Standardization vs. localization in global marketing

Global businesses face a tough decision when building an international marketing strategy: standardize or localize offerings?

Standardization is cost-efficient, promotes a consistent brand image, and simplifies operations, while localization aims to meet the cultural preferences of local markets and build an authentic connection. Some businesses thrive with a consistent global identity, whereas others succeed by adapting to new markets. 

In this guide, we’ll compare standardization versus localization, examine the pros and cons of localized and standardized global marketing, and offer tips to help you decide which marketing approach is right for your business.

Global standardization and localization strategies: Key differences

Localization is an international marketing strategy that adapts a business’s products, services, and marketing to fit the preferences, language, and culture of a specific region. The goal is to make the product feel familiar and relevant to local customers.

La localisation peut comprendre

• Translating and adapting website content and product descriptions
• Adjusting pricing, currency, or measurement systems
• Tweaking messaging to suit cultural expectations and buying behaviors
• Customizing products or packaging based on local preferences

Businesses should consider localization when customers’ preferences, traditions, or buying habits vary across regions. This is especially important for industries like food, retail, or entertainment, where cultural differences greatly influence how customers make buying decisions.

Conversely, standardization is a marketing strategy that keeps products, branding, and messaging consistent across all markets. A standardized marketing strategy works well for industries where consistency matters more than cultural adaptation. For example, many tech and luxury brands maintain a consistent identity and brand image to convey authority, recognizability, and prestige.

Localization typically requires more resources and upfront investment than standardization. Companies use these additional resources to manage unique marketing and product adjustments for different regions.

However, localization doesn’t have to break the bank. Smartling’s translation management system helps your business scale its localization efforts and maintain efficiency at a fraction of the cost of traditional localization methods. The cloud-based software simplifies content translation across over 450 languages and locales. You can localize content within your CMS with glossaries, style guides, and automated quality checks that ensure your content maintains alignment with your organization’s brand voice, no matter the language or market.

Pros and cons of standardization vs. localization

For an international brand, both standardization and localization practices come with benefits and disadvantages. Consider the impacts of each approach before you decide on a global marketing strategy.

Standardization pros

• Cost savings: A single marketing strategy reduces costs associated with content creation, advertising, and product development.
• Distinct brand identity: When a brand has uniform products and services, customers will recognize it anywhere. Recognition reinforces trust and loyalty.
• Easier management: Operations and branding are simpler when a business doesn’t need to make market-specific changes.
• Faster expansion: A single product and message lets a company enter multiple target markets at once, quickly expanding its market share.

Standardization cons

• Less cultural relevance: A one-size-fits-all marketing approach may fail to connect with local audiences in your target market.
• Risk of rejection: Certain slogans, colors, or branding elements might not translate well in different countries.
• Lower market penetration: A standardized product may not meet the expectations or needs of local consumers, leading to a lower market penetration.
• Decreased product diversity: Standardization in marketing limits creativity and product innovation. This can lead a business to stagnate or struggle to adapt to market shifts.

Localization pros

• More catered to consumer demands: Marketing localization adapts products or services to meet local preferences, increasing their appeal.
• Stronger audience connection: Localized ads, messaging, and offers match consumer expectations, leading to higher engagement and improved brand image.
• Better market fit: Adjusted pricing, product features, and promotions help companies compete more effectively in different countries and economies.
• Increased trust and credibility: Customers feel more comfortable buying from brands that understand their cultural preferences and needs.

Localization cons

• More expensive: Adapting marketing campaigns and products to local markets increases costs. Each region requires unique content.
• Harder to manage: Leaders must conduct more oversight and coordination to manage multiple strategies across different markets.
• Slower global expansion: Companies must conduct careful market research and development before launching in new markets. This takes time as well as money.
• Risk of brand inconsistency: A brand that changes drastically from region to region might lose its global identity.

Deciding between standardization and localization

Whether you choose global marketing standardization or regional localization, your approach should align with your globalization strategy. Consider taking these steps as you weigh standardization versus localization: 

Perform market research

Understanding your audience will help you choose between standardization and localization. Surveys, market analysis, A/B testing, and other research strategies will show you whether customers value global brands (and, therefore, a standardized approach) or if they expect products and marketing tailored to their culture (suggesting localization is a better choice).

Consider your budget and resources

Assess your global marketing budget. If funds are limited, consider standardization with a focus on international markets that prefer your model. Well-funded organizations can choose their preferred methods or use both in their marketing mix. If your budget is somewhere in between, consider glocalizing—preserving some elements while adapting others to balance costs and marketing success.

Evaluate your products or services

Some products can be sold the same way everywhere, whereas others need adjustments to fit customer preferences. Technology, luxury goods, and certain packaged products often succeed with standardization because their function or appeal does not change across regions. However, industries like food, fashion, and healthcare usually require localization to adapt to each country’s tastes, styles, and regulations.

Examples of companies effectively using both strategies

Businesses can combine standardization with localization in their global marketing strategies and reap the benefits of both approaches. Coca-Cola is a well-known global brand that successfully combines marketing localization and standardization to fuel expansion while maintaining a strong identity.

Standardization

Coca-Cola’s core product—the classic Coca-Cola beverage—remains largely unchanged worldwide. It uses the same packaging and red-and-white logo whether it’s sold in China or the United States. Its messaging focuses on sharing happiness together. This standardized marketing approach strengthens its global brand recognition, making it familiar to people of all regions.

Localisation

Although Coca-Cola uses a standardized marketing strategy in its products and branding, it doesn’t shy away from localization strategies either. Coca-Cola constantly tests new flavors in every market it enters to meet cultural preferences. In Japan, Coca-Cola has released unique flavors such as apple, orange, and green tea.

For branding, Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign adapted its products to countries like Ireland and India by personalizing Coke bottles with popular local names and phrases. This small change created a personal connection with consumers in each region.

Level up localization and standardization strategies with Smartling

Businesses need to consider goals, target customers, and available resources when deciding between localization and standardization. A thorough understanding of each approach will help you make smart decisions to grow and succeed in a global economy.

Whether your global brand implements localization or standardization, Smartling’s translation solutions help you scale quickly and efficiently. Our cloud-based translation management software lets you evaluate, manage, and improve your language translation quality from one convenient hub. With Smartling’s translator network and AI Translation solutions, you have numerous options to get quality results for less.

You need the right localization software to power your global expansion and maximize your potential to gain new customers and increase your bottom line. Our eBook, “Top 5 Insights to Improve Your Localization Strategy,” can help you find the translation solution that will work for your business now and in the future. Download your copy today to start building a localization strategy that fits your goals.