Everyone is talking about COVID-19, but post-Brexit effects are still here…
Coronavirus is making headlines worldwide, but Brexit is still a reality that some people aren’t exactly sure how to handle. Here are some facts and suggestions to help you deal with this new reality.
Business after Brexit: challenges and opportunities
Three quarters of the UK’s 65 million residents speak only English. However, only 6% of the world’s population speak English natively. Creating and localising content in other languages is, therefore, imperative.
Brexit is undoubtedly one of the most impactful economic, political and cultural decisions of the century, as divisive as it is confusing. There is no “one-size fits all” approach to Brexit and companies will benefit from redefining the way they work and considering ways that they can continue to compete and grow. While the British government is now negotiating bilateral agreements, British entrepreneurs and business leaders need to reshape the way they conduct business with their international clients, thus adapting to this new reality.
If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right
If growth is on your company’s roadmap, communicating your brand in foreign markets is still a requirement in a post-Brexit era.
Only time will tell if Brexit will benefit the UK or not. But for now, there are significant changes in the legal and competition frameworks and businesses must implement measures based on creativity, anticipation, and analysis. Companies must do it right. Effective communication will be the key to doing business abroad. Let’s look at some of the major impacts of Brexit in key sectors and how to overcome them.
Impact on the e-Commerce sector
According to Common Sense Advisory, 78% of consumers don’t make important purchasing decisions if the product or service description is not available in their language.
The UK is currently one of the biggest e-commerce hubs in Europe and British e-commerce companies hold many competitive advantages in terms of “e” knowledge and experience. The laws relevant to e-commerce and competition are broadly harmonised. Cross-border e-commerce businesses have been able to use staff to deal with multilingual customer service but in general these services are hard and expensive to outsource. To help tackle a chronic skill shortage that has been partly solved via EU workers, many British companies are now using over-the-phone interpretation (OPI) and translation to assist their customer service teams in dealing with multilingual support.
Impact on the Recruitment sector
Recruitment is seen as one the most affected sectors. British companies that used to recruit British seasonal workers and contractors for European countries (e.g. in the Hospitality, Tech and Consultancy sectors) for a period of 5 months or more, will now have to consider approaching professionals from these target countries. Attracting and retaining talent is crucial. This means that there is a need for localising job advertisements, job profiles, contracts and additional recruitment documentation into other languages, or creating such content in other languages.
Impact on the Marketing & Digital Marketing sectors
Keeping channels of communication open is crucial during times of uncertainty. Ninety-two percent of consumers, including those who speak more than one language, prefer to visit a website in their native language, states the European Union.
The UK remains an attractive place for companies to invest and do business. Buying property in the UK is still seen as a solid investment for oversea investors. There is also a real appetite to invest in Tech and Biotech businesses, for instance. There are several new markets opening up to the UK that companies must embrace post-Brexit. Multilingual digital campaigns and market access plans will play an important role in reshaping business relations.
Impact on the Legal, Insurance and Finance sectors
Some of the main Brexit-related tasks identified in recent months were:
- increased negotiation and potential litigation in relation to existing contracts;
- regulatory advice;
- modelling risk;
- a shift towards shorter contracts and the use of break clauses.
When it comes to international businesses, these tasks imply translating content (whether contracts, reports or agreements) into the language of the corresponding business partners.
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Our experts in multilingual content and translation are here to help with all these challenges. We create, translate, localise and optimise content in more than 120 languages, helping your brand stand out from the crowd in every market.
We’ve been in this business for 20 years and have a wealth of experience in finding the best solution for your needs. Our team can help you tackle uncertainty and achieve growth internationally.
