There comes a point with many businesses when expanding into a new market requires a paradigm shift in thinking. For years, businesses have been oblivious to the slow, yet inexorable shift in cultural and linguistic composition of many, if not most of the world’s most affluent nations. Immigration, whether legal or illegal, for economic, political or sheer survival reasons, means a new market or markets whose populations may be just waiting to partake in their new mainstream home, yet cling to the messages being brought to them in their old, familiar language.
Any business that sees the opportunity of making their products and services more attractive and reachable by these millions of new, world citizens is likely to reap richer rewards than continuing to ignore their existence. Yet it takes a shift in emphasis and certainly an acknowledgement that the marketing of those goods and services is best done in the new mix of languages, even if many immigrants can speak and understand English or the dominant language of their new home well.
Businesses that take this road will need to take advantage of the burgeoning professional translation services that offer marketing translation in the form of website extension in different languages and marketing material of all types, whether they are simple flyers, ads in newspapers and magazines that are directed at new migrant populations and anything of a marketing kind in the media.
Translation services that help businesses market their goods and services have t be chosen carefully. There are many different types of translation and it is best to choose an individual translator or translation agency that has proven experience in marketing translation services as well as broad familiarity with the target culture and their linguistic nuances. Migrant populations do not necessarily mirror the people of their original homeland. They may think differently, have different goals and take on at least partially the culture of their new home. All this means that their language slowly alters too, with often new idioms and slang that are part and parcel of a good marketing message.