Asia's share on the online population is forecast to reach 43% by 2013, while the United States and Canada's share will decrease to 13%, according to a report released by Forrester Research.  The percent of the online population represented by Europe will also decline in this period since internet penetration there is already very high.

Latin America's share is expected to remain stable at 11%.  Marketers who sell there can reach more than 50% of those users by targeting just two countries: Brazil and Mexico.  That means a company's website will only need to be translated and localized for two markets.

What are the implications for American companies? 

Online content in English will not be enough to sustain growth outside of North America and Europe as consumers in regions conduct searches in their native languages.

What else will change?

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Expedia recently surveyed 4,500 hotels all over the world, asking them to rank tourists based on their behavior.  French tourists were found to be cheap, rude, and "terrible at languages". 

Expedia's marketing director, Timothee de Roux, attributes their rudeness to the stress of travel, including the challenge of trying to communicate in another language.  The solution seems obvious for the tourism industry: ease their pain and provide them information in French.  Hotels, restaurants, museums and other tourist attractions frequented by European tourists should have key pages of their websites translated  so that guests can have a certain comfort level and familiarity before they arrive.

The winner of this year's survey?  The Japanese, for the third year in a row.

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The top 10 last names in the United States reflect the changing demographics.  Two Hispanic surnames – García and Rodríguez – are now among the most common last names in the country.   Wilson narrowly beat out Martínez for the number 10 slot.

1. Smith
2. Johnson
3. Williams
4. Brown
5. Jones
6. Miller
7. Davis
8. García
9. Rodríguez
10. Wilson

Image courtesy of iateapie under a Creative Commons  license.

Foreign-born Hispanics are not as affected by the economic downturn as other people.  In fact, the Selig Center for Economic Growth is forecasting a growth in Hispanic buying power this year.

How can this group of consumers actually have more money - rather than less - to spend this year?   The reasons are simple:

• Lower use of credit cards than the general market means they are not affected by rising interest rates.  They don't have large balances to pay off so they have money to buy your product now.
• Their net worth hasn't been affected by slumping stock prices because they didn't invest in the market.
• Foreign-born Hispanics are more likely to rent than own a home so they haven't felt the impact of the mortgage crisis.

Translations can help your business grow and be an important point of differentiation between your product and your competitors'.  Make sure you target this economically vibrant market first.

Image courtesy of travelinknu  from Creative Commons.

http://www.pandltranslations.com

Technically, all Spanish speakers in the United States speak the same language but, just like in English, there are regional variations.  Languages evolve differently in different countries, and slang and other vocabulary reflect the differences.  If you are marketing your product in Texas, most of your Hispanic clients or consumers will be of Mexican origin.  If your message needs to reach Hispanics all over the country, you would want neutral Spanish to be used in your translations.

Neutral Spanish is nothing more than Spanish that can be understood easily by U.S. Hispanics.  It usually steers clear of humor, slang, and word play.  It may not be the ideal if you are targeting urban youth in Los Angeles, but most products and services will benefit from reaching the largest number of Spanish-speakers without offending any of them. 

If you're not sure if neutral Spanish is what you need, give us a call and we'll help you: 615.460.9119.

http://www.pandltranslations.com

Image courtesy of Georgie Sharp fromCreative Commons.