where to go next: strategy for global content localization
TRANSCRIPT
Where to next : Strategy for Global Content Localization
The Challenges
Some stats
EC Survey : 42% of customers will only purchase products sold in their own language
CSA : 12 languages needed to effectively communicate with 80% of global users.
New study ‐ University of Amsterdam 2016 : Developing highly localised country‐specific strategy is key in becoming successful in cross border selling.
And looking to developing markets
= 3 billion people
Taking India alone?
Government of India – Hindi in the Devanagari script plus English
Indian constitution lists 22 ‘scheduled’ languages
Census 2001 – 122 major languages and 1,599 other languages
Also recorded 30 languages spoken by more than 1m people
And of course literacy
Adult Literacy Rate, 15+ both sexes. Source: Worldbank
World Average
Philippines
India
China
Indonesia
Nigeria
In Thailand for instance?
Official government survey : Average amount of reading by respondents – 7 sentences per year.
Website experience No use of ‘more info’ button ‐ zero No product descriptions Use of imagery and video
Think about how best to present the information
The Strategy
One Size Does Not Fit All
Highly Localised Country Specific
Iterative Process – One size does not fit all
Market potential important but SWEAT the small stuff ability to acquire customers versus the competition customer expectations (preferred language, customer services)
Biggest Mistake
Everyone thinks they understand other cultures
But remember an industry is a ‘sub‐culture’
Even without the language barrier there are cultural and sub‐cultural barriers
Review your messaging!
Why is the small stuff important
XERO in the USA
US Accountants more conservative
Competition more entrenched – Intuit €4bn & 8,000 employees
Business advisor pitch to accountants not valid
50 state agencies that leverage their own tax rules – accountants don’t want automated bank reconciliation! Because that’s why they’re paid
Get a process around localization
Get a Process – Run everything through the process Not every step is applicable Go / more info / No‐go
Signals ‐Where do we go? Formal market researchWebsite visitors Customer inquiries
Local Superheroes
Research – Local Superheroes
Partners Advisors / Experts Friendly customers Non competing peers
Flag Model
Hire tribes at HQ
Each desk / area had a flag Local advisory committee Actively involved in key decisions Culture of collaboration & communication
Go Local
Hire Locally
Country Manager Cross functional expertise Formal Communication
Some other points to note
Master the Art of Project Management Track ROI Localisation seat at the top table Global Engineering team Befriend the CFO
What content?
Languages & content
What languages? What content? What format? Clear content goals Review Current contentDe‐slang / De‐colloquialise / De‐trapCheck industry & company specific terms Pseudo localize Develop local glossary Unicode standard – UTF 8 SEO optimisation
What tools?
Language Technology
Content Management System Translation Management CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) Custom Machine Translation
What is KantanMT?
Statistical Custom MT PlatformCloud‐basedHighly scalable for high volumeFully‐automated translationsFusion of TM & MT & rulesHigh speed, high quality translations
Active KantanMT Engines
8,668Training Words Uploaded
322,179,753,587Member Words Translated
6,161,269,925
KantanMT
Automotive Industry
Automotive Industry
Objectives Languages: English‐>Dutch POC to validate rapid ROI Focus on translation productivity Solution must scale to 50 manuals pa. Integrate to existing L10N workflow
Challenges Client had already built in‐house MT Output of in‐house system very poor
Automotive Industry
Results Seamless integration into existing L10N workflow (and MemoQ)
Translation productivity: + 25% Reduced Post‐Editing effort using PEX Reduced project turnaround time Significantly higher quality translations achieved
Process will scale to meet future requirements Case Study available for download.
Software Industry.
Software Industry.
Objectives Build MT engines for on‐line help Pilot for English => German Scale to multiple target languages Focus on Translator productivity
Challenges Complexity of online help content Very tight production schedules
Pilot & Other Languages < 4 months
Software Industry.
Results Highly Scalable: +4 languages in 6 months
High Quality Translation output Translator Productivity Increase: 30–50% Reduced Project Costs: 27–40% savings Lower Post‐Edit Rates after KantanMT Engine Retrainings
Case Study available for download.
The Localization Partner
The LSP Industry
$34 billion industry worldwide 25,000 LSPs Range from $600m down to a few thousands How do you choose?
Biggest Mistake: Hire the vendors you know!! Size doesn’t matter Local expertise
Choosing a Partner
Review the service offering
Find out who will be on your team
Interview the Project Manager
Run a sample translation / trial
Nurture the partnership – win/win
Check out their technology
Why Technology?
Reduces the overall cash margin of the LSP
Connectors to your existing tools
Drive productivity
Full automation – Custom automated self‐service
Translate more for less
Get to market faster
When to cut and run?
Thank You.