There’s a $10 trillion opportunity for businesses that successfully appeal to Asian consumers in the coming decade, according to McKinsey. Are you ready to capture this booming market?

If so, localization is your next move: it can jumpstart your market presence, drive brand awareness, allow you to go head-to-head with competitors, and increase sales. Why?

Because all across Asia, consumers demand content in their own language. For example, according to CSA Research, when given a choice, buyers in Asia prefer to buy products with information available in their language as follows:

• 94% of shoppers from Taiwan,
• 92% of shoppers from Korea
• 92% of shoppers from China, and 
•  90% of shoppers from Japan

But you’ll need a partner who really gets the language and culture of the specific Asian market you’re targeting. Asia is a large, complex market, and a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work here.

That’s why finding a best-fit partner—one with enough resources to support your growth but also enough local expertise to ensure effective communication and on-the-ground knowledge—is crucial.

Pros & Cons: Global vs. Regional Localization Vendors

Businesses seeking localization partners face a choice: large global vendors or super agencies, usually headquartered elsewhere, and smaller regional vendors based in the target market.

There are pros and cons to each type of vendor. First, bigger is not always better.  When deciding between global and regional localization vendors, savvy businesses must weigh the unique strengths and weaknesses of each.

Super Agencies

Large global vendors are like the Walmarts of localization providers. They offer broad language support and usually have in-depth experience across a wide spectrum of industries, so they can easily support various types of projects. However, they may lack deep cultural insights specific to Asian markets, leading to less effective localization. Their one-size-fits-all approach misses regional nuances, resulting in messaging that doesn’t quite connect with its intended audience. Additionally, because they handle high volumes of content, their customer service can feel impersonal and less responsive.

Regional Language Services Vendors

Regional vendors offer a more boutique experience. Because their staff is from the region, they excel in cultural and linguistic expertise. With this deep understanding of local cultures and languages, they know what works and what doesn’t in specific Asian markets. Their custom solutions effectively engage local audiences, enhancing brand loyalty and driving better customer relationships.

Since they aren’t as large as the global providers, they also tend to provide faster and more personalized support. Because they are local to the region, they may also have lower overhead costs, making them more cost-effective than global providers.

Ultimately, while global vendors offer broad services, regional vendors provide specialized, culturally aware, and customized localization services that can significantly benefit businesses targeting the Asian market.

Why Switch to a Regional Vendor for Your Asian Expansion

If you’re currently using a global vendor and not seeing the results or having the experience you expected, switching to a regional vendor for your Asian localization needs can provide the expertise, clear communication, cost efficiency, and quality needed to thrive in this varied and vibrant market.

With these enhanced capabilities, partnering with a regional vendor offers substantial benefits for businesses expanding into Asian markets.

For example:

• Creating culturally relevant content boosts your brand’s visibility and strengthens customer loyalty.
• Effective communication enhances your brand’s reputation by aligning with local cultural preferences
• Streamlined processes and efficient communication speed projects to the finish line faster, allowing you to stay ahead in a competitive market.
• Focused expertise and lower fees make localization more cost-effective.
• Developing a long-term partnership with a regional vendor provides consistent support and a deep understanding of your growth goals, ensuring sustained success.

A regional localization partner can provide the specialized expertise and personalized service needed to meet these consumers’ high expectations. Here’s why:

Expertise Matters in Asian Localization

Cultural sensitivity and linguistic nuances are crucial for success in Asian markets. A regional vendor grasps these subtle details, so your message doesn’t get lost in translation.

For example, they know how to find the most effective alternatives to idioms like “kick the bucket” which may confuse local audiences, and adapt humor to suit local tastes, creating accurate and compelling communication that connects with Asian consumers.

A particularly ridiculous example of Asian localization gone wrong is from Kentucky Fried Chicken: some underinformed translation team chose ‘Bite Your Fingers Off’ as the (in)appropriate equivalent in Chinese.

Communication is Key

Personalized customer service from a regional vendor leads to clearer communication, fewer revisions, and faster project completion. A dedicated team familiar with your business needs can provide more efficient, responsive support that enhances your overall localization experience.

Regional vendors may not have an office in the region of your home office, but this obstacle can be easily overcome with the many remote communication options available. Connecting over email or Zoom is a worthwhile trade-off for the irreplaceable local knowledge and expertise that regional vendors bring to the table.

Cost Efficiency

A regional vendor’s focus and expertise can lead to significant cost savings. They avoid unnecessary services offered by global vendors that don’t apply in Asia, making sure you’re localizing for the most impactful languages, targeting relevant cultural events, and using region-specific marketing strategies. Because they are located in the region, they potentially offer lower fees due to reduced overhead. This targeted approach means you only pay for what you need, optimizing your budget.

Quality Above All

Regional vendors prioritize high-quality translations by leveraging a pool of native-speaking translators who are familiar with local dialects and nuances. While super agencies have a global network of resources, regional vendors with roots in a specific area may have access to a deeper talent pool and a more personal connection with the linguists they work with. Their deep knowledge of Asian languages means that whether you need Japanese translation, Chinese translation, Vietnamese translation, or all of the above, they choose the right linguists who know the local culture and language, and they have the right quality procedures so your meaning comes through clearly and correctly.

Making the Switch: How Hansem Global Ensures a Smooth Transition

If you’re ready to make the move from a global vendor to an Asian localization specialist, we’re ready to help.

Switching to Hansem Global is efficient and hassle-free. We start by collecting the following from you:

• Detailed project requirements – word counts, language sets, file types, content types, schedules/release dates, and so on.
• Any post-mortem information from your previous provider. Knowing what worked and what did not help us offer you an improved experience from the start.
• Product and company information – only when our teams understand your company and product can they properly localize your content.
• The assets you use, including translation memories and glossaries.
• One central point of contact, usually a project manager.

We offer a free consultation to discuss your specific Asian market needs and ensure we understand your goals. Our commitment to clear communication and effective project management guarantees a smooth and efficient transition, setting the stage for successful localization efforts.

Case Studies: Hansem Global Helps Top Brands Take on Asian Markets

Our real-world success in applying regional expertise has helped numerous companies grow their businesses in Asia.

Here are just a couple of examples:

Korean Translation and Website Localization: GoPro

To help action camera manufacturer GoPro grow their Korean customer base, we localized their website, focusing on action camera terminology and engaging marketing texts. Using the Smartling CAT tool, we ensured translations fit complex layouts. Not content to rely on translation alone, we recreated it in Korean to preserve the original impact. This transcreation process made their marketing content natural and compelling, boosting GoPro’s presence in Korea.

Multimedia Localization: TaylorMade

We also localized TaylorMade’s YouTube content for the South Korean market, creating subtitles for golf tutorials. By using native-speaking translators who were also golf enthusiasts and optimizing readability, we delivered high-quality translations, increasing viewer engagement and brand loyalty among Korean golf enthusiasts.

Ready to Grow in Asia? Work with Hansem Global

Regional localization vendors offer cultural expertise, personalized service, cost efficiency, and high-quality translations. As a result, businesses expanding into Asian markets can secure significant advantages by selecting a regional provider over a global provider.

Hansem Global is a great choice. We have project managers in the US, South America, and Europe to provide service to headquarters outside of Asia, but our production centers are in Asia, which is a big differentiator over other regional vendors. This global presence and multi-time zone coverage enable a streamlined localization process and around-the-clock production.  We are proud to achieve higher quality, more cost-effective solution, and shorter TAT over other regional vendor models. This strategy of moving to regional vendors is becoming favored among big IT corporations because of the quality, cost and production benefits it brings.

 Ready to grow your market presence in Asia? We are dedicated to providing outstanding Asian localization services that deeply connect with local audiences. Contact us for a free consultation and learn how our customized solutions can support your success.