Most of Europe has been joined economically under one currency. The Euro has changed the face of how money is spent in Europe. Having one central currency makes commerce and trade between the countries of Europe a lot more convenient for everyone.
The Euro has been doing great because it has so many countries behind it. It would be nice to take advantage of the European market. While they have one currency everyone is still speaking their own language.
Bringing your product or service to Europe and really taking advantage of the consumers that are open to new products you have to be able to share your product in several different languages at least.
A Good Place to Start
If you want to expand your business into Europe there are a few countries that you can start off with then grow from there. Each country has their own language. For example Italy speaks Italian. Germany speaks German. Spain speaks Spanish.
France speaks French. You get the idea. Unlike North America where ever you travel most everyone will speak some form of English, in Europe you can literally travel for 2 hours across one boarder and not understand what is being discussed. There are over 23 official languages in Europe with more than 60 dialects or indigenous languages all together.
Most Europeans do speak some English but to win consumers trust it is always better to offer information about your product or service in their native tongue. Trying to translate your website or marketing material into all the languages of Europe may be difficult but there are some good places to start:
These languages can be your “starter” languages and as you move further into the market you can add other languages that your site can be translated into. A professional translator can easily help you to expand into the European market and take full advantage of the very strong economy.
Why Not?
Years ago expansion into other markets could take years of planning and more years to execute. Today the internet affords all businesses the opportunity to reach out to other markets without having to worry about boarding a plan and taking meetings for weeks on end.
The internet has truly made people the master of their own universe. Today it is just as easy to sell in Italy as it is to sell in Boise Idaho. You do not have to spend months planning and paying to break into a new market.
Translation services are affordable options for reaching a much wider audience. You can easily reach out to an audience that is eager to hear from you. Why not expand? There is no good reason not to. All you need is the right translation team in your corner that can take your business to the next level of marketing.
Take the shot you will be glad you did. Many people that were doing so/so in the states have made their fortune in Europe.