Having fine-honed your brand's tone of voice and secured your place successfully as an etailer of choice with customers in your home country, it can be unsettling to think that simply talking in another language could threaten that success if you decide to branch out to the wider world and expand your overseas customer base. 

Make no mistake, translating your tone of voice well is no simple thing. There are many challenges to take into consideration to ensure you're being understood on foreign soil, where social idiosyncrasies are bound to come into play, where shopping behaviours could be different, and cultural nuances such as instructions or sense of humour can be taken out of context very easily. 

It is, however, perfectly achievable. The trick, crucially, is to focus on quality here. The difference between celebrating your success story as an expanding online fashion retailer and one that has failed to infiltrate the fashion sector and make an impact abroad, simply comes down to the expertise and experience of your business language translation partner. 

There are a number of vital ingredients when it comes to translating your tone of voice for your expansion efforts. 

Branding is all about words

It might not be obvious to some, but we're in the business of words so believe us when we say, words are the principal component of your brand. The tone of voice is everything - who you are, what you stand for, what you do, what you believe in, why your customers should shop with you. Images and artwork might catch the eye, but words allow consumers to relate to you, understand you, and ultimately be enticed to buy from you. Your words need more care and attention than simply using a basic translate website tool, which will undoubtedly fail to hit the mark for your overseas efforts, especially when your content is online and there for all to see. It has to be better than that and quality translation services will ensure you don't lose your message or style. 

Remain recognisable

You don't want to lose your strong and successful brand that has served you so well in your home country. Building a global business involves maintaining your identity throughout. While the individual words you use and the way you say things might change in order to tailor to different societies, it is crucial to ensure they are all conveying the same personality. Don't make the mistake of publishing 'one-size-fits-all' content on your multilingual website, yet do strive to replicate what you've done before. The trick is to speak directly to the customer and imagine how they will receive your information. But also remember what you're actually communicating is business as usual. 

Keep your customers

High quality translation for your tone of voice will ensure you successfully gain existing customers who are brand new. By this we mean 'your' kind of consumer will be attracted to you in the same way they already have and choose you among the vast amount of online shopping sites. You'll continue to speak to your target buyer and this will ensure you don't alienate your potential new client base. What's working for you will work again. This also means you'll be able to build your brand on the trust and reputation you've already gained well in your industry. 

Cultural awareness is everything

Ensuring you take into account how different cultures work within different parts of the world when branching out into new languages is absolutely vital. This knowledge could make or break your international efforts and your professionalism is at stake. A high quality language translation agency should be able to provide you with this knowledge of idioms and terminology, as well as mother-tongue experts with immersive methods of working. Understanding how best consumers respond to being addressed and making no assumptions about other nationalities will ensure you see your sales fly in no time. 

Now go get 'em!

What we do at Talking Heads

Here at Talking Heads our team of language translator experts understand how to communicate with your market, having extensive experience in the fashion retail and etail sector. From translations in fashion campaigns to websites to product packaging, website content and marketing material, we provide an unparalleled multilingual ecommerce service.

Read our case study about our partnership with leading brand Graham & Brown.

Contact us on 0114 470 1075 or info@talkingheads.co.uk to discuss your international brand.

#homewares #exporttranslation