Going international with an experiential gifts seller

Giving an experiential gift is gaining popularity and it is only natural that after succeeding on the Czech market, the website owner wanted to enter other markets and try their luck.

Read how we helped the Adrop website abroad, which also differs from the competition with a very specific style of communication.

Our client is the owner of Adrop.cz which specializes in selling experiential gifts for men. These carefully selected experiences are an original alternative to conventional material gifts.

After sales in the Czech Republic stabilized, the next logical step for Adrop was to expand abroad, offer the service to German and English speaking customers and acquire customers from new markets.

Is expanding abroad a good idea?

In our globalized world connected by the internet, people can order anything from the comfort of their own homes. However, the growing rate of online sales means that the competition between local online sellers is growing as well. Expansion into new markets is therefore the seller´s only opportunity to gain new customers and maintain their market share. Statistics regarding e‑commerce confirm that this strategy is the logical thing to do:

more than half of consumers prefer online shopping in their native language;
more than two‑thirds of consumers want to read reviews and ratings before making a purchase, and prefer to do so in their native language;
French and German speakers prefer to use their native language the most;
three‑quarters of consumers order from the same store repeatedly if the customer support is in their native language;
more than 10% of customers cancel their order if they find out that the prices are in a foreign currency.

The process

Preparation is crucial

In comparison to the formal texts used by their competitors, the Czech texts on adrop.cz are written in an atypical and unconventional style that makes Adrop unique. They use words like „paráááádička“ (aaaawesome), „záááážitek“ (expeeeeerience), „chlapi“ (guys), „sednout si na zadek“ (literally: sit on one’s ass) etc., which makes their tone of voice stand out and sound authentic.

Our task was to keep this unique style and tone of voice intact across the English and German versions of the website and to translate metaphors and idioms into these languages so that the texts were comparably interesting and original.

During the process, all the members of the team (translators, proofreaders, editors, project managers) worked with the following materials/factors:

Adrop´s brand communication rules;
target group, incl. ways of addressing customers, emphasis on emotions, etc.;
tone of voice and the desired level of formality and expressivity in communications;
desirable and undesirable slang expressions (included in a glossary);
rules for using emoticons;
rules for the localization of extended vowels (parááááda, záááážitek, vlnáááá, etc.);
specification of English locales (British/US/Global English);
codification of the desirable forms of international words in the translation to German.

Export of texts

After determining the desirable style for the localized website, we prepared the texts for translation. The client gave us exported texts, including tags, in .html format. The benefit of this procedure is that it is then possible to lock the tags during the translation process so that they remain undisturbed. This results in the faster and cheaper subsequent import of the texts into the website because the texts do not generally need reformatting, with exception to a very few adjustments in the case of, for example, differences in text lengths.

SEO translation and localization into German and English

We used the Memsource CAT tool for the translation of the texts. This allowed us to find repetitions (or partially similar texts), which is commonplace for websites and online stores. The result was a final price of CZK 169 per standard page (excl. VAT) instead of the usual CZK 285/SP.

Part of the SEO translation process involves the careful implementation of keywords from a glossary. These are included in such a way that the text reads like an original text and performs well during organic searches. Once again, the Memsource CAT tool enabled us to work carefully and effectively with the glossary and ensure terminological and stylistic consistency throughout the translated texts.

After the translation was completed, the texts were sent for proofreading by native speakers of English and German. The required style of the text required the proofreaders to be specialized in marketing.

The proofreading process also included localization, i.e. adaptation of the text to the target cultural environment. The proofreading made the texts natural, authentic and easy to read for German and English speaking visitors of the website.

Translation Quality Assurance

Translating is creative work. Based on our many years of experience, we know that even the best translators and proofreaders can make a mistake that goes unnoticed. All translated and proofread texts are therefore carefully checked by our internal team of editors. Their work is to read the texts and compare them to the original, using professional QA tools (e.g. ApSIC, QA Memsource, etc.) to do so. During this process, they look for typos, incorrect number formats or discrepancies in the graphic layout.

We consider this last check to be an essential step in the translation process, one that can considerably increase the final quality of any translation, thereby ensuring client satisfaction. It is for this reason that the translated texts for adrop.cz were also subjected to this final check.

Visual check after importing the text back into the website

When the translation was finished, the client imported the text back into their website. Texts translated from Czech into English or German tend to be longer. The visual check therefore ensures that the texts are correctly displayed. Our native speakers checked the wrapping of the text, CTA buttons, menu items and other important features of the Adrop website. The result was a list of (suggested) changes that needed to be implemented.

And what does the result of the SEO translation process described above look like? Check out www.adrop.cz/en and see for yourself.

Are you also considering a professional SEO marketing translation of a website or online store into a foreign language? And do you want the resulting texts to be not only comprehensible, natural and attractive, but also to achieve the best possible results in organic Internet searches? Then the professional SEO translation service from NK Lang is exactly for you! Contact us for more details.