas, speaking different languages, have the same struggles, doubts and goals as those in your domestic market? A recently released book titled 听explains how language can influence the way we think about space and time, and even where we focus our attention.听

The languages your customers speak can be the key to creating messages that resonate with their present or future and inform how you organise the information, or whether you decide to focus on certain things such as gender, movement or colour. 

As the aforementioned IKEA example shows, sometimes it鈥檚 simply not enough to translate your product information and marketing materials. There are countless examples of slogans, messages and instructions gone wrong when simply translated rather than adapting or transcreating to fit the target audience. Hitting the nail 鈥� to fit language, style, tone and culture 鈥� on the proverbial head is crucial to reaching all the way to the individual purchaser themselves. 

Mr Lerner continued, 鈥�I鈥檝e seen companies with language/market fit normally get conversion rates from 8%鈥�40%, which results in much stronger unit economics. Why the sudden jump? Visitors to your site or app store listing bring different levels of intent. It鈥檚 easy to convert high-intent users. But if you鈥檙e an unfamiliar startup, most of your visitors will have low intent, more curious than desperate. As you tighten up your language, you鈥檒l be able to cut through to that massive pool of low-intent traffic.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Lerner鈥檚 lesson is a crucial one as you consider who you鈥檙e competing with in the various target marketplaces and the level of intent of your potential customers. 

The question is, if you offer a similar product or service as another provider, but they have localised their product information and user experience, perhaps even the overall profile of their products and services, who do you think will have the best chance of hitting the sweet spot with the consumer? 

Finding the market is finding the language 

Language is not necessarily bound to a particular region or nation. Often language traverses political and physical borders, and even within a country there may be significant differences in how different sub-groups communicate; millennials speak and communicate very differently than Generation X or Boomers, and urbanites have very different trigger words than those living in the suburbs. 

Take Spanish, a language which is used differently in Spain and across the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America. Then consider Latin America itself; Chile鈥檚 Spanish is certainly different from Argentina鈥檚, or the dialect spoken in Bolivia, and within each of these countries, a young, urban audience will differ from an older, affluent or rural one. 

A well-considered product localisation strategy will connect language usage to the main variables used in sales and marketing to define a potential target market or audience, such as age, gender, income level, occupation, cultural background or family status. 

Given that these variables can span across large geographical areas and cut through languages and cultures, it becomes increasingly important to craft tailored messages that resonate within each group, if you want to reach all the way to the individual customer and influence their purchasing behaviour with your words. 

As a result, product localisation should be a key component in your sales and marketing strategy from the very start. Any successful marketing strategy has messaging at its core, and this doesn鈥檛 change just because the language changes. 

As you narrow down the inverted pyramid, either by geography or language group or demographics or gender, localisation is key to this necessary clustering as you aim to fine-tune your message and influence each individual decision maker. 

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As the dust settles, it鈥檚 beginning to look a lot like export planning.

Growing back

Battered and bruised, yet by no means defeated, UK SMEs are once again engaging in trade after a period of unprecedented challenges.

For small businesses in Britain, the situation has been twice as challenging. The uncertainty prior to the Brexit deal and the preparations for a no-deal outcome already felt like a huge challenge for companies that don鈥檛 have large legal and compliance departments. Then the Coronavirus hit, complicating economic activity in markets across the globe.

Keys to recovery

All across Europe, businesses are waiting for the remaining pandemic restrictions to be lifted. It has been suggested that some restrictions will remain in place indefinitely, or will return on a seasonal basis.

What we already know is that the past 18 months have propelled businesses into a process of digital transformation that cannot be reversed. Increased digital capabilities have enabled SMEs to reduce their physical presence and venture further online.

Prior to 2020, 7 out of 10 people across Europe had already bought goods and services online. This increased further during the pandemic.

According to , the biggest increases in people shopping online were seen in 鈥溾赌� Romania (+27 percentage points (pp)), Czechia and Croatia (both +25 pp) as well as Hungary (+23 pp)鈥�. In Norway, the increase in online sales in terms of value was a staggering !

This means that your business, wherever it is geographically, can be part of the global town square.

You could hardly ask for better conditions for expanding your business and entering international markets.

Business travel is no longer expected 鈥� on the contrary. Acceptance of virtual meetings has made it easier to get through to people who were previously out of your reach. You could hardly ask for better conditions for expanding your business and entering international markets.

The UK Minister for Exports, Graham Stuart, has said that exports is one of the . The Institute of Export & International Trade reports that EU exports are continuing to bounce back with an from February to March 2021, despite the UK still being in lockdown at the time.

In the UK, the value of goods exported by SMEs rose from 拢81 billion in 2015 to almost 拢108 billion by 2019. An from 2019 states: 鈥�Of exporting businesses, the 鈥�1 to 9鈥� employees group made the largest value increases since 2018 (up 7%).鈥�

Exporting means growth 鈥� for your small company as well as our national economy.

Overcoming barriers through export planning

Whilst the UK government encourages and pursues international trade deals, they don鈥檛 always address a key challenge for many business owners: How do I deal with the language barrier?

A recent report by Aston University鈥檚 Business School into 415 UK SMEs from different sectors emphasises the importance of overcoming this challenge. The research leaves little room for doubt as it 鈥渞eveals that SMEs making use of language capabilities are in exporting than those who do not.鈥�

The research discusses SMEs鈥� 鈥溾赌otivation, preparedness and attitudes towards developing language-related capabilities, as well as the actual use of available language capabilities鈥�. It also establishes a clear correlation between doing that and driving the company鈥檚 growth and profitability of exports.

Put simply: improved language capabilities = increased export revenue and profits.

What a language service provider can do for you

The most efficient way of tapping into language capabilities is to partner with a language service provider that tailors their services to your specific needs.

Legal constraints

There may be a legal requirement for the material related to your product or service to be translated for your export markets.

For example, in the EU:

• The must be translated into the language(s) of the EU country in which your product is sold
• Certain investment information needs to be translated when distributed
• The defines what constitutes a medical device and what translations need to accompany it
• The stipulates that the labelling must be 鈥溾赌�easily understood by the consumers of the EU Member States where a food is marketed鈥�
  

To satisfy such legal requirements, you can鈥檛 simply rely on free online translation tools. Qualified language professionals must perform these translations. Our team would be happy to do that for you.

Customer awareness and engagement

In order to reach international clients, speak to them in their own language. Publish your marketing content in their language and optimise it for search engines (SEO) in that language. We have listed five good reasons for such SEO localisation here.

Multilingual marketing is about reshaping your company’s message to fit another culture.

Marketing in a different language is not just about translating words. It is about reshaping your company鈥檚 message so that it makes sense in another culture, as we explain on this page about multilingual marketing.

Your website is the face of your business. You want it to speak to potential customers in a way that raises their awareness and encourages engagement.

That being said, your most important channel for customer engagement is probably social media. This is where you鈥檒l be touching people鈥檚 hearts and creating a loyal following.

Even in the Scandinavian markets where many consumers speak good English, you鈥檒l find that people prefer to engage , especially on topics that really matter to them.

Have you ever wished you had an in-country community engagement manager? A person trained and appointed to:

• Take the social media messages written for your home market
• Translate and localise their content
• Publish them in another, market-specific social media group
• Manage the responses and replies to those posts in the target language

We can set up this solution for you.

Customer support

Once you have customers and business partners in other countries, you need to deal with their questions and support requests. They may wish to express these in their own language.

Do you need to hire new staff to handle those communications? Creating a number of Q&A templates that can be translated will allow you time to explore your options.

These templates can cover stock replies to frequently asked questions and you can even use them to build multilingual chatbot scenarios for online customer support. Read more about our tips on how to localise support documentation here.

Turn language from a barrier to a bridge

The Aston Business School research shows that businesses that invest in language capabilities are 30% more successful as exporters.

SMEs making use of language capabilities are 30% more successful in exporting.

You may already be taking professional advice on your export strategy in terms of pricing, customs compliance, payment methods, currency risks, insurance and packaging.

Turning to experts to learn about the role of language when entering international markets is no different. We are here to help you improve your language capabilities.

Contact us today to have a chat about where to start.

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