Translation as global growth driver in today’s economy

It’s no secret that many businesses are facing uncertain times. Despite hopes that a post-Covid world would be fertile ground for swift economic recovery, many international markets have been hit by the effects of social and political instability.

At times like these, many business leaders are reevaluating global expansion strategies and trying to position their companies to be ready to cope with the uncertainty around inflation, supply chain pressures and tightening labor markets. But how to deliver on growth and revenue targets in this more challenging environment?

Navigating the uncertainties of today's economy

The key is to build resilience - the ability to deal with adversity and shocks as well as being prepared, ready to adapt for growth. A recent report by McKinsey says leaders who want to ensure their companies not only survive but thrive during economic slowdown should focus on planning for resilient growth by looking for strategic opportunities.

Companies that are ready with growth plans in place during any downturn are in prime position to reap all the benefits of a future upturn - or even continue to thrive regardless.

How translation and localization lead to sustainable global growth

One of the best ways to fortify your business with resilient growth is going multilingual. Translation, localization and interpreting can help refine your content and messaging to ensure maximum impact in new and existing markets.

Language and effective communication can be decisive in whether expanding a business to a new market succeeds or fails. Studies show 72% of consumers prefer buying a product that’s presented in their native language, and a site’s conversion rate can skyrocket by as much as 70% when it’s properly localized.

But the power of language translation goes beyond this. Language services can solve demands of specific industry verticals, from increasing accessibility to medicines or medical devices across the world, to ensuring the safety of those working in manufacturing plants or traveling in aircraft.

The increasing digitization of products and services, multiplication of content formats and digital channels, as well as fast-paced innovation and rapidly evolving technology, means most industries are now competing globally rather than locally. The need for multilingual content is everywhere – from marketing campaigns to product manuals or financial reports.  So the ability to produce and manage your content globally will determine the winners and losers.

To reach prospects, customers and end-users around the world, you’ll need to speak their language – but that’s probably easier than it sounds. Thankfully, there are several pathways to help the process of expanding a business through translation and localization. One might be linking up with a strategic partner to help build resilient growth, another would be to surround yourself with a network of experts you can lean on, for more of a ‘pick and mix’ approach. So let’s look at what strategic variables to consider to turn your content and messages into value and achieve sustainable global growth.

Key capabilities to build-in to your global expansion strategy

We’ve identified some crucial factors to consider when looking at how to maximize your business’s global expansion potential through a tailored globalization strategy. It doesn’t matter what model you go for in securing these – you could partner up, or build your own network – but a successful program will be built on the following:

Experience - a proven track record

An experienced partner or expert with a track record stretching back years has the privilege of being able to understand crucial aspects of your industry, what’s tried and tested, and the latest developments. They’ll have a deep knowledge of how your business, market and industry requirements have evolved, with plenty of experience in handling similar tricky times.

You can check out their list of clients - this will give you a good idea of the kind of work they have had success with in the past. And case studies or client testimonials from your field will give you an idea of how they’ve handled clients with similar needs to your own.

Specialism in your industry vertical

Beyond the ‘been there, done that’ aspect of experience, there’s another vital factor - the kind of experience that comes with having teams that are specialized in particular sectors. It’s one thing having an expert translator - but does that person understand the local way that language is used in medical trials? Or the legal compliance rules that might apply in a different country?

By partnering with a localization agency that can demonstrate strength in your industry vertical you gain access to a dedicated bank of globalization experts who are used to working in that industry - who come complete with working knowledge of the granular detail that must not be overlooked while working with languages in your field.

A focus on tech innovation

A dedicated group of talents working on R&D topics means an ability to harness cutting-edge solutions focused on user experience, connectivity, artificial intelligence and security, to unlock new efficiencies and position your business ahead of the competition.

Language technologies are used (and developed) today with one goal: to accelerate time-to-market for multilingual content while keeping quality high and budgets optimized. Translation client interfaces keep track of projects, budgets and translation KPIs in one place, while innovative connectors embed translation into your own systems. Beyond these, translation memory databases and AI-aided machine translation are all part of the arsenal of tools that are there to help.

Having a finger on the pulse and pushing the latest technologies forward will make sure you don’t get left behind.

A global presence

While our globalized world means it’s easier than ever to do business without a physical presence in another market, when it comes to localization a global footprint can make a big difference.

A global business will have experts on the ground who have a deep understanding of their native markets and their subtleties. A successful translation and localization team will be much closer to the customers you’re trying to reach - so will understand their needs and wants, not to mention any unforeseen cultural or legal constraints.

But there is another aspect to this beyond local expertise - specifically regarding economic and social uncertainty. A global footprint is helpful in mitigating risks from any instability. Operations in one part of the world will be able to support others, meaning client needs can always be met even with severe disruption from local or global events.

Value-added services

While translating content might be a good start, there is so much more to successfully navigating international expansion. Developing a globalization strategy will assess your internationalization readiness, automate multilingual workflows, analyze cost-benefits and even demonstrate the value of localization.

Through international search engine optimization (SEO), you can make your products or services more visible in certain regions, capture more market share and find untapped market opportunities.

Multilingual content marketing solutions can scale your marketing efforts when you don’t have the local teams in-house or during downsizing or layoffs, helping you hit exactly the right notes in your target market.

And it doesn’t end here, it’s possible to look at every aspect of your business with international growth in mind, from transforming a global training program into engaging multilingual elearning to localizing AR or VR experiences in fresh markets. Global content strategy consulting might be a cost-effective way of tackling multiple challenges as part of one overall package.

Investment

This definitely isn’t always as simple as jumping for the cheapest service provider, should you want to partner up. You need to make sure you’re comparing like for like. A partner that offers total project management with a single point of contact might seem more expensive at first - until you consider the cost savings through freeing up your own staff from overseeing all that work, or extending your in-house capabilities to conquer markets that weren’t previously within reach.

Your return on investment could also be hit by the time that a project takes - overruns can be a big money sink. A large and experienced team with the right resources and experience should design contingency plans into schedules to avoid this.

Final thoughts

A well-designed localization strategy is a way to invest in your teams, suppliers and communities in a way that’s sustainable, and good for the company’s business, while delivering measurable cost savings and a return on investment.

And so, while we may be in uncertain times, there’s no need to be uncertain about what capabilities a successful translation and localization operation should have. Armed with this knowledge, you should be ready to take the right steps to prime your business for resilient growth.