How do you compete with a global product? With localization
The opportunity is often not in a totally new idea, but in a deeper understanding of the local customer. Three layers that make your product “speak the language” of the market.
Many founders see a successful global product and say: "Let's build a version of it here." And they usually lose, because the translated copy doesn't understand the market.
Three layers of localization
- Payment: Customers here pay with mada, and split payments with Tabby and Tamara. If you don't support them from day one, you lose a share of orders.
- Operations: Shipping with local carriers, and e-invoicing that follows local regulations.
- Language and habits: An Arabic interface from the ground up, not a translation. And support that replies in the same dialect.
Example: Salla
Salla didn't try to be a second Shopify. It focused on what the merchant here needs, and reached more than 80,000 active merchants. Read the full story.
A question for you
Your product today… what is the one thing it does better than the global alternative for your local customer?
