Regularly revisit and, if necessary, revise your standardization strategy based on performance metrics, stakeholder feedback, and changing market conditions. Conduct thorough market research to gather insights on customer behavior, preferences, and needs across different global markets. Investigate competitors’ strategies and assess their success or failure in standardizing their offerings. The following are some core aspects you should consider when formulating a global standardization strategy for your business. Beyond providing an initial competitive edge, localization also has long-term benefits.
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This is why the app couldn’t use a standardized approach to marketing in different countries; they had to localize their content and take into account the cultural nuances of their specific audiences. Standardization is the process of creating protocols to guide the creation of a good or service based on the consensus of all the relevant parties in the industry. The standards ensure that goods or services produced in a specific industry come with consistent quality and are equivalent to other comparable products or services in the same industry. Apple Inc. is an exemplary case of a company that has successfully employed a global standardization strategy. The tech giant offers a consistent product line across the world, ranging from iPhones to MacBooks.
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As many as 80% of B2B purchasing decisions are based on “direct or indirect customer experience” compared to 20% based on price. Website localization is especially important for B2B-focused companies, given that 80% of surveyed business buyers said that a vendor’s content had a significant impact on purchasing decisions. These case studies illuminate how global standardization can be effectively implemented while allowing room for localization where needed. They demonstrate that a well-executed standardization strategy can drive efficiencies, create a unified brand image, and still be adaptable to local market conditions. A standardized approach allows for a cohesive brand image across different markets.
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When customers see that a brand has invested in understanding and catering to their specific needs, it often fosters loyalty. This cultural sensitivity allows brands to truly resonate with target audiences in different local markets. One of the biggest drawbacks of a one-size-fits-all approach is the risk of cultural irrelevance. Localization allows businesses to adapt their products, services, and messaging to reflect local tastes, beliefs, and traditions.
This helps ensure that your marketing reflects the interests, needs and context of your target audience in each region. In these type of cases it’s important to be able to adapt your global marketing tactics to specific local markets when needed. For example, if research shows that Parisians enjoy avocados on their burgers, market your burgers in Paris to include avocados. Standardization normally appeals to businesses because it’s more cost-effective and takes less manpower to get right.
Here are some key reasons why using both strategies in your marketing activities is essential. The leading translation management platform to localize your content across devices and platforms. Personalize your content into any language with Smartling’s full-service translation solution. Here are the four most common international business strategies your company can adopt. Transnational strategies for global expansion combine the best of global integration with local responsiveness.
What is an example of a standardization strategy?
A good example is the Coca-Cola Company, which uses similar branding, packaging, and distribution in all their products globally. Brands that deal with food, such as Dunkin Donuts and McDonald's, try to standardize their menus by serving cultural or regional food items that are in line with the brand.
Though some companies are experiencing growth and success, many are looking for ways to save money and prepare for a future of potential uncertainty. Developing standardized messaging and design choices from the beginning will prevent future roadblocks that delay timelines. Standardization in the trading industry is set by the exchanges on which the security is traded.
Continuous monitoring and evaluation are crucial for measuring the strategy’s success against the defined objectives. An effective standardization strategy should be agile enough to adapt to these changes. Learn from our expert panel how to prepare for global expansion, overcome common localization obstacles, and drive international growth. In some industries, such as computer chip manufacturing, there is very little room for error and product uniformity is important.
- Localization can significantly contribute to this by enhancing market penetration and customer engagement.
- Experimenting with different localized content assets is a great tactic to see what’s working and what isn’t.
- A standardized approach allows for a cohesive brand image across different markets.
- The standardization may cover products sold in one geographical location or in the global arena.
And since localization can oftentimes be a complex process involving many teams and requests, it’s extremely important to have all your content, products, and services go to market in a unified way. While Netflix’s service is centralized, every user experience must be personalized and localized. At the same time, a standardization strategy could also work for a small startup with a limited budget that needs to move slowly as it expands into new markets. The startup could employ a learn-as-you-go approach, beginning with existing offerings and marketing resources and then fine tuning for local markets as more data and customer feedback are gathered.
What is an example of global standardization?
- Companies may make identical products across all their branches. For example, Dunkin Donuts makes donuts over all their branches.
- Companies may use uniform packaging or branding.
- Companies may apply similar advertising methods.
A global standardization strategy is a top choice to implement to conform to a standard approach when marketing internationally. This strategy saves time and cost — two critical components to quickly and efficiently building success. Businesses that expand globally need to decide how they’ll approach marketing to their new customers. A standardization strategy delivers a uniform message and consistent content across markets. Localization takes the opposite approach—tailoring strategies, campaigns, and resources at the local level.
Notable exceptions are China and Russia, where media restrictions are too severe for the service to operate. For instance, differences in what constitutes acceptable content for children vary by jurisdiction, and many titles on offer have regional restrictions for use. Also, consumers can match up the components of a system in a way that fits their specific preferences. Also, standardization may limit producers from providing more value to consumers than their competitors, because they are constrained by the standards. Companies can create a competitive advantage by selling components or subsystems of the integrated system to other businesses that are compatible with their business model. For example, standardization in the options markets means that exchanges global standardization is an approach of set standards as a way of establishing the minimum trade bases for contracts.
There are logistical and cultural variations, barriers to understanding and adoption, and challenges in assimilating a list of locations from a well-worn process to a new one. For instance, a customer buying a Coke in India will have the same product as a customer in Indiana, with very little variation. First off, this type of strategy may face challenges in markets with significantly different cultural values and norms.
- A familiar example of standardized technology is that of software programs that are compatible with the Windows operating system.
- Learn from our expert panel how to prepare for global expansion, overcome common localization obstacles, and drive international growth.
- Industries that rely heavily on cultural nuances, such as food and beverage or fashion, may find standardization particularly challenging.
- If global standardization is all about finding common ground and ensuring brand consistency, localization centers on tailoring marketing strategies to the nuances of local markets.
- The non-standardized approach is the understanding that the demographic differs from country to country.
Obviously, localization can’t remove all of these obstacles, but it can help your company surmount cultural barriers. Localization with the right partner helps your company avoid sub-par marketing content that can turn off customers, depress revenues, and potentially damage your brand’s reputation. Customer interests, habits, and preferences are shaped by their culture and lived experience, which can vary widely from one country to the next. A standardization strategy is not designed to adapt for these differences, and if the strategy is out of sync with the local market, this can negatively impact revenue.
What is standardization approach?
The goal of standardization is to ensure uniformity to certain practices within the industry. Standardization focuses on the product creation process, operations of businesses, technology in use, and how specific compulsory processes are instituted or carried out.