Your product descriptions sell in English. They describe in German. There’s a difference – and it shows in your conversion rates.
Translation gives you accurate product content in another language. Localisation gives you product content that works in another market. The distinction matters because what persuades a British buyer isn’t necessarily what persuades a German, French, or Spanish one. Different markets have different expectations about what product content should do, how it should be structured, and what information matters most.
This isn’t about rewriting everything for every market. It’s about understanding where market expectations differ and adapting where it counts.
When description isn’t selling
Product descriptions serve two purposes: they inform and they persuade. The balance between these varies by market in ways that catch many exporters off guard.
British and American product content tends to lead with benefits and emotional appeal. Features follow, supporting the benefits already established. The assumption is that buyers want to know what the product will do for them before they want to know how it works.
German buyers typically expect the opposite. Technical specifications come first. Features are documented thoroughly. The assumption is that buyers are competent to evaluate the product based on its specifications – and suspicious of content that seems to be selling rather than informing. Benefit-led copy that works beautifully in English can feel lightweight or evasive in German.
French product content sits somewhere between, with stronger expectations around context and positioning. Where does this product fit? What problem does it solve? Who is it for? French buyers often want to understand the product’s place in the market before engaging with specifications or benefits.
Simply translating English product content into these markets preserves accuracy but misses these structural expectations. The content says the right things in the wrong order, emphasising the wrong elements for the audience.
Structure that matches expectations
The fix isn’t complicated, but it requires deliberate adaptation rather than straight translation.
For German markets, restructure product content to lead with specifications and technical detail. Put the data tables and technical specifications near the top. Let features speak for themselves rather than wrapping them in benefit statements. German buyers are often engineers or technically informed procurement professionals – they can draw their own conclusions from good specifications.
This doesn’t mean removing benefit statements entirely. It means positioning them as conclusions that follow from the specifications rather than claims that precede them. “The 316 stainless steel construction provides corrosion resistance in marine environments” works better than “Designed for harsh conditions, this product features 316 stainless steel.”
For French markets, provide context before diving into detail. What category does this product occupy? How does it compare to alternatives? What applications is it designed for? French buyers often want to understand the product conceptually before engaging with specifications. A brief positioning paragraph that might feel redundant to British readers often helps French buyers orient themselves.
Spanish markets often respond well to warmer, more relationship-oriented content – but with important caveats. Business-to-business content still needs substance. The warmth is in tone rather than at the expense of technical detail.
Specification conventions that matter
Beyond structure, product specifications themselves follow different conventions that affect how content should be presented.
Units of measurement are the obvious example. Metric is standard across Europe, but conventions within metric vary. Germans expect comma decimal separators (1.234,56) where British conventions use points (1,234.56). Getting this wrong doesn’t just look unprofessional – it can cause genuine confusion about product specifications.
Size conventions vary. Clothing sizes follow different systems. Industrial component sizing may use different standards. Even where the underlying measurements are the same, the way they’re expressed affects whether your product content looks native or foreign.
Colour names carry cultural baggage. “Beige” doesn’t translate directly into all languages with the same associations. Technical colour specifications (RAL numbers, Pantone codes) travel better than descriptive colour names when precision matters.
Electrical specifications need particular care. Voltage and frequency are obvious, but plug types, certification marks, and compliance standards all vary by market. Product content that specifies “CE marked” works for European markets; adding UKCA marking requirements matters for the UK.
Trust signals that translate
Product content includes more than descriptions. Reviews, testimonials, certifications, and guarantees all contribute to purchase decisions – and all have cultural dimensions.
Review content translates awkwardly. A five-star review in English often includes casual language, personal anecdotes, and enthusiasm that feels foreign in German. Some businesses translate reviews directly; others source native reviews for each market; others present review scores without translating individual review text. The right approach depends on your product and audience.
Testimonials face similar challenges. A quote from a British managing director carries weight in the UK. The same quote, translated, may carry less weight in Germany where the company and individual are unknown. Local testimonials, where available, often perform better than translated ones.
Certification marks and trust signals need localisation, not just translation. European buyers recognise CE marking; British buyers increasingly expect UKCA. Industry-specific certifications vary by market. Payment method logos signal trust differently across countries. Displaying the right trust signals for each market is as important as translating the words around them.
When product content needs more than localisation
Some products need substantially different content for different markets – not because of cultural preferences but because the product itself serves different needs.
A heating product sold in Scandinavia faces different climate conditions than the same product sold in Spain. The use cases differ. The features that matter differ. The competitive context differs. Translated content misses these differences entirely.
Industrial products may have different applications in different markets based on local industry structure. The same component might serve automotive manufacturing in Germany and food processing in Spain. Product content that speaks to the wrong application misses the audience entirely.
In these cases, translation – even culturally adapted translation – isn’t the answer. The content needs to be developed for each market based on how the product is actually used and sold there. This is more expensive than translation, but for key products in key markets, it’s often the right investment.
Making localisation practical
Full cultural adaptation of every product description for every market isn’t realistic for most businesses. The costs don’t justify the returns, especially for large catalogues with many SKUs.
The practical approach is tiered. For your most important products in your most important markets, invest in genuine localisation – restructured, culturally adapted content that matches market expectations. For the long tail of products, accurate translation with attention to specifications and conventions may be sufficient.
The tier boundaries depend on your business. A manufacturer with twenty core products might localise all of them for major European markets. A distributor with thousands of SKUs might localise the top fifty and translate the rest.
What matters is making the decision consciously rather than defaulting to straight translation for everything. The products that drive most of your revenue deserve content that sells, not just describes.
At Bubbles, we help businesses develop product content that works across European markets. We understand that translation is the starting point, not the destination – and that the goal is content that performs, not just content that’s accurate.
