One of the biggest mistakes companies make when expanding to the Middle East region is assigning the Arabic marketing responsibilities to managers who have never worked in this region before. It is important to have native market experts who know the language, the culture and the customer behaviors to be involved in the translation, localization, content and targeting process to ensure that the message is conveyed accurately and effectively, as otherwise, you risk failing in your marketing efforts.
The Middle East is a unique market and is not similar to European, American, or Asian markets. Therefore, it is important to understand how to succeed in Arab countries and avoid common business mistakes. These are the mistakes we see most often.
Not Taking Culture and Religion Into Account
A company can face major repercussions from forgetting to pay attention to local culture and religion. Just because a product or service you offer doesn't raise any concerns in Europe or the United States doesn't mean it won't in the Middle East. With many countries in the Middle East holding strongly to conservative values and traditions, it is not that hard to offend someone in the region.
Nike had to recall a pair of shoes that they made that unintentionally appear to have the name Allah (God in Arabic) written on the back of the shoes. Cross-cultural specialists should always be consulted to avoid these kinds of mistakes.
In 2015, Pringle's made one of the biggest marketing mistakes ever when they launched a campaign for Ramadan in Muslim countries promoting their new product with grilled bacon flavor. If you have any knowledge about Muslims, you should know that bacon and pork are strictly forbidden by religion, and Ramadan is the most religious event for Muslims.
Not Translating Your Site Into Arabic
If your website isn't available in your audience's first language there is a high likelihood they will not end up converting or buying something on your site! Regardless of whether or not your targeted audience speaks English in addition to Arabic, they most likely prefer reading content in their native tongue.
It is important to avoid direct or robot translations like Google Translate when translating marketing materials into Arabic and instead adapt the message to be culturally appropriate and relevant for the target audience.
Not Adapting the Design and Content for Arabic Language
The Arabic language is written from right to left, so it is important to take this into account when designing marketing materials. This includes making sure that the layout is suitable for the Arabic language and that text is aligned correctly.
Both text direction and text align should be set to Right-to-Left (RTL) while optimizing the content. Our guide to RTL website design best practices has a full checklist.
Using One Dialect for Every Market
Arabic is written the same way across the region, but it is spoken in many dialects, such as Gulf, Egyptian, Levantine and Maghrebi Arabic. Modern Standard Arabic works for websites and formal content everywhere. Ads, videos and social media posts in a casual tone work better in the local dialect, and a Gulf dialect ad can feel foreign to an audience in Egypt or Morocco.
Translating Keywords Instead of Researching Them
A translated English keyword is often not what people type in Arabic. They may use a different word, a different spelling, or a mix of Arabic and English. Arabic keyword research for each market is the base of Arabic SEO and of Arabic Google Ads, and it stops your budget going to searches nobody makes. Our guide to Middle East SEO mistakes covers this and other errors that stop Arabic pages ranking.
Sending Arabic Ads to an English Landing Page
An Arabic ad that leads to an English page breaks the experience at the moment the visitor decides whether to buy. The landing page should match the language, offer and tone of the ad. See our guide to conversion rate optimization for Arabic websites.
Ignoring the Local Calendar
Ramadan and the two Eids follow the lunar calendar and move about 11 days earlier each year, and every country has its own national days. Campaigns planned on a Western calendar miss the biggest moments of the year or launch at the wrong time. Use our MENA marketing calendar and Ramadan marketing guide to plan ahead.
Ignoring Local Payment Methods
A checkout built only for international credit cards loses customers in markets where cash on delivery and local payment methods are still common. Offer the payment options people use in each country you sell in.