Why Offer a Native Brand Experience

According to David Ogilvy, a brand isn’t just what you communicate; it is what the customer experiences as a whole. To put it as simply as possible, a customer’s perception of your brand is determined by the experiences you provide them. This is something that every business needs to prioritize. However, providing a memorable experience becomes even more challenging once a brand starts expanding into foreign markets. So, what is a brand to do in this situation? Well, the answer simply lies in creating what is known as a “native brand experience”.

What is a Native Brand Experience?

Native brand experiences are made up of a few core properties – knowledge of local languages, preferences, and tastes, an understanding and respect for cultural sensitivities, and an understanding of market variables such as buyer behavior, customs, and currencies.

Native brand experiences are designed to create an emphasis on the customer, rather than on the brand. This is of the utmost importance because staying in the customer’s memory is something that thousands of brands compete for.

To win this competition, you must learn to adapt your messages to the customer’s interests and tastes. That’s how good brands dominate an international market. A customer expects to be spoken to in their language on their own terms.

As always, translation isn’t the only thing that drives localization. You need to change every single thing. This could even include something as simple as the images on your landing page. If it is something that has a positive effect on the local customer or something that they expect, it must be done.

Of course, a huge chunk of your messages may resonate with most markets. However, there are bound to be parts that simply do not transfer well. So, ensure that these parts are altered to resonate as well.

There are plenty of horror stories involving brands that failed at localization because they lacked the sensibility to understand the local market. So learn from the mistakes of others and prioritize local marketing, where and when it needs to be prioritized.

Designing a Native Brand Experience

When it comes to designing a native brand experience, you need to get everyone involved. This includes everybody from the C-suite to the front desk. Of course, that’s going to be a challenge in itself. There are bound to be disagreements and silo mentalities obstructing your efforts. But, you will have to take this as part of the overall challenge.

Make sure everyone is involved in creating a new content strategy that works for the local market. If everyone isn’t participating, you will have a tough time allocating the necessary resources needed to get the job done.

Once you do manage to establish a unified team, begin by identifying translation management systems that simplify the localization process. The system must be able to take over manual tasks, thereby, eliminating the possibility of human error. It must also allow context-based editing of content.

The final step is to craft a message that resonates with the local audience on a personal level. Things should fall into place from here on.

Conclusion

Native brand experiences allow you to communicate with customers on their level. So, create the personalized experience that the customer is looking for. Go beyond the usual translation and start considering regional tastes/preferences.

If you want to dominate the local market, you have to make the effort to understand the local market. Brands that do this manage to constantly stay on top. They are the ones driving traffic, enjoying increased conversion rates, and creating a network of happy and satisfied customers.

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