If you’re expanding your business internationally, you may have discovered that content in the English language will only allow you to communicate with about 20% of the world’s inhabitants. In other words, avoiding translation altogether will substantially narrow your potential customer base. 81% of consumers prefer companies that offer a personalized experience in which the company knows who they are and recognizes their preferences. While personalized marketing can apply to a wide array of topics, it brings valuable insight into the importance of extending your efforts beyond basic translation to interact with international audiences. Personalized marketing to a diverse audience requires messages that accurately reflect specific cultures, individuals, and lifestyles. Localization makes this possible.
More specifically, localization is the process of creating or adapting content to align with a specific market’s linguistic and cultural needs. This can include modifying text, visuals, messaging, formats, support for currencies, and more. With so many requirements, effective localization across multiple regions and cultures can be time-consuming and resource-exhaustive. Fortunately, specific methods and approaches can ease burdens related to the process and empower you to reach your goals. The following tips provide a roadmap for developing a scalable localization program that empowers you to connect with diverse audiences.
1. Assign a Localization Team
Localization is an intricate process that requires specialized tasks performed by skilled professionals. Your results will depend heavily on your team members. Developing a centralized localization team—in-house or otherwise—will allow you to assign all localization duties to proficient team members and avoid limited information caused by siloed departments. A key first step is deciding whether to build an in-house team or outsource.
In-House Teams
An in-house localization team performs duties as a division within the company. This approach provides you with the advantages of professionals familiar with your company’s products and business goals. However, handling overhead costs, salaries, and scaling resources can be expensive. Having key roles that work with outsourced solution providers can work well. This can benefit from the advantages of working with an experienced localization service provider.
Outsourced Teams
Outsourcing your localization requirements to a professional team can be practical for various reasons. Partnering with a localization provider will give you instant access to industry professionals who can help you get your localization program off the ground or supplement your current efforts. In many cases, outsourcing can also help companies save money. This can be true with localization when your organization needs more resources to build a qualified team.
While outsourcing localization can provide distinctive benefits, there are also critical risks. Localization requires an array of specialist skills and a proficient team to ensure high-quality results. When selecting language and localization partners, research the company’s history to ensure they’re familiar with your industry and have ample experience successfully implementing strategies for expanding localization programs for their clients.
2. Define Your Goals
There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for adapting content to diverse audiences. Your industry and organizational goals will guide your localization plan and the required procedures.
Begin with an outline of what you expect to achieve with localization. For instance, your goal may be customer acquisition when you’ve just entered a new area or increased engagement when your early efforts aren’t yielding the results you expected. When making plans, identify your core goals, the resources you’ll need for success, and the KPIs you’ll use to measure success. Once you have a clear idea of your goals, you can develop a plan for achieving them.
Working with a global content solution provider that can tailor a bespoke solution to your requirements can offer the ideal scenario for many organizations.
3. Create Digital Interfaces With International Expansion in Mind
Digital interfaces provide companies with valuable tools for engaging with target audiences. However, the ease with which companies can create and distribute content means you have to work harder to stand out from the competition.
Consumers expect digital platforms to captivate their interest and have convenient features that simplify tasks. Improper localization on a digital platform can result in a poor user experience that falls below user expectations. The results can be disastrous for your business. After all, eighty-eight percent of online customers won’t return to a website after a bad user experience.
Accurate localization enables you to create a user-friendly platform with familiar languages and environments. By designing your digital interfaces with a global audience in mind, you can avoid pitfalls related to overhauling an inflexible legacy system.
Planning ahead for localization will require careful consideration of the words, images, and digital elements you include in your design. For example, developing standardized content with direct phrasing that excludes slang and slogans can simplify translation for a range of languages and regions. Similarly, designing visual elements that can easily be modified will help you avoid challenges related to space requirements for different languages and visual elements that don’t align with your target audience’s culture.
4. Use Appropriate Approaches for Different Types of Content
While hyperlocal content can help businesses achieve recognition in a new region, it’s a demanding task that requires several steps for accurate replication. In a recent interview, VP of Global Solutions at Vistatec Sibylle Eibl explains why hyperlocal content isn’t always the ideal solution. When writers create regionalized language content tailored to a specific audience’s cultural and regional demands, there isn’t a standardized source for translation. The approach would require businesses to reinvent content for every region, which isn’t practical when hyperlocal content wouldn’t have a strong impact.
To avoid creating time-consuming tasks with minimal payoff, businesses must define when hyperlocal content makes sense and when translation would be a better fit. This differentiation will help you provide the most relevant information for target audiences without exhausting vital resources.
5. Invest in Professional Help
Localization is a multi-faceted process that requires an array of professional services and regional knowledge. Even if you have an in-house team, you can benefit from augmenting your efforts with professional assistance and content management tips in some areas.
Outsourcing localization to an experienced third-party language partner can provide you with flexibility in your operations. It also gives you professional assistance when you need it most. The right partner can help you develop a scalable localization program and assess the benefits of outsourcing specific tasks. You’ll be able to recognize the advantages of working with a team that has:
- Experience serving multiple regions
- Expertise in the intricacies of hyperlocal content
- The ability to efficiently manage resources
Outsourcing isn’t an all-or-nothing solution. When your partner adapts services to meet your needs, you can improve quality and cut costs for a scalable solution that grows with your business.
6. Embrace Technology
While high-tech tools can’t replace the human touch in accurate localization, they can substantially reduce the workload. Advanced language tools like a Translation Management System (TMS) and Machine Translation (MT) can automate tasks and improve translation efficiency. These tools can allow you to process multiple languages at once and scale your efforts rapidly.
Tools and software powered by artificial intelligence (AI) reduce manual tasks related to localizing content and customer service across multiple regions. Careful research in adopting high-quality systems—and using them in conjunction with human expertise—can help you with scaling localization programs through organizational growth.
Accurate Preparation Is the Key to Achieving Localization at Scale
The digital revolution provides businesses with the tools to reach wider audiences and attract clients across the globe. Addressing the challenges of connecting with diverse audiences early in the content creation process can help you avoid cumbersome manual tasks related to making changes to inflexible legacy systems in the future.
It is possible to scale your localization effectively to support several languages and cultures. But the process comes with substantial challenges. If you have questions about localization or need professional assistance streamlining your process, the skilled professionals at Vistatec can help. Get in touch today to learn more about scaling your localization program while maintaining the quality your clients expect.