Search

×

Why international brand consistency matters

Hoteliers invest a great deal in creating and maintaining a consistent brand presence across physical properties and digital channels. This can be a challenge, even for large, world-famous chains. 

It’s even more difficult for international hotel brands operating as franchises. Having individual properties managed by different teams around the world can quickly create an inconsistent international brand voice and image.

Domestic chains often have help from corporate teams to create branded materials like websites, booking engines and on-site signage. But international chains must accommodate differences in local language and culture that centralized, corporate marketing teams struggle to support, especially online. 

International properties are frequently tasked with translating and localizing their websites and digital assets on their own or finding a translation vendor who can help. But the right approach is critical for maintaining brand consistency.

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

(By Craig Witt, EVP of MotionPoint)

Causes – and consequences – of inconsistent brand voice 

When multiple languages and markets are involved, companies end up with several variations in brand messaging, style, and voice that can confuse potential guests and compromise brand integrity. 

In a competitive international marketplace, hotel brands can’t afford to deliver inconsistent online experiences in different markets. Customers notice the disparities and can leave the site feeling shortchanged or frustrated, never to return.

Best Practices for Brand Consistency 

To avoid brand consistency problems, hotel brands can embrace a few best practices that will deliver continuity and organization across digital channels. 

Localize omnichannel: A hotel’s brand doesn’t just live on the website. It extends across the marketing universe to social media, email, offline campaigns and more. 

That’s why it’s critical to translate the content that lives in all of these channels, so your current and future guests have a consistent brand experience no matter where they’re interacting with you. Plus, localized content online can help with search engine optimization, online discovery and help local audiences share your content with their networks.

On property, having printed brochures or other marketing materials available in the local language can help build trust and credibility with local audiences. And don’t neglect your guest experience. Interactive kiosks in hotel lobbies can also be localized so that guests can get registration and information in the languages they prefer. 

An organized translation approach: Taking control of your content requires you to standardize the translation process. International hotel chains should consider following these guidelines: 

  • Provide experienced, professional translators who have expertise in both the local language and culture so they can deliver accurate, authentic translations
  • Leverage your brand style and messaging guidelines to ensure consistent translations that are nuanced and customized for every language and market
  • Review all translated content for quality and accuracy to make sure the brand is conveyed consistently and accurately
  • Repurpose content you’ve already translated, both on your website and in other channels, without adding additional costs 

Leverage translation memory: Repurposing content efficiently relies on a technology known as translation memory. It’s a database that captures and stores all the localized content from your site in word-, phrase-, or sentence-length segments. 

When you create new content for your site, the most advanced technologies can automatically detect the updates, recognize previously translated segments included in the content, and instantly replace them with their translated counterparts from your translation memory. 

Reusing content you’ve already translated not only makes it quicker to publish new localized material to your site, but saves the additional costs of duplicate translation. Plus, by translating content once and using it multiple times, delicate nuances of brand voice, tone, and messaging can be easily preserved and scaled across multiple channels. 

Delivering continuity current and future guests 

International hotel brands need to deliver continuity and consistency in their brand across every market they serve. Guests feel valued and trust that the brand understands their needs, cares about their business and is committed to delivering a superior online experience.

This attention to detail is what sets great brands above the rest, and hotel franchises must work extra hard to get it right. But with the help of leading technologies and experienced partners, they too can deliver a consistent voice, experience and brand to any market across the globe.

Comment