With thoughts on the recent TV series, Planet Word, about langugage affecting how we experience the world and the way we express and feel culture, combined with my sister’s comments on language of the heart with her work in minority language groups, I was given pause to think about our use of language when communicating with our customers.
When you’re writing your website’s content do you take the time to understand the language of your audience?
I’m not talking about the obvious element, if I’m targeting a French or Chinese audience, then yes I should write in French or Chinese. It’s important if you’re designing a multi-country website that you design in the ability to be multi-lingual (and budget for the translation costs). But what about the regional variations, the age group variations, the sector variations?
Every group of people have their own understanding of words, a cultural bond that is expressed through a shared language. It can easily be the case that you can understand every word someone says, but not understand a single bit of their meaning . . . . you only need to witness conversations between parents and their children to see it in action!
So if you want to turn your site’s visitors into customers, then make sure you understand their heart language expressing their culture, otherwise you might be saying all the wrong things! Step out of your own culture and step into theirs.