When companies think about how to increase customer confidence in their services, they often underestimate the importance of their business’s geographical presence.
The main reason to indicate your offices’ location is to ensure that your lead feels confident you understand their local market specifics and customer needs. It may sound unnecessary, but for many customers, even when all services are provided remotely, it is still crucial to see where the office of their vendor is located and who represents them on the ground. First of all, it is confirmation that if issues, complaints, and other disputes arise, they will be considered and solved in the relevant jurisdiction. However, proof of presence is not only about physical and/or legal factors. It is also about people who personally understand the local specifics and needs of your customer.
If you do not have an office in another country, how can you ensure your presence in a local market is evident on your company’s website?
Localization of your website
Website localization means adapting your webpage to the linguistic and cultural peculiarities of your target market representatives. According to CSA Research, 65% of customers prefer information about a product/service in their mother tongue; 40% of clients will not choose a company if its services are described in another language; and 73% of people want testimonials and reviews to be in their own language. You can lose a significant number of clients if your website copy is in a language different from theirs.
You can start by directly translating your website copy into another language. However, just replicating all the information on your website in another language is not enough. When localizing your webpage, take into account cultural aspects such as pain points, purchasing habits, legal requirements, attitude to business, religion, etc. You may hire a person from your target country or region to provide consultations on these questions and ensure your lead has a flawless and pleasant user experience.
Even without website translation, your page needs to include some information on a local market’s peculiarities, clients, and more. Show your lead, even one fluent in your language, that you understand their mentality.
Employees who speak the local language
Though English has become the business world’s primary language, you will make a fantastic impression on your potential client if you communicate with them in their mother tongue. It will eliminate any possible misunderstandings between you and your customer if their English language skills are not as proficient. You can also hire employees from the countries you want to have business in. Not only will they advise you on your website localization, but your lead will feel freer and more comfortable communicating with a representative of their nation.
Your company’s local representatives (listed, for example, on an “Our team” page), will increase leads’ confidence in your services.
Representation contract
If you do not have funds to get a physical office or register as a legal entity, consider signing a representation contract with a local entity in your target geographical area. Usually, such contracts are much cheaper than company registration costs, as the greater portion of fees is paid as a percentage of the signed contracts with clients.
In addition to lower costs, the company signing the contract with you can have a wonderful reputation on the market. When a lead sees that you established a partnership with this company, they will feel more confident buying your services or product.
Having at least one of the above elements after specifying your geographical target market will make your company more reliable and qualified in the eyes of your lead. If you need more information on how to modify your website, amplify a LinkedIn page, or launch a lead generation campaign, we invite you to a video call with our business development manager.
