Sponsored Article
As the digital world explodes, customers everywhere have increasingly more options for where they can obtain the products and services they need. A quick google search could give them choices from around the world. In this way, companies should be prepared to compete with organizations everywhere — just as they should be prepared to engage markets outside their geographical boundaries and comfort zone.
This can be complicated for many reasons. Even if an organization has the ability to translate every piece of content into other languages, that isn’t enough to make an impression on people from other countries or cultures. Language alone doesn’t set apart one place from another, as cultural norms, senses of humor, preferred levels of formality and other characteristics can’t be addressed by just direct translation. What’s needed to address this is localization capabilities and tools that tailor content to specific language, regions and cultural preferences.
The Challenges of Localization
Making content relevant to people from various cultural backgrounds is complicated. Communities may have unique needs, as well as their own search marketing practices, legal requirements or currencies. Customers may prefer content layouts, fonts and colors beyond the organization’s default branding. They may also respond to different levels of formality or humor in their content. For example, layout may change for a language that is read from left to right rather than right to left. And colors may vary in meaning; in China, white can be considered unlucky in certain instances, so brands may want to be careful how they use that color.
Essentially, cultural differences go beyond just language and into areas like visuals, tone and marketing norms. Organizations interested in being successful in updating their content may feel overwhelmed at the thought of taking each individual piece of content — from articles, website copy, social media and beyond! — and taking it through this localization process. It can be extremely time-consuming and resource-intensive. That’s why it’s worth exploring options that make the process less daunting.
How to Achieve Localization With Minimal Manual Work
Forrester advises that companies stay ahead of the curve and incorporate localization into their strategy from the very beginning. It shouldn’t be an afterthought; it should be a consideration in the initial planning stages of one’s content strategy. Having a plan ahead of time will help content teams be agile with their content and respond to changing market needs from the various areas they serve.
Several tools, solutions and strategies can help organizations take on localization successfully. To start, organizations should undertake comprehensive research on any new market they're interested in. This should focus on the local culture, consumer behavior and the regulatory landscape. Investing in local talent or working with local partners can also help companies get access to valuable insights.
Leveraging the right technology will also help organizations meet their localization needs. There are effective solutions on the market that use capabilities, such as natural language processing and AI-powered translation to ease the localization process. These solutions, such as leading composable DXP provider Contentstack, allow organizations to localize at scale rather than focusing on smaller, bite-sized goal posts. Capabilities that allow teams to personalize content and share it with the right audiences at the right time also helps improve localization efforts.
In addition, because composable DXP is powered by headless CMS, best-of-breed tools like localization solutions can be integrated right into the headless CMS. This allows content teams to flawlessly build localized content campaigns at any point in the content creation workflow.
Webinar
Sep
25
CMS Briefing: A Live Look at What’s Next in AI-Driven Platforms
Learn how leading organizations are using AI‑driven tools to publish faster, personalize smarter and stay secure.
Register
Webinar
Sep
25
Call Spoofing Trends Financial Institutions Can't Afford to Ignore
Don't let robocalls sabotage your customer relationships. Learn how to secure your voice channel.
Register
Webinar
On demand
Ready or Not: How Data-First Organizations Are Unlocking Agentforce Potential
Learn how to cut through the noise, activate Agentforce and build a Salesforce AI strategy that actually delivers.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
CX Reality Check: What Your Customers Are Really Thinking
Register now and get the insights you need to not just meet rising expectations, but exceed them.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
Content Leaders Collective: What a Good CCMS Actually Looks Like
Discover how content leaders transform clunky systems into growth engines — and why your competitors are ahead.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
From Hype to High-Impact CX Strategies That Actually Scale
Turn buzzworthy AI and outsourcing trends into measurable CX wins with fresh 2025 data.
Watch Now
Benefits of Localization
Once you’ve invested in the right strategies and technologies, localization may appear in many ways. For example, a fast food brand may promote or offer coupons to customers based on the weather they’re experiencing — ice cream for those in hot climates and hot chocolate for those in cold areas.
This is just one example of how perfecting your localization strategy can help give your business a competitive edge in many ways. It can also improve key metrics by improving your search engine visibility in different areas and enhancing audience engagement. Showing customers that you're putting the effort to get to know them and respect their cultural differences will help build brand loyalty and increase your brand integrity. Further, a majority of companies (79%) that invest in localization see an increase in revenue, according to recent Forrester research.
How a DXP Can Make Localization Easier
A composable DXP is the perfect tool to carry out an effective localization strategy. The sheer magnitude of localizating every piece of content to many different places is enough to shock any content team. A solution like Contentstack takes much of the burden away from these teams. It uses an API-first architecture that makes content creation more flexible and scalable. As an organization's content localization needs grow, they can easily add more regions and languages with Contentstack.
Meanwhile, its modular content management capabilities allow content creators to break down their content into smaller components, which makes it easy for them to reuse bits of content for different audiences and regions based on their interests and needs. Content creators also can personalize content features based on the preferences of local audiences. Learn more about Contentstack’s localization features in the link below!
