Benefits Of A Multilingual Website

Business expansion on your mind? Looking forward to selling in the international markets? How about building a multilingual website to connect better with your customers?

Not sure if this decision would actually benefit your brand or just be an added effort?

Need some facts and trends to validate the choice of going the Multilingual route? Here they are:

• 75% of global customers prefer to buy from websites in their native language
• 77% of global internet users can be reached by having the 10 most popular languages on your site

Let us understand it even further. The following graph shows the growth of to 10 languages used on the internet in the last two decades. 

Source: Internet World Stats

Surprising as it may look for an English speaking population, other languages are growing at an astronomical rate. Arabic leads the race, followed by Russian and Indonesian/Malaysian. 

Let’s go a step further and check out the fastest growing ecommerce markets of the world to better understand the importance of opting for a multilingual website.

Source: Emarketer

The writing is clear on the wall!

The fastest-growing ecommerce markets have a sizable non-English speaking population. 

And what better way to connect, engage and convert these customers than to offer them the ease of shopping in their own language.

Multilingual Website: Why You Business Needs It

We all love shopping online, don’t we? And online stores are leaving no stones unturned to lure the customers. From deep discounts to augmented reality, every possible device is employed to win over the customers.

But how can a customer shop from your store if they do not understand the language? So the first and easiest step in conquering new international markets is to take the multilingual ecommerce route.

Can you imagine the incremental sales which will result from this small change. Your business will not only break the physical boundaries it will also break the language barriers and get you loyal customers! 

StoreHippo elaborates on the benefits of a multilingual website for your business:

1. Win Non-English Speaking Users

English speakers across the world are a small proportion of the non-English speaking people. With the growing penetration of internet and smartphones more and more buyers are taking the ecommerce route for their everyday shopping requirements. With non-English speaking regions leading the commerce growth, it is imperative for businesses to adapt to the unique requirements of these markets. 

To tap these customers, you need to build a website which speaks the language of the target market. English may be the universal language but it does not work for everyone. The general principle is that ‘the language of selling is the language of the customer.’ And what better way of doing this than building a multilingual website!

2. Create a New Customer Base

The number of online buyers is increasing all over the globe. People live in diverse geographical regions, speak different languages, belong to varied cultures but everyone has a common need to buy products. With global needs and wants merging fast, it has become easier to sell globally if you offer what the customers need.

Running your business in multiple languages gives access to a wider customer base. There exists a huge potential to tap new online customers if you offer the websites in their native languages. 

A multilingual website is an easy way to create a lasting impact on the visitors who land on your store. These potential customers are more likely to stick to your brand and also promote it among peers when your business is communicating with them in their own language. 

3. Cost-Effective Marketing Tool

When you connect better with your customers they are bound to buy more from you. Creating a website in your customers native language instantly promotes your business as a customer-centric brand.

In this era of extreme personalization, this can be your differentiating factor and give you better marketing ROI.  By communicating in multiple languages your brand gets the power to hold your customer’s attention and gently nudge them towards a checkout.

The cost of running a unilingual website and a multilingual website is pretty much the same. You need not create different websites for each language. Thus, it is a cost-effective brand building exercise and helps your business to meet its marketing objectives.

4. Increase Sales and Generate Revenues

Did you know that a consumer is 3X more likely to carry out a transaction when you sell new products and services in their native language? Wonder why? Simply because it makes it easier for them to navigate, understand and interact with the website. 

Isn’t it a good hack to boost your sales?

Your sales are bound to increase if you present your customers with a multilingual website. Non-English speakers will be more than happy to purchase products from a website which supports their native language.  

5. Beat Competitors

Whatever your business vertical there will be a host of competitors who would be offering  a lot of benefits to lure the customers. While you can beat them at some of the products and services, gaining an edge over your competitors needs constant innovation.  

Having a multilingual website can be your trump card. 

To beat the cut-throat competition in the market, you need to differentiate from the rest. Take the lead by adding multiple languages on your online store and establish your company with a firm foothold.

6. Customer-centric Approach

When you build an online store in multiple languages it shows that you care for your customers. The extra effort that you put in builds a bond with your customers. They feel that you think about their culture and comfort level. 

We humans love to feel special and this is why we desire personalization and customization. If you meet this need, people are likely to be inclined to do business with you. 

A  multilingual website not only improves your chances of conversion, but also increases overall customer satisfaction. Simply making the customers feel that you care about them makes a huge difference. ‘Don’t build links; build relationships’- Rand Fishkin.

7. Search Engine Optimization

What do search engines look for in your site? Apart from the site speed, mobile-friendliness etc. what ranks you higher on SERPs is the relevance and context of the content you put on your site.

And what better way to hack this algorithm than by creating content in different languages. Even the same content when translated in different languages gives you many advantages and helps you gain better SERP ranking for each language.

When you create a multilingual website, you automatically get better SEO results as you meet the needs of your customers. 

8. Trust

Customers are likely to trust you more if you offer a website in the language they are proficient in.  They will repose more confidence in you knowing that you are willing to make the investment for their comfort and convenience. 

That kind of confidence, trust, and respect will be translated into increased sales and bigger revenues in the long run.

9. Global Outlook

A multilingual website gives an international image to your company. It is a proof-of-the-fact that you want to go global and deal with international clients. 

This gives a good impression to visitors on your website and you will be considered a serious player.  International firms are usually associated with more efficiency and improved quality of products and services.

No wonder if you start getting better sales just by portraying yourself as a global ecommerce player.

10. Improved Learning Curve

A multilingual website has other implications as well. It gives you better learning about the tastes, attitudes and buying behavior of the people residing in different parts of the world. 

This learning will make you more equipped to understand consumer behaviour and approach; thus you will be better placed to incorporate better marketing and customer satisfaction practices into your business.

11. The Indian Perspective

Closer home, the Indian ecommerce focus has now shifted to tier 2 & 3 cities and smaller towns. People residing here wish to buy brands which are not available locally and thus are more than willing to take the ecommerce route. 

These people in smaller Indian towns and cities are often not fluent in English language. Building a multilingual website in regional languages along with Hindi can help you tap the Indian market better. 

How To Build Your Multilingual Website With StoreHippo 

StoreHippo offers an inbuilt multilingual solution to build B2B and B2C stores in multiple languages. Adding multiple languages to your online store is a simple process. 

Once you have built your online store with StoreHippo, follow these steps to set up your multilingual website in no time: 

Step 1: Log in to your admin panel 

Step 2: Go to language setting, click on “add new language” button to add a new language on your store

Step 3: Select the code of the language you want. Eg. FR for French

Step 4: Select the checkbox to publish the language and save the settings

Step 5: Repeat Steps 2-4 to add as many languages as you want

That's it. Your online store has multiple languages and you are ready to rule the international markets!

Conclusion

Multilingual websites are the way to future proof your business and win the ecommerce war on a strong footing. Along with giving you the opportunities to explore the global markets it also helps you explore the diverse domestic ecommerce market in multiple languages.

Need a multilingual ecommerce solution to get started? StoreHippo offers an inbuilt multilingual solution that not only helps you add many languages to your site but also gives you support for multiple languages in the themes. 

Get ready to explore the global markets. Explore StoreHippo’s extensive multilingual ecommerce platform right away!