The latest trends in globalization have provided companies a wider reach in pitching their products and services, and, consequently, bigger opportunities for growth and profit. The opening of this global market in turn has created a new challenge for producers and providers – that of adapting their products and services to localized markets in the global community in such a way that the target consumers will see the products and services as something that is specifically applicable to them, even if it was sourced from halfway across the globe.
What is the localization process?
This process of adjusting an international product or service to a target market is called localization. This activity goes beyond the simply delivery of translation services. One example of localization process is the adaptation of a software or application to a particular country or culture. Let’s take messaging apps, for example. People around the world definitely find messaging apps as an indispensable tool. Not only have these apps made international communication easier, but they’ve also made it a lot cheaper. In localizing these tools, developers made sure that every country, every language in the world can use these messaging apps by having the user interface in their language. It would be very hard to navigate an app where one could not understand which buttons to press.
To make this easier, we now have universal icons that mean the same thing anywhere in the world, such as the call icon, the photo icon, the text icon. Globalization created these universal symbols. But for other tools that can mean different things in different cultures and languages, a localized symbol or translation has to be used in order to promote a better user experience.
Localization is the key to make foreign brands go international. Every company’s goal should therefore be, to go international, we have to go local. That’s why you need a reliable and capable team like Circle Translations to do the localization work for you.
Why you should localize your product
Profit. The first benefit of localization is enlarging your market while you stay in the comfort of your home base. Localizing your product means that a new market opens up to you and this can mean an increase in revenues if localization is done right.
Popularity. Creating a brand that is known in many different parts of the world is one of the most satisfying results of localization. Because you put effort into making consumers know that your product is applicable and useful to them, it becomes increasingly popular. When more users get to know and actually try out your product, they can now test and prove its productivity.
Productivity. A product only becomes efficient once the user actually gets to use it properly and it yields excellent results. Productivity is influenced by how much the user understands how a product works and is supposed to be used.
Prestige. As a company that delivers localized products that people appreciate performs well, you gain prestige among the community. You become known as a company that delivers as promised, and you gain continuous access to the market for new and future products. Which brings you back to making more profit.
How to localize your product
Now that you’ve seen how localization impacts your product, here are some practical steps to do it.
- Examine your current content and analyze what needs to be adapted to the local market. These can be anything from language to format, currency, images, fonts (especially if in a foreign country that uses their own alphabet), references to places, specific directions, instructions, units of measurement, time zone, etc.
- Content management, or identifying what part of the content needs translation or adaptation into the locale. It is essential to isolate the content from the existing format for ease in translation.
- Quality assurance work, which involves planning and creating a process for efficient translation, assigning linguists and resources, and seeing to it that translation work is done by a team of workers who are also native speakers of the locale. QA role is to ensure that errors are prevented and avoided during the localization process.
- Translation work is done by the linguists assigned to translate the content according to the guidelines created by QA. These workers have to be fluent not only in the language but also in the cultural norms of the target market.
- Quality control work involves checking the output for errors, specifically typos, inconsistencies in the formats, inaccurate translations and terminologies. They are there to fix defects and errors and provide proper documentation to make sure these errors are removed from the final product.
- Turnover of the localized product.
We’re here to help
These are just the simplified descriptions of the work that goes into the localization process of a product. Localization process does include translation work, but it goes beyond just changing the language to that of your prospective market. It requires a comprehensive adaptation that considers factors such as culture, nuances, beliefs, values, current events, local trends, common practices, and more, to ensure that your product becomes an instant hit with your target market. Your team may be able to do the work, but if you need faster and more efficient output, Circle Translations can do the job for you. From Steps 1 to 6, Circle Translations has developed a proficient system with its highly capable team of linguists and translators who can do the job accurately and efficiently. You can continue to develop new products for emerging markets, while we localize your product to help you reach international success.
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