Foreign companies seeking to penetrate the Vietnamese market should seriously consider performing Vietnamese website localization. Website localization refers to the process of not only translating a website from English or another source language but also tailoring the language used to the target market by taking cultural factors into account. This makes the text on a webpage speak better to the target audience and this, in turn, has numerous financial and reputational benefits for your business. Although there are multiple reasons why you need Vietnamese website localization, we’ve picked the top three to help you gain a better understanding of its importance in the context of Vietnam. Let’s take a closer look.
Top 3 reasons why you need Vietnamese website localization
Vietnamese website localization is crucial. It has the potential to propel your business forward in a country that’s politically stable, has a high and rising population, and which also is entering the digital age, meaning that there is much scope for business expansion and growth. But apart from these, let’s explore the top three reasons why you need Vietnamese website localization.
1. High population figures and a large workforce
The Vietnamese population is enormous. Vietnam is home to over 97 million people, a large percentage of working age. This means that they fall in the 15 to 65 age group. With such vast purchasing power, the population certainly lends itself to consumerism, where there’s an increasing demand for products that can be purchased easily and quickly and which are of high quality. As a result, if you have a website that you’d like to introduce to Vietnam, you should definitely consider Vietnamese website localization to enable you to better cater to this vast population size.
2. English language proficiency is still in its infancy
Despite significant efforts being made to improve English language proficiency in Vietnam, it is still ranked in the “Moderate Proficiency Group”. This means that when you introduce your website and e-commerce business in Vietnam without translating or localizing it, you will be alienating a huge potential market from your offering and that’s simply not good for business. Therefore, Vietnamese website localization is an important activity for you to undertake in order to better cater to your audience and ensure you capture their minds and attention so that you can experience more growth.
3. A booming e-commerce industry with rising access to the Internet
In 2019, it was predicted that over 59 million Vietnamese people will get access to the Internet, accounting for slightly over 60% of the country’s population. Meanwhile, this trend is expected to result in 75.7 million Internet users by 2023. With this massive rise in Internet usage, online shopping through e-commerce websites is also subsequently expected to increase. Although there were only 3.2 million annual online shoppers in 2017, generating $6.2 billion, this figure was expected to grow by a whopping one-third to $10 billion in 2020.
With this in mind, it’s crucial for an e-commerce business to undertake Vietnamese localization and consequently, Vietnamese website localization. The reasons for this are plenty. Vietnamese website localization can boost your revenue by over 25% and give your business a distinct competitive advantage. As opposed to monolingual websites, you’ll be able to make your business stand out.
Why is this the case? Because it’s proven that Vietnamese website localization targets an audience more precisely. This translates into Vietnamese people feeling much more comfortable and interested in navigating your website because it’s in their native language. This provides a sense of exclusivity. But what is more is that a website that has used localization services for Vietnamese localization can enable faster transactions, easier checkouts, and the ability to grasp information that much faster. The user experience (UX) will also be improved as you tailor your offering to smart devices such as mobile phones and tablets.
Furthermore, when you implement Vietnamese website localization and focus on the appropriate themes, colors, formats, typography, fonts, and calls to action that resonate with your business’ branding, you’ll be able to achieve much greater levels of consistency.
Penetrating the Vietnamese market: the importance of Vietnamese website localization
Localization services for Vietnamese website localization are essential if you’re planning on entering the Vietnamese market. Both localization and translation must be performed in order for you to capture your audience’s attention and then retain it. Although they may be viewed as two distinct aspects, localization and translation should be considered as two parts of the same coin. Both work in tandem with each other to produce the desired results. Namely, a fully optimized website that takes place through professional localization services. These services can and will help you achieve your entrepreneurial goals and vision of growth in a highly lucrative Vietnamese market.
By targeting such a vast market with exponential potential for growth early on, you’ll be able to cement your brand in your users’ minds and become top of mind when they shop online. What’s more is that with English not being nearly as used in Vietnam as Vietnamese, Vietnamese website localization can significantly help you reach and exceed your goals as you’ll be speaking to your audience in their native language, thereby creating better levels of trust and generating more revenue.