Connecting Globalization to Localization
Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash
In our quest to evangelize localization, globalization and above all collaboration, part 8 of Globalization Motivation is dedicated to bridging the gap between localization and globalization.
Globalization, Localization, Internationalization. These words mean different things depending on who is speaking, but one thing is clear to me. There are dots that need to be connected to tell the full story. Globalization could be thought of as taking your product global. Localization could be versioning language and Internationalization might be interpreted as versioning your product internationally. The definitions vary depending on who you are speaking to. We can agree that products, services, and all supportive messaging may require adjustments as it travels from market to market. This versioning can be quite complex since it has so many possibilities. It requires intelligent strategic planning and alignment across the entire organization.
There are so many new terms to describe hyper-localization, which is supreme versioning for a particular market. The levels of versioning that pertain to language may include transcreation, which refers to adjusting the content to adapt to a particular market. For example, there may be references that are re-worded because your global customer will not relate exactly to what has been written in the source. You may also need to make changes to the copy based on a call to action button because the translation may not fit or does not convey the right response. The endless possibilities are compounded because imagery may also require changing. For marketing, you may decide the graphics or photos need to be altered or re-created so that they are more relatable. With photography, you want the photos to represent the local customer. In addition, visuals will need to have in-language text, correct measurements, currency, and more. There are endless possibilities. However, for most companies, there simply isn’t a business-critical reason to hyper-localize. You adjust only what is required, which usually meant translating language to make sure the text was understood in key markets.
When did it get so complicated?
Back in 2015, I was producing content for 155 countries and there were many factors to consider in order to achieve truth in advertising. There was an enormous responsibility placed on brands with a global presence producing complicated products. For example, let’s say you sell hardware and software with different content and features depending on where the customer lives. What if those products were being marketed regionally and subject to government restrictions that would impact your messaging? Large, successful companies with an international presence such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and just a handful of others have been tackling these complexities for over a decade now. But this did not apply to every company (especially SMEs). Historically, there had not been a large requirement to hyper-localize, transcreate, or have multiple versions of a product, service, and the marketing required was considerably simpler.
One and done
For most companies, simply making sure your product, service, and website was available in a few priority languages was just fine. There would be a tab on your website to change the language to a select group of languages (Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese) and there would be no changes made to the visual. The biggest challenge would be to decide which Spanish (ES-ES, ES-MX, ES-LA) would have the biggest impact. Chinese only meant Mandarin. Perhaps, your documentation was available in select languages as well. So much has changed in such a short amount of time.
The Age of Transparency
What changed? Well, we have the internet. Reaching customers and having them discover your product has become easier and easier. Social media creates global communities where information is spread around the world in an instant. Mobile technology and Wi-Fi access is available almost everywhere now. E-commerce has created an international cashless society. All of these factors have led to two important things: customers and competition. Where customers being competed for there is DEMAND. Demand means that the customer, who prefers to be spoken to in their own language, can insist on using their own language, see images that relate to them, and have an intuitive user experience unique to where they live. I refer to this new era as “The Age of Transparency.” Technology has brought the world closer together and revealed endless possibilities for everyone to reach customers in the farthest reaches of the world. These customers hold enormous power if you want their business.
Original content creation
The large corporations with global demand created regional sales offices. Eventually, when original content was required, marketing vendors were hired to create original content. As competition increased in these regions, you may have an entire in-house staff of producers, copywriters, and designers dedicated to in-country marketing initiatives. These teams usually work independently from localization.
Why is there a disconnect?
This is the question that I have been dedicating myself to for almost a decade now. Simply put, companies grow organically. Roles and responsibilities evolve over time as needs arise (reactionary). Marketing content and localization is executed differently by organization. Localization teams can be one person or a large team, be separated by function (i.e. product, marketing, retail) and report to various functions within the organization (i.e. operations, international, marketing). Localization has been considered a service (reactionary) and marketing more of an upstream strategic initiative. Recently, localization teams are being seen as strategic partners (proactive) due to the increasing demands for personalization by users and customers. I believe this new positioning of localization is due to the complex demands of the product experience and the marketing initiatives required to reach customers internationally.
Connecting the dots – The customer journey
It is time to connect the dots. Wherever your organic growth has taken you, your international presence requires all teams in an organization to be aligned strategically (proactive) to execute a cohesive brand and product experience. How you connect those dots may vary, but partnership is a key element. Identify all the stakeholders in your customer’s journey from awareness to purchase to loyal customer. If profits are primarily outside your headquarters and the mission is to have a global presence, then the entire organization should be able to track and manage their content from start to finish. The CMS can tell that story if you allow it, and that story should be clearly communicated and understood across your entire organization as well as every customer.
Understand and be understood
To align teams a common understanding of terminology is needed, especially when going global with your product or service. I used to think that we needed to agree on the same language, but now I believe that the best practice is to share a glossary so we are clear on what we are saying. First and foremost, my good friend Dana Litwin, CVA explains it best when she says “Understand and Be Understood”. In this video she explains to volunteer organizations that you need to be clear that the jargon you are using is clarified. It is harder to get consensus when it comes to language. Every industry and culture have unique acronyms, slang, and figures of speech. You cannot promote localization if your peers and partners don’t know what you are talking about.
Always have a glossary
One of my heroes is South African writer and actor, Athol Fugard. The height of his career was during apartheid. Mr. Fugard used theater in a revolutionary way: colorblind casting and non-segregated audiences at a time when that was illegal. Every play is accompanied by a glossary. These served as a guide for the audience and reader to know where each character stands in society and common Afrikaner slang. You do not have to be from South Africa or live through that time in history to follow along.
The elevation of localization is collaboration
Language is complex. There is grammar, formal and informal speech, slang, and figures of speech. Human translators and linguists want the text to make sense in the context for which it is intended. On the client side of localization, there are many factors to executing a strong strategy. You have prioritized markets (aka tiers) to determine what languages need to be represented and the depth of detail that should be included in the text. That will lead to deeper discussions on transcreation and original copy in language. Detailed style guides and glossaries do not need to be exclusive as context for translators, linguists, and copywriters. Context may be shared across stakeholders. Collaboration to determine the complexity of the intended outcome (in marketing referred to as the deliverable) to determine the best strategy (proactive). An easy way to promote localization is to share common terms, tools, and requests. Here is my glossary. Glossaries and any additional context relating to your function will enable you to translate your objectives and come to a common understanding. The mission of every stakeholder should be to allow the language of the company, their fellow stakeholders and ultimately the customer to be understood. That understanding should align with the brand, company mission, and ultimately connect all of the dots to find ways to work smarter and retain your customer wherever they may live.