With the economy looking stronger than ever and promising growth in the upcoming 12 months now may well be the time to look to foreign climes to build on the strengthening domestic business. What’s more, with the Government investing £5 billion within the export market you may well never have been in a better position to tackle the engineering needs in overseas markets.
Going global isn’t just about growth, those who have expanded abroad were found to fair the stormy financial weathers much better than those who were decidedly home-based. This reassuring fact is just one reason of many to begin the process of establishing overseas business.
With all this in mind we take a look at the key considerations when marketing your engineering company overseas.
It’s all in the planning
The importance of market research
Market research can never be overlooked, not least when entering an unknown market that may have nothing in common with the structure of your domestic market.
Amazingly, many companies don’t adapt their own market research for overseas opportunities. We’ve worked with many of the world’s superbrands over the years that take market research translation very seriously and understand that it’s not just translating words in a survey or from focus groups but using translation services to provide context to the customer.
The UK Trade and Investment Body – A font of knowledge
The UK Trade and Investment Body (UKTI) is a governmental body that can act as a great source of invaluable information. They can help you unpick the ins and outs of overseas markets and may even be able to advise on financing and marketing plans.
Legislation, rules and regulations
Before we get to the communication and promotion side of marketing – one of the other 5 P’s to consider is your product, specifically it’s viability overseas. The engineering industry is heavily regulated in the UK market, however legislation and regulations differ drastically overseas. From markets where they may be “casual” to countries that seem to be impossibly complex, establishing a full understanding of regulations and legislation is key to avoiding potentially bank-breaking fines or prison sentences. This then means that legal translation is paramount alongside contract translation to avoid any pitfalls.
Perfect Promotion
Having established what it is that your company can bring to your target market it’s time to get the word out there. So following your market, regulatory and legislative research you can get on to the more exciting task of actually pushing your products and services into these new territories.
The use of marketing mediums
Your choice of marketing medium will differ drastically form country to country. Whilst one country may have an ever increasing uptake of technologies such as email, social media and search engines, others may rely on more traditional methods of communication. We can help with translation services for keywords to help keyword research or we can help re-write your Google PPC advertisements for the local countries to help you attract new prospects.
Competent translations
Ensuring that everything from your website to your social media message are translated competently is a must. After all, your marketing team have spent hours carefully crafting your message, and for it to be lost in translation undermines this ROI.
The translation of marketing messages cannot be understated and it’s often a major challenge, even for larger brands.
Translating marketing literature may be seen as simpler than technical documents – but a great translation agency has marketing graduates who really understand the discipline and can provide the necessary context for the translation.
The vocabulary is completely different dependent on the task. Language fluency is not finite – technical translation requires fact, marketing translation requires flair!
It’s also worth bearing in mind that marketing translations are more open to stylistic preferences, and more subjective than technical translations.
Relationship building through agents, joint ventures or overseas partners
If you remain unsure as to even the first step you should take when marketing overseas then it may be wise to consider using an agent or coupling up with a local in-territory partner. Such arrangements can be mutually beneficial, with you receiving first-hand experience as well as contacts with your partner getting a cut of the profits. This partnership can prove truly invaluable throughout the processes of market research, campaign and sales development but they are not always the perfect partner for translation services due to their lack of understanding of the source language’s nuances.
How we work…
At Bubbles Translation Services, we have over 3,800 translators speaking over 280 languages. We can take on demanding, challenging engineering sector projects – in fact, we thrive on it!
We work with the biggest and most discerning engineering brands in the world to deliver translation services that compel consumers into action.
Our ability to understand and interpret complex documents allows us to relate to your audience – no matter where in the world they are. We have a wealth of experience in translating technical documents and can offer this service for your engineering business.
