Netflix has quickly catapulted itself to immense success in a relatively short amount of time. After performing well domestically in the U.S., the company sought to expand into global markets. As with any industry, this was no simple feat. Netflix’s success in global expansion required the cooperation of translation and localization services, as well as an in-depth knowledge of the markets into which they aimed to expand. Thanks to their successful global branding strategy and marketing localization, Netflix was able to establish its prominence in the streaming industry, revolutionizing the world of media consumption.
How Netflix Used Marketing Localization in their Global Expansion Process
Netflix had a three stage expansion plan. First, they focused on mostly domestic content in the U.S. and Canada, using this stage to begin to explore expansion and web localization. Then, they began to expand into a few dozen more countries, this time focusing on global markets in which English was still spoken, allowing them to start exploring new markets and cultures. Finally, Netflix exponentially increased the amount of countries in which they were operating, significantly boosted their amount of localized content, and continually included more and more media from local producers around the world.
This three stage plan was carefully thought out. At each step, Netflix collected more and more data on which types of content were successful across various cultures. With this data, Netflix was able to refine their content to ensure the highest possible level of success. Their exponential growth was made possible by their careful collection of cultural data, which helped inform their marketing localization process. Through their expansion, Netflix demonstrated their understanding of the importance of localizing content to achieve global success.
Why Netflix’s Marketing Localization Was So Effective
Netflix’s extensive efforts to gather data and work with experts on various markets and cultures were integral to their success. Netflix goes beyond simply translating marketing materials. They strongly emphasize dubbing and subtitling their content in ways that appeal to the different cultures and languages of the markets into which they are expanding. This serves to make their wide audiences feel more connected to their content, and thus, more likely to engage with, and continue to use, their services. Additionally, their inclusion of more localized and global content encourages a wider audience to use their service. In this way, Netflix appeals to local preferences to further boost their success in a wide range of markets. Netflix knew that a strong emphasis on regional localization of their content would positively impact their success and they capitalized on this to gain an even larger active audience.
How Netflix’s Localizing Strategy Can be Applied to You
While Netflix was very effective in adapting their marketing localization strategy to their specific needs, these same principles can be applied to almost any industry. If you are looking to expand into global markets, localization will be key to your success. By prioritizing professionally localized content for your company, you can feel confident that your brand, website, and product will be better received in global markets, ensuring that your meaning and intent do not get lost between languages and cultures. Also, localization is another way that your brand can form a relationship with your clients by making them feel that you truly understand them and their culture. When looking at language service companies for your next project, consider their ability to provide professional website localization, video localization, and marketing localization services, like those at Language Connections, to help you achieve success in global markets.
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, localization services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
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