3 Tips to launch an app internationally

It’s an exciting time to be a business. Expansion no longer means having to endure multiple flights around the world, making minimum progress with maximum effort. With advancements making our lives so much easier, clients now have the world in the palm of their hands. What prosperous industry wouldn’t want to take advantage of this when they launch an app? 

Technology has simplified previous international barriers like timezones and response times, presenting businesses with an incredible opportunity to grow fast. 

However, the simplification of expansion has created new challenges that any business looking to communicate with other cultures and languages globally will need to consider and cater to. 

Launching an app internationally needs to combine a flawless user experience with well-translated and carefully considered app localisation. While advancements have brought the world closer together, the way you communicate with potential clients has never been more important. 

To make sure that your brand is ready to launch an app that’ll travel far and wide but stay sensitive to international differences, here are our 3 top tips to launch an app worldwide. 

Tip one: Thorough research before the big launch

Launching an app that provides a fast and flawless service to clients takes time. If you’re serious about coming out with the ultimate internationally adaptable app you’ll need to dedicate time and resources to research, testing, and finely tuning your product. 

Before you launch an app, consider how you’ll resolve the following issues before the big release: 

• Making and receiving payments across multiple currencies 

• Ensuring that your app and content are compliant with all international regulations

• Optimising your app and push notifications to different language and cultural needs

• Testing your research on a smaller scale through trial and error 

And speaking of trial and error, don’t just focus on competitors who have perfected their apps. Including businesses that have failed to achieve their goals, as well as successful examples, will give your research more depth. 

Keeping track of what not to do is just as valuable as discovering what’s essential. 

Tip two: Implementing app localisation

Moving into new markets has been made easier with technology, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t several key factors that need to be taken into account. The better you know the customs and commonalities of your intended markets, the better equipped you’ll be to penetrate them. 

Of course, the simplification of expansion through technology means more competitors, too. You’re now competing with all other apps international and local to the native areas you’re looking to make your mark in.

Discovering how to launch apps that accentuate your global reach while remaining diligent in keeping each area culturally and linguistically accurate is a tightrope. But if you can keep both of these elements balanced, accurate and sensitive to their individual areas, you’ll be launching an app that stands out from the competition and serves a purpose. 

A common misconception is that app localisation is essentially app translation. In actuality, the differences are monumental from a native consumer’s point of view. 

A translation will offer the customer a rudimentary understanding of your app and its content, but guiding them to take action and develop a cohesive relationship with your brand requires localisation. 

The benefits of app localisation are classified as the following:

• It shows respect for cultural differences

• It makes the experience feel unique to that specific region

• It personalises a global app and cultivates trust with users

• It leaves no room for misinterpretation with clients 

• It keeps your brand mindful of cultural events and trends 

• It exudes global reach with the human touch 

With app localisation, important elements of the customer experience such as terms and conditions or push notifications are instantly personal, relatable, and accurate. With less room for error comes more time to utilise launching an app by working alongside the right people.

Tip three: Working with local experts and influencers

All apps, international or otherwise, need some noise to make their mark on their targeted territories. Times have changed, and when it comes to global expansions, a one size fits all approach is too outdated to make an impact. 

Implementing insights from outside parties into launching an app generates the kind of buzz that’ll bring people to your perfectly crafted app. 

Creating a strong local marketing strategy built around native speakers of the area you’re expanding into can reap huge benefits. You can utilise insights via:

• Working alongside cultural ambassadors 

• Enlisting the services of cultural sensitivity marketing groups

• Working with a global translation service throughout the process 

• Hiring local businesses to promote your app in their regions 

• Using social media influencers and bloggers within these areas

• Keeping all content and marketing optimised to fit local vernaculars 

Creating these new partnerships and ensuring they’re all working in tandem to achieve your ultimate marketing goals can be difficult. However, learning how to launch an app that gets it right the first time is setting your app launch up for a smooth process when it begins to take off. 

While all of this work is being implemented, it’s important to not lose sight of what attracts users in the first place. You can have the most revolutionary app in the history of technology, but without the communications to articulate this to users worldwide, no one is going to reap the benefits. 

No matter how far technology takes us, the human element will always be the bridge between countries and cultivating trust with new clients. So if you’re looking to not only expand internationally but also thrive there, be sure to enlist the help of a reputable translation company that knows the importance of language and culture differences across the globe.