Around the globe, a whole lot of effort is being made to make a successful and in-demand app. However, a few people know that one of the most important factors for an app’s success, is its localization. Nevertheless, if you successfully localized for the Chinese Market, you might just think you hit the jackpot.

In this article, you can find a few tips that can help you make your first steps towards proper localization in the Chinese market. The Chinese store (not the usual one but a Chinese app store) is a key aspect in making your app in-demand.

But before we go to the point, it’s necessary to mention that even if you’re not going to put your app into the Chinese market, it still may affect you. Counterfeit knock-off goods and privacy are one of the spread and well-known issues of the China market.

Always keep your fists up to protect your copyrights and trademarks. As soon as people start talking about your app, there’s a high risk of it to be cloned in China. So if you don’t take seriously copyright and trademark protection, you may not be able to claim back your brand.

China has its own “File First” based systems with its “First Use” argument. There’s a trend in China, known as trademark scalping or squatting. Basically, this trend consists of registering the hot-up-and-coming brands from Europe and the US in China and then selling them back to their creators for a plenty of money.

But why do you need to fight the system when you might join it?

First and foremost, by localizing your app for the Chinese market, you’ll create your app beautiful and careless future. According to Newzoo report, China has the world’s biggest app market with the estimated revenues of $42 billion by 2016 and $80 billion by 2020. Do you still have doubts whether you need to launch your app in the Chinese market or not?

However, it’s not that simple. By localizing an app, we mean a totally different approach to app marketing with its unique culture, local legislation, and customers preferences. Nonetheless, this “piece of cake” is definitely worth it.

iOS vs Android: The Battle Continues

It’s a well-known fact that Google Play is banned in China. As a result, a number of various Chinese app stores appeared so that it became challenging to submit apps on the Android market.

There are over 400 Android apps stores on the market, though the biggest players (for now) are: Tencent MyApp, 360 Mobile Assistant, Baidu Mobile Assistant, Huawei App Market, Oppo Software Store. Nevertheless, different stores mean different requirements for the developers.

For iOS, everything is different. To launch an app, you’ll “simply” need to partner with the country’s most popular payment service, UnionPay. This means, the developers will need to add Chinese localization for their apps, though this is not an easy process.

Localize Your App Name

One of the crucial skills necessary when entering the Chinese market is flexibility. There’s a perception that developers need to keep original names of their apps for the branding purposes, though the Chinese market is a special case.

If you enter the Chinese market, you need to translate the very essence of what your app stands for. At the same time, you need to consider an absolutely different language, culture as well as traditions and sensitivities.

The majority of the world’s brands took it seriously and won the trust of millions Chinese citizens. Here’s how some cool Chinese brand name translations.

Coca-Cola

At the very beginning of this iconic drink import, there were dozens of weird interpretations for this drink, including “Bit the Wax Tadpole.” However, now the world brand is known as Ke Kou Ke Le that can be translated into Chinese as “Tasty Fun.”

Reebok

The Chinese name of this brand gives customers an idea about the product they about to buy. Thus the meaning of the transliterated name of this brand “Rui bu” is “quick steps.” It’s pretty smart, isn’t it?

BMW

Having remained the original name, BMW would mean very little to the Chinese customers. However, a marketing department made a smart move and translated the name as “Bao ma,” which means “precious horse.”

Now you see how the proper translation may change the game.

Integrate It With WeChat

One of the challenges of introducing your app to China is the influence of the ecosystems of the Chinese biggest tech players. For example, Tencent MyApp is known for its WeChat that can be imagined as an “app within an app.” Using this social managing platform, users can order food, pay their friends and so on.

Take a look at the statistic below. It shows the number of Tencent’s WeChat active accounts from the second quarter of 2010 to the first quarter of 2018. In the most recently reported quarter, Tencent’s WeChat had 1,040 million monthly active users.

As you can see, it’s a giant app, and basically, everything can be accomplished via it. If you want smooth user transitions and interactions, you definitely need to connect your app with WeChat

Being a part of an ecosystem can give your app both some benefits and drawbacks. On the one hand, you’ll be able to increase the number of your users (significantly). However, you’d probably have to agree your app be exclusive to only one company.

Follow the Uber Steps

One of the examples of a proper app localization can be found in the Uber’s story. These guys took the localization seriously. As a result, they got millions of new users and achieved success in the Chinese market. But how did they do that?

Find an Individual Approach

China is a country with a special approach to communist history and auspicious cultural meaning of red. Uber considered this fact and instead of black cars on the app’s map (like they did in the original version), they decided to represent cars in red colour. What did they achieve by this simple decision? First of all, they won the trust of their users.

Another example of Uber’s success in China is the panda-themed meeting points, which were set up in Chengdu. The thing is that this city is known for having the most panda’s in the whole of China. Using these panda points, drivers could easily locate their passengers and for tourists arrange rides and meet up.

The Bottom Line

In this post, we mentioned only a few rules of app localization for the Chinese market. Nonetheless, it’s a pretty complicated process and there are still a lot of things to consider. Our main goal was to show you the right direction, everything else depends on you.

Let’s sum it up, To localize your app, you’ll need to:

• Understand your rights and be ready to protect your copyrights and trademarks;
• Choose a market wisely;
• Understand the general culture and take your app name localization seriously;
• Integrate your app with other ecosystems, though take into account all the pros and cons.
• Find a personal approach to your users.

Tell us your opinion about this post. Would you like to see the second part? If so, show it by your claps :)

App Localization for the Chinese Market (Part 1) was originally published in JetRuby on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.