Expanding into international markets can be a game-changer for eCommerce brands, but selling globally isn’t as simple as translating your website. Customers in different regions have unique preferences, cultural norms and expectations. To truly connect with them, you need localisation experts who can adapt your brand to meet their needs seamlessly.
Here’s a closer look at the key roles your business should recruit, the skills to prioritise and why getting your localisation strategy right is crucial for global success. Plus, we’ve included expert hiring tips to help you find the right talent.
The Localisation Manager oversees the entire process of adapting your brand for new markets. This includes translating content, ensuring cultural appropriateness and managing a team of translators, copywriters and designers. They’re the glue that keeps your localisation efforts aligned with your business goals.
Cranberry Panda Tip: Look for candidates with project management experience and expertise in using localisation tools like Smartling or Phrase. Ask how they’ve managed a localisation project from start to finish and the challenges they overcame.
A Multilingual Copywriter ensures your brand’s voice and messaging stay consistent while resonating with local audiences. They don’t just translate...they transcreate, adapting content to feel native to the market while staying true to your brand’s identity.
Cranberry Panda Tip: When hiring for this role, prioritise copywriters with cultural expertise in your target markets. Test their skills by giving them a piece of existing content and asking how they’d adapt it for a specific region.
Expanding globally means adapting your SEO strategy. An International SEO Specialist ensures your site ranks high in search results in different regions by optimising for local keywords, search engines, and behaviours.
Cranberry Panda Tip: Seek candidates with experience localising websites for search engines beyond Google, such as Baidu or Yandex. During interviews, ask how they’ve adapted a keyword strategy for a specific international market.
A Cultural Consultant ensures your marketing, design and even product offerings are appropriate for your target market. They help avoid cultural missteps that could hurt your brand and guide strategies to make your brand feel relatable and trustworthy.
Cranberry Panda Tip: Hire consultants with deep local knowledge who can provide actionable insights beyond cultural dos and don’ts. Inquire about campaigns they’ve influenced and how their input improved the brand’s reception in a market.
Customer support is crucial in any market, but international customers expect assistance in their native language. A Multilingual Customer Support Specialist helps maintain trust by handling inquiries, complaints and issues in a way that feels personal and professional.
Cranberry Panda Tip: During recruitment, assess language proficiency and customer service experience. Role-playing a customer interaction in the target language is a great way to gauge their communication skills and problem-solving approach.
Expanding globally is a huge opportunity, but without the right team, your efforts can fall flat. From ensuring your messaging resonates to optimising your website for international search engines, hiring these specialists is essential to connect with global customers.
Don’t underestimate the value of cultural nuance. Customers notice when a brand understands its market. Hiring skilled localisation experts ensures you’re not just entering new markets but building lasting relationships in them.
Investing in the right talent now will set your eCommerce business up for long-term success in international markets. With the right team, you’ll create experiences that resonate with customers worldwide while staying true to your brand’s identity.