The key to successfully breaking into a new foreign market is understanding the people that live there, how they go about their daily lives, what is important to them, and their intricate cultural events which shape them.
One excellent way to do that is by creating a localised digital marketing strategy that appeals to the many wonderful cultural events and national festive days that take place in South East Asia. Here we’ll take a closer look at how you can use these special days to give your business a real boost.
In South East Asia there are many similarities between cultures, but also differences too, so take a look at the following top festivities to align your marketing accordingly:
- Countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam all celebrate the Lunar New Year due to the large Chinese population. During this time, they will be shopping for presents for family celebrations, so your business should aim to capitalise on this. Promotions should centre around lucky numbers in Chinese culture such as 3, 6 and 8. You might offer an 8% discount on your products at special times of the year around the festivities.
- In Muslim-majority countries in South East Asia like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, you should pay attention to catering for that population too. Special periods of the year like Ramadan and Eid can make for a good time to promote your service. For example, the ‘Spirit of Ramadan’ can be aligned with your marketing strategy by showing empathy for certain segments of the population.
- National Day and Independence Day are great times to show your business as partaking in the things they care about as a nation, giving you more credibility.
Learn How To Localise
Making use of special events and celebrated festive days is an excellent way to improve your sales, however, it’s imperative you take the time to really understand the country, culture and what makes those people tick.
Take a look at the bigger picture when it comes to adapting culturally. Are your services or products viewed the same in South East Asia as they are in the West? Will they pay for those services at the price you’re advertising them for? Is your company logo in keeping with other local brands in terms of style and colour? Will you be understood?
That’s where content localisation comes into a world of its own, and it’s capable of propelling your business to new heights when you revamp your marketing strategies to speak to them in their own unique way. Everything from the website you create to the social media you use needs to be overhauled and localised if you are to achieve success.
Also, don’t neglect your marketing materials, all of these need to be adjusted to your push for localisation. A desktop publishing or typesetting service is suggested for translating brochures and flyers. Your language service provider should ensure that all of these things are taken care of when you partner with them, adapting everything from the colours and images to country-specific symbols that will give you the best chance of success.
When you choose to collaborate with an experienced translation service provider such as Elite Asia, we make sure that all of the nuances of the country you are targeting with your campaign are brought to the forefront, to give you the very best chance of success in these special holiday periods.
