Firstly - it is not always about spending a fortune on marketing and advertising. It is more about laws of physics than math. If you can put enough force into things that all increase the energy of that force - meaning, doing less isolated efforts of marketing but more integrated approach. Look ...
You are 100% correct. Just like you, customers in other countries want to understand what they're buying. Studies have shown they're actually 6 times more likely to buy when a website is available in their native language, and that 85% of global shoppers will not buy at all in a non-native langua...
We have some success with it, but I recommend you check with Hiten Shah at KISSmetrics. I believe he told me that most of their sales can be tracked back to their content marketing efforts.