Are you ready for a multilocal world?

We know that the pandemic has created – or perhaps exacerbated – a crisis of trust, which in turn presents businesses with an opportunity to fill the trust vacuum with quality content and communications. So it was interesting to see a report from research firm Forrester, titled Geopolitical Disruption Demands Local Trust, that adds an important localization dimension to the challenge of building trust. 

Thomas Husson, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester, notes that the pandemic has accelerated demand for local products and increasingly driven people to brands that reflect their local values. This means – as the title of his report suggests – that brands need to build, not just trust, but local trust. In other words, they need to get serious about localization, in what Husson is calling a 'multilocal' approach. 

In a conversation with Retail Touchpoints, Husson delves into the challenges this poses for marketers, and we decided to put some of his points to Andrew Thomas, Senior Director, Marketing at RWS, for his insight. 

Husson says that digital marketers have tended to enforce global brand consistency over local customer experience. It's an understandable instinct; but surely there's a way for brands to do both?

Yes, absolutely. The localization services industry has spent decades developing and refining tools that, besides saving a huge amount of time and effort for translators, also happen to be brilliant at preserving consistency across different versions and types of content.

For example, every computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool has at its heart a translation memory that retains and automatically suggests previously approved content that matches, or partly matches, the new content you're working with. Then there's terminology management – again a common CAT tool capability − which is designed specifically to record terms or phrases that are approved or not approved for use in specific contexts. Not just ordinary words but brand names, product and service names – anything can go into a terminology database.

Properly used, these can give central marketing teams the confidence to free local teams to develop content and creative campaigns that reflect local values, or if appropriate to transcreate campaigns designed for the home market. The tools ensure that the locally developed content is informed by prior work and terminology guidelines, so you get a nice balance of new creativity constrained by the brand's DNA.

Are you saying that brands need to invest in translation technology just as much as marketing technology?

I'd say it's just as important, yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have to invest in it directly themselves. It really depends on the organization, but there's nothing stopping brands from accessing the best translation technology through a language service provider. So the LSP invests in the technology and is expert in its use on behalf of its clients. We call this 'technology-enabled language services', and it doesn't apply just to translation memory and terminology management. There's a cluster of technologies that have a key role to play in effective localization, including translation management systems and adaptive machine translation. 

Without being expert in the tech, how would an organization know if a language service provider has the right capabilities to help them with a multilocal approach?

I think you'd know from how the LSP interacts with you. You're looking for a team that has a solution-oriented approach, not a purely transactional one. Do they dig into your objectives and address all elements of the multilocal experience? For example, do they understand which formats and channels are most relevant in the different markets you're addressing, and can they offer practical advice and help you to get it right?

Or, another example, can they help with global search engine optimization? Marketers often assume that SEO research done for their home market can just be translated for other markets, but that's hardly ever true. You've really got to do the research per market to reveal what your target audience will respond to.

Usually LSPs can only take this big-picture, solution-oriented approach if they're supported by sophisticated technologies. The right technologies always free human beings to do the strategic or creative things that people are good at, and that applies to LSPs too. So look for an LSP that isn't just about transactional translation and project management, but about strategic advice when you need it. Look for one that employs SEO researchers, native-speaker copywriters and designers, and all the other skills that you need to support more effective localization in all of the markets you're interested in.

You've talked about tech and people. Usually there's a third pillar that goes with those two, right? What about process? 

Of course. But in a digital-first world, process really does go hand in hand with technology. Organizations have to re-think their digital content processes to support a multilocal approach, and this will almost certainly involve using new types of technology. Or at least getting more out of systems they already have.

That's why, as I've mentioned, when we talk about tech-enabled language services there's a cluster of technologies that LSPs should be using. From a process perspective, the translation management system is key. It lets organizations standardize and automate processes, and centralize translation memories, termbases and other localization services. The TMS should also integrate with the marketing tech used by organizations, so that localization becomes naturally embedded within their content processes and the interactions between central and local teams. This is key for organizations that want to balance centralized brand control and local freedom.

There's also no doubt that the speed, volume and multi-channel nature of digital marketing requires a new level of agility and flexibility from marketing and localization teams. Localization processes now need to be supported not just by effective translation management tech, but effective agile translation management tech designed for a digital-first world. 

Learn more about how to take advantage of tech-enabled language services for growth in a digital-first world.