We couldn’t not mention ChatGPT and its role to change the future of content creation and language services as well, given the fact that artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming various industries.

We are firm believers that the success of AI depends on how it is used. It offers significant opportunities, but only if you approach it strategically and responsibly. As AI continues to evolve, organizations that can harness its power effectively will gain a competitive advantage.

Still, it cannot replace human intuition and creativity entirely. Therefore, it is crucial to strike a balance between AI and human intervention.

Ciklopea Coffee Chat is our new series designed to bring you interesting and insightful conversations with language professionals and researchers.

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However, this does not mean that their effects cannot be measured or assessed. One of the ways that may help with this is running a Quarterly Business Review.

What is a Quarterly Business Review?

QBR is a meeting between the services provider and the client on a quarterly (half-yearly or even annual or monthly) basis where the data on the business collaboration is presented in the form of a report and discussed. It is the point where we present what we have done for you over a specific period and what we can do to support your business operations in the future.

In the context of the language industry, this report often includes the volumes of translated/localized words, the overview of costs and the improvements made, overview of dedicated project teams, language pairs and other relevant information, as well as any suggestions for improvement of collaboration.

See our video on the topic of QBR in the language industry:

Why do you need a QBR and how does it help with the KPI tracking?

Translation/localization services are specific and vastly different processes and solutions are applied depending on the individual requirements and goals.

Naturally, customized solutions require customized tracking and analysis. With QBR, you get an invaluable insight into the language services rendered that can help you make better and more informed decisions regarding your current and future localization efforts on specific markets.

Also, remember what we said earlier about the KPIs and ROI measurements?

In the heavily fragmented world of localization where every client (or even every project) can have highly specific KPIs, QBRs are an excellent tool that feature detailed breakdown of all translation/localization costs, helping you and your localization and marketing departments with your internal assessments of your localization efforts and justification of the expenses.

In addition, QBRs help you understand what types of language services you currently use and what (if any) additional language services you may need.

Want to learn more about the value of localization? Check out our series of articles  The Value of Localization for Beginners:

1. 1. The Customers You Won’t Reach
   2. The Customers You Will Reach
   3. How Mature Organizations Do It

When is the right time for the first QBR?

Its name suggests that it is after every three months and in some cases 90 days after the contract has been signed really is the right time for the meeting.

However, this will always depend on the scope of business collaboration. Running a QBR after only a handful of small projects makes no sense, so the right time is when the collaboration truly lifts off and when both we and you have had a sufficient number of actual projects to get to know each other’s methods of work and expectations.

In other words, a Quarterly Business Review can easily be both a Monthly or an Annual Business Review.

Meeting, Report or an Event?

In our view, QBR is an essential part of business collaboration. By using the data from the previous projects, it helps us see how the things can be maintained on the current satisfactory levels or improved in the future. It tells the story about our collaboration and mutual success and serves two invaluable purposes:

• It provides you with a deep insight into your localization efforts, costs, savings and quality assurance;
• It helps us demonstrate our value and learn more about your expectations and requirements, helping us tailor our services accordingly.

So, whatever we call it, QBR is an excellent tool that saves time and resources and improves business collaboration.

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Mature organizations understand the place of localization in their global strategies and act accordingly. In other words, they simply view localization for what it really is – a smart investment with long-term, multilevel benefits that will help put their business on the international map.

This approach to localization actually stems from the organization’s maturity as it reflects the company’s strong sense of corporate identity, confidence in their products/services and dedication to globalization strategies.

Needless to say, they already have their localization programs and custom KPIs set before the project begins. They know what they can and what they want to achieve with localization and all they need is help with the execution.

They Understand the Importance of Language and Communication

There are many myths about translation, ranging from the one that any speaker of a foreign language can do it to the one that machines can do it. An organization’s maturity is also reflected in the awareness of the dangers and hidden traps of these myths.

They simply know that language is something people take for granted and notice it only when it’s bad – and when it’s bad, things can go really wrong and damage the corporate image and make even the best marketing campaigns flop on a foreign market.

These are the chances no serious company is willing to take and that is why mature organizations take localization seriously and rely on professional providers of language services who provide appropriate quality control and take responsibility for the quality of their work.

They Have a Dedicated Localization Officer

It’s old news that every process should have an owner.

Complex multilingual localization projects, though, are virtually impossible to yield satisfactory results without a dedicated point of contact on the client’s end who will be responsible for the localization projects and share the necessary information with the localization teams.

No team on Earth can be that good to know how to render specific organizational aspects and/or product/service features to different languages, or to know what kind of impression the company wants to make on a new market without any input from the client. Execution-wise, this is where the role of localization officer becomes crucial – he/she is the link between the company and the localization project manager who, on the other end, organizes the localization teams and coordinates their work.

The more information is fed from the localization officer to the localization team, the less issues there will be during the project and the final output will be completely in line with the client’s vision.

They Have Allocated Localization Budgets

Localization is not cheap – superficially. Its benefits and damage prevention justify every cent. However, a mature company will allocate the resources for localization the moment they decide to go global because they understand it is not a running expense.

In most cases, the localization budget is only a fraction of the marketing budget – but it’s there and it always makes localization project negotiations run smoothly.

They Are Aware of Language Technologies

Clients do not need to be experts neither in linguistics nor in localization technologies, but mature companies (i.e. their localization managers) are usually aware of the existence of language technologies that can make the execution of their projects faster and cheaper, and, more importantly, that can be integrated into their existing technological infrastructure.

Clients who are aware of the technology can provide more valuable information to the language services provider who will then be able to choose the appropriate tools and tailor the perfect solution to suit their needs.

Read more about language technologies here.

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Calculation of return on investment in language solutions is often complex because localization in most cases forms a part of a much bigger picture (various commercial / marketing campaigns or regulatory efforts) and therefore its return on investment is closely tied to the success of failure of these actions – there is no good localization solution for a bad product or service. This is also one of the reasons why many companies do not calculate localization ROI individually and focus on analytics to justify expansion to a particular locale before localization process instead.

However, the companies who do usually rely on custom KPIs that depend on the type and form of localized product/service and may include reduction of regulatory compliance issues on a specific market, optimization of communication with the local regulatory bodies, reduction of customer support requests, set sales goals, brand awareness, number of website visits and conversion on a foreign market, etc.

In other words, success of localization is measured against what you are set to achieve with it. The clearer your goals are, the exact results will be easier to generate.

25 $ per every dollar invested?

Some studies suggest that ROI is as high as 25 dollars per every dollar invested, particularly in the IT industry.  While this figure may seem exaggerated at first, if we take a look at the two major benefits that you actually get when you pay for professional language services, we may arrive at the conclusion that localization ROI may be even higher:

Safety

Translation fails can be funny, particularly when they happen to somebody else. But their consequences to the business operations and brand image can be serious. Professional localization is more often than not a precautionary measure for a successful market entry and maintenance of a particular brand image.

Remember that most of the time people notice translation only if it is bad. In addition to avoiding your well-developed marketing campaigns ending up in mockery on a target market, you also avoid possible regulatory issues and keep your customers informed on how to use your product properly and safely.

Market Penetration

Your product/service may be impeccable and a real dream-come-true to your global customers and clients. But this means next to nothing if your audiences are unaware of it. Localization is the secret ingredient that makes your presence on the global markets soar because it helps make your brand a part of the target culture.

Who are the customers you will reach?

Once again, the answer to this question lies in that old business adage “Can’t read it – won’t buy it” : the customers you will reach are the customers who were provided with a localized version of your product/service in accordance with their language and culture.

Virtually every survey ever conducted shows that at the very least more than 60% of the customers would always opt for a more expensive product presented in accordance with their own language and culture than a more affordable product or service in a foreign language – and this percentage grows with the complexity and sophistication of product / service.

Stay tuned for more info on L10n benefits in Part Three.

Check out Ciklopea’s infographic 3P Model of localization benefits.

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What is localization all about and what makes it different from translation?

Time and again, it is emphasized that localization is more than translation, but what is really meant by this is that it is a process of transferring, recreating and transcreating the user experience, style and values related to a particular product / service from one locale to another.

While translation refers solely to the textual content, localization is a comprehensive process of adaptation of the entire product/service identity to the environment of a specific foreign market and this may include adaptation of colors, multimedia, specific textual operations, technical and legal harmonization, etc.

In other words, if you have found your voice, developed a particular style and expression, built a recognizable profile and a solid user base on your home market, you cannot simply translate the content of your corporate message to another language and achieve the same results, but you need to localize your entire profile and find another voice that will produce the similar or equal effects on the target market.

Translation is an essential part of localization, but while it is focused on communicating the meaning of the verbal content of product/service between the languages, the ultimate goal of localization is a seamless adaptation of the entire user experience and its stylistic, visual, technical and legal aspects from one market to another.

Who are the customers you won’t reach?

The answer to this question lies in the old business adage “Can’t read it – won’t buy it” : the customers you won’t reach are the customers who were not provided with a localized version of your product/service in accordance with their language and culture.

Virtually every research and every survey ever conducted shows that more than 60% of the customers would always choose a more expensive product in their own language (i.e. the one they can understand) than a more affordable product or service in a foreign language – and this percentage grows with the complexity and sophistication of product / service.  (You may want to check out the research Survey of 3,000 Online Shoppers Across 10 Countries Finds that 60% Rarely or Never Buy from English-only Websites by Common Sense Advisory for details.)

Localization is a process specifically designed to help you reach those masses of potential customers who may be waiting for exactly what you have to offer them.

What about the quality and the costs?

Having an old tree is better than having no tree at all. But localization is nothing like the trees.

Substandard localization is more likely to discourage a potential customer than absence of localization because a bad localization always leaves an impression of a fishy business and may even confuse or offend the customers, so instead of the customers you won’t reach you get the customers that you will never reach and possibly PR and crisis management costs thrown in.

This is why the low price of a bad language solution ends up way higher than a realistic price of a quality service – when you are paying for localization, you are also paying for safety and security of the brand and the company image on the target market.

Read more about the L10n benefits in Part Two.

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Gateway to Non-English Speaking Audiences

The world population is estimated at about 7.5 billion people. The ever-increasing number of global Internet users amounted to about 3.5 billion in 2016, with roughly 21% (or 625 million) of them using the Internet in English, making it the single most used language on the Internet. But what are the languages of the remaining 79% of Internet users?

As it is clearly demonstrated by the CSA Research report, Digital Opportunity: Top 100 Online Languages for 2016, it takes three languages to reach 50% of online users (English, Chinese (Simplified) and German), nine to reach 80% (plus Japanese, Spanish, French, Arabic, Portuguese and Russian) and 14 languages to get to 90% of the global online population (plus Italian, Korean, Dutch, Chinese (Traditional) and Swedish).

If we remember that virtually every research ever conducted shows that more than 50% of the customers value proximity over price, i.e. that they would rather opt for a more expensive product presented in their first language and in accordance with their culture than for a cheaper deal presented in the language they do not understand, it’s easy to see why localization represents the road to global success.

$1 Invested in Localization Generates Up to $25 in Revenue

Several studies show that localization ROI is actually as high as 25 dollars for every dollar invested. Of course, this figure depends on different factors, such as the type of the product/service, its quality, price, financial landscape of the target market, timing, marketing efforts and so forth, but the truth is that it may be even higher – if we take into account the long-term benefits of localization:

# Prevention

Localization enables you to present your product/service, company and values in the way that target audiences will fully understand, thus reducing the risk of bad publicity and helping you build and maintain a strong and positive global presence.

# Proximity

Investing in professional localization means investing in developing a positive relationship with target audiences. In addition to bringing your business closer to your clients by adapting it to the target language and culture, you also have an opportunity to make it a part of the target culture, something your audiences will know, like and trust.

# Popularity

A properly localized product/service also communicates respect for the target language and culture, and respect is one of those precious things that are hard to earn and easy to lose – but the good news is that it is always returned. Localization helps you send your message to target audiences in an appropriate and respectful manner, building a solid base for the popularity of your brand.

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The world has shrunk. The space and distance are not an issue they used to be only decades ago. Thinking globally about your product/service from day one is one of the smartest things you can do – and to achieve the global visibility and reach global customers you need to localize your content.

Professional human translation is always worth It

Can you imagine any really big international company debating the ROI of translation? We can’t either. Have you ever seen any material from a successful international company presented in a bad or awkward target language? We haven’t, either.

Virtually every study ever conducted shows that people are more likely to purchase product/service that is presented in their language and in accordance with their culture. In the long run, it always pays off.

Machines can’t do it

Translators use computers to save time and provide consistent translations. The language industry of today is unimaginable without specific software and databases. But using the benefits of technology as a tool and delegating the entire translation process to machines are two quite different things. Translation is a sophisticated operation that simply can’t be done properly without a professional human touch.

LSP is your partner

Find the language service provider you can trust, the one with the experience and deep knowledge of the culture of the target market.

Very soon you will realize that your chosen LSP is your friend that will help you cut the translation costs, time and effort and send your corporate message to the target market in an appropriate and effective manner, and that its services may be valuable for more than just linguistic tasks as localization is also very much about culture, habits, needs and expectations of a target audience.

Remember, different markets require different approaches. Your localization consultant is there to help you find the right approach for your chosen market.

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Once again, it has been confirmed that Ciklopea put the strategic focus at quality management. Sometimes clients choose the LSP on the basis of promotion and low prices, without being aware that the quality is measurable, manageable through audits. Order specialists should be aware of the fact that the service quality represents an investment and that a high quality service cannot be the cheapest one. The awareness has to be reached gradually. Unfortunately, clients become aware of the fact that the high quality services have an added value only when they put up with a painful experience.

According to the research and the analysis of the collected data, the clients of Ciklopea require high quality services, being aware that the translating services should be the subject of the return of investment (ROI), like any other project. Selection of suppliers for translation services is one of the key management board decisions because the price of choosing a wrong translation services supplier might be extremely high. As a company with a strategic focus on the quality and innovations, Ciklopea provides high quality services.

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