Seven Steps to Plan a successful localisation project

The most common and gravest mistake organisations make is falling into the trap of thinking that translating some content is all it takes to succeed in a new market – it’s a tad more complex, but the work is worth the effort!

Every attempt to market offerings globally has been either a runaway success or dramatic failure due to an important and often overlooked reality. Namely, people who live in other parts of the world speak, think, and behave very differently. Be prepared to adapt your offerings and the way you communicate to fit a specific culture.

Please bear in mind this is a ‘what to do’ not a ‘how to do’ guide and getting localisation right is research heavy! Before you dive in therefore, there is a choice to be made about how much of this research can be handled internally or whether you need external support.

Market research companies can make a real difference in the process of defining the key parameters for your localisation strategy but where the budget does not allow for this, there is still a lot of scope for you to initiate some research of your own. Remember, in order for your venture to succeed, you need to be certain that your new audience will relate and buy-in to your brand, offerings and values.

So first, you have got to…

1.    Establish priorities

Successful localisation programs take a phased approach – which mitigates risk, effort, and cost in the early stages. Carefully consider:

• launching in only one new language/territory at a time
• limiting content localisation to web-based and/or business-critical content
• restricting localisation to certain key offerings

Generally, it makes sense to….

2.    Start with markets that closely resemble the ones you already know

Falling in with a phased, cautious approach, entering markets that similar in character is likely to impose minimum change to the way your business currently functions. Compare customer demographics and culture and compile a local calendar to compare with your existing markets. Examine:

• Big sales and shopping seasons
• School calendars
• Business fiscal calendar
• Festivals
• Vacation seasons

Being able to show this new market as one small step as opposed to a giant leap will help gain acceptance from both stakeholders and budget holders.

3.      Make sure your offering fits

Put simply, you must know how your offering stacks up. What is selling well and badly in your target market. Are there any obvious gaps to capitalise on or saturation points to avoid and what adaptation is needed to exploit & differentiate your brand, service, or product.

4.    Hack your competitors

Closely related to the previous point, your business case will only be stronger if you can point to your competitors’ successes and failures in the same market. Avoiding their errors and mimicking their achievements is a vital component of your strategy.

5.    Define the practical implications

Here, think legal, tax, logistics, shipping, multilingual telephone or email support, banking protocols and conventions, currencies, SEO….literally everything that goes into getting you into your home market…a long list!

Talk to other business units within your enterprise and get their input – they will see a level of detail not necessarily immediately apparent to you, which may feel overwhelming, but likely they will be a source of answers too – which means that you are much more likely to…

6.    Win support from internal stakeholders

Provided you got them on board early & responded genuinely to their concerns and ideas, this should be a foregone conclusion and therefore will pave the way for you to…

7.    Make and win the business case

Admittedly, getting the budget to support your localisation program can be a tedious and frustrating endeavour. You should prepare and arm yourself for comments like “everybody speaks English these days so why bother with the extra expense?” In fact, it is estimated that only 28% of online consumers speak English. Facts like that tend to stop Finance Directors in their tracks. You will gain converts by first showing the incremental revenue available then setting it against localisation project costs versus local presence costs. Whilst localisation costs are appreciable, they will always beat in-country costs.

Your business case should also demonstrate how localisation will:

• impact overall company revenues
• fit into the overall business strategy
• positively impact the customer experience
• enhance productivity and other value-creating activities
• be a cost-effective way to reach your global audience
• contribute to global branding

Conclusion

Now, you are on the road to success!

Armed with a budget and a shopping list containing some or all of the following: multilingual SEO, web localisation, CMS integration, translations of marketing collateral, product manuals and specifications, e-learning & video content, now there is the serious business of turning your plan into a reality.

Our next guide will look at supplier evaluation & project management as your project enters its implementation phase….