5 tips for successful French-German communication in Switzerland

Although Switzerland takes pride in its four national languages, they can hinder your business if you are unfamiliar with the language and the codes on the other side of the Röstigraben, the famous divide between French- and German-speaking Switzerland. Suppose you don’t have an internal translation department. In that case, you will no doubt need the services of a French-German or Swiss German translation agency to guide you through the multilingual communication process.

Below are five tips for breaking language barriers and running a successful cross-cultural communications strategy.

French-German translation can boost your turnover.

Everything is connected in the modern world, so selling products and services in multiple languages gives you a significant advantage. If you want to broaden your business reach to include new markets, you will need to adapt your content.

FOMO: what’s that all about? FOMO is the acronym for Fear Of Missing Out. If you don’t translate your advertising materials (brochures, inserts) or your website, you will miss the opportunity to enter markets that are interested in what you have to sell.

A large portion of your potential clients don’t speak your language and will not even consider buying your product or service unless they can find information about it in their language. A survey carried out by CSA research and published in 2020 revealed that 40% of online customers don’t buy in languages other than their own, and 76% of online customers prefer product descriptions to be in their native language.

So this is one essential step in crossing the Röstigraben, but it’s not the only one.

Is the Röstigraben as wide as all that?

The Röstigraben, or the ‘rösti divide’, named after the iconic potato dish eaten mostly in German-speaking Switzerland, is the symbolic border between the French and German-speaking parts of the country. Cultural, ideological, or political differences are typically associated with this language border.

Many SMEs find it difficult to cross this border, sometimes purely because they don’t have the requisite language skills internally. This is despite the fact that their product is equally interesting to French- and German-speakers.

However, if you don’t tap the potential of the entire Swiss market, you are letting opportunities pass you by. If you are looking to develop your business, you need to look further than your immediate environment. The key is being prepared so you don’t have to scramble to get things done when a customer speaking another language shows up.

Multilingual communication is a blend of translation and transcreation

In a multilingual country, many companies already communicate in two or more languages. However, Switzerland’s linguistic and cultural diversity can constitute an obstacle.

A message translated from French into German (or vice versa) isn’t necessarily the right message: an advertising campaign might be based on a pun that doesn’t work in the target language or on a reference with which the target audience is unfamiliar. Sometimes, translation by itself isn’t enough.

Transcreation can be the key to reaching a different target audience. In marketing, in particular, a simple translation can help your potential customers understand what you are selling. In contrast, transcreation will make them want to use your services or buy your products.

As an example, take the advertising campaigns of the Swiss ISP Wingo: in French-speaking Switzerland, they feature Alexandre Kominek, whereas, in the German-speaking part of the country, they star Charles Nguela. These two Swiss comedians are each well-known on their respective sides of the divide. Although the content and the tone of the campaigns are identical in the French and German versions, the actors were changed to suit the target audience to make sure the campaigns were well received.

Five tips for breaking language barriers

If Switzerland Tourism didn’t translate its advertising campaigns, there wouldn’t be much point in running them, would there? Since the aim is to showcase Switzerland, both nationally and internationally, the campaigns should speak to people in their native language for maximum effectiveness.

Another example is the Greater Geneva Bern area, which has websites in English, French, and German. This makes sense if you want to do business in Switzerland, especially since the majority of Swiss people speak German.

Attending trade fairs in German-speaking Switzerland can raise your company’s profile, but that is no longer enough. It’s famously difficult to evaluate visits to stalls during trade fairs, and the disadvantage of trade fairs is that they are confined to their local area. Traffic to a website, on the other hand, can be evaluated and used as a basis moving forward.

Here are five tips for your French-German translations:

• You need to do more than translate: adapting your content to cultural nuances is crucial. Culture obviously influences communication. Translating the words isn’t enough: your communication needs to speak to your potential customers. This can involve adapting the type of humour or the images used, for example. This is one type of transcreation.
• Have a partner familiar with the target market. There is nothing like working with someone local to learn people’s communication habits or preferences. This partner will also be very handy when adapting your content to the target culture.
• Adapt all your materials and documents: for maximum credibility, you should ideally provide your client with all documentation in their native language. It would be a pity to translate only your advertising materials or to localise only your website and leave out your contract or your quote template.
• Respect business practices: Since language and culture are often connected, respect the practices of your sector across different language regions, as these may differ. A French-Swiss-German translation agency will be able to advise or assist you to ensure you feel in your element.
• Attend professional events in German-speaking Switzerland: there is nothing like immersion when it comes to absorbing the culture and making contacts. This will allow you to tailor your offers precisely and extend your professional network in an environment marked by linguistic and cultural diversity.

The right translation agency for your French-German communication: SwissGlobal

In Switzerland, breaking language barriers is essential to winning new customers and boosting turnover. Whether you are an SME or a large company, translation and cultural adaptation are key steps in succeeding in a multilingual market. Your product remains the same; only your communication needs to be adapted. By working with a Swiss translation agency, you will reach more potential customers and maximise your chances of success.

Make sure you get the balance right, though: don’t burn that rösti! Just get it nice and golden brown.

At SwissGlobal, we can take care of the French-German translation of all your content from A to Z. Our qualified translators will make sure your communication is of the quality required for success. Do you operate in Switzerland? Get in touch with us for professional translations into German or other languages.