Please also check Singtel’s Ask the Expert in Localization for the Interview session with Mr Nicholas Goh, CEO and Founder of Verztec.

There is a strong correlation between the ranking of companies on a particular list and the number of languages found on their websites. Whether the ranking is based on revenue (the Forbes Global 2000), brand value (the Interbrand 100 Best Global Brands), or website traffic (the Alexa Top 500 Global Sites), sites at the top of these lists consistently show a higher language count than those on the bottom. Two findings stand out:
• Bigger companies offer more language choices than smaller ones
• The most popular websites publish in more languages than less popular ones.

Bigger Companies Offer More Language Choices
When we visited the sites of the top 50 companies from the Forbes Global 2000 list, we saw that they typically provided content in 15 languages, while sites from companies in the bottom 1,000 averaged only four languages. The average number of languages in our entire dataset of 2,409 sites was nearly 5.7. But it’s not just at the top and bottom. The trend line is clear at each slice – from the top band through to the middle, and all the way to the bottom. Smaller companies, taken as a group, average fewer languages per site.

The smaller companies in our sample – those with super-popular websites as ranked by Alexa but not listed among the world’s biggest companies – generally does better than their rivals in the bottom half of the Forbes Global 2000 list. These high-traffic volume websites average 4.8 languages rather than 4.1 for larger companies with less popular sites. This metric underscores the importance of adding languages in order to gain traction in the online marketplace.

About a quarter (23.3%) of the smaller companies don’t offer English on their immensely popular sites. Many in this cluster are country or regional social networks and other online services originating in non-Anglophone countries, with only one or a few languages spoken in their region.

The Most Popular Websites Publish in More Languages
The trend line of popular sites, such as Google and Facebook, to offer more languages is dramatically apparent among the top 50 grouping, but essentially flattens out after that. The whopping average number (17.9) suggests that to break into the top category, a company probably needs to put up 15 to 25 languages. Less popular websites – by traffic volume – include many corporate sites, including business-to-business brands with lots of languages but without the volume required to break into the Alexa Global 500.

Verztec is a leading ISO 9001:2008 Global Content Consulting Services Company. Verztec assists companies around the world to design, develop, localize and publish their global communication messages in over 60 languages across various channels. For more information as to how Verztec may partner and assist in your next localization project, kindly contact us at info@verztec.com or call +65 6577 4646 now!

*Source: Multilingual Websites: October 2012 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.

The Bottom Line and How Translation Boosts It

Our research repeatedly shows that translation enables companies to expand their customer base and increase revenue:

• Translation gives you access to more customers. Many customers simply won’t buy your products unless you market to them in their language. How many are you missing? Our study showed that 72.1% of international consumers spend most or all of their time on sites in their own language. The 11 languages that allow you to reach 85% of the world’s online wallet are English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, German, Arabic, French, Russian, Korean, and Italian. And each language you add takes you further into any market where it’s spoken.

• Translation unlocks global revenue from those customers. Overall economic growth has stalled in North American and Western European markets. As a result, companies headquartered in those regions are finding it a requirement, rather than an option, to offer additional localized versions of their products and services as quickly as possible in order to attract customers with rising incomes in emerging and frontier markets. Are you one of the many firms reporting decreasing domestic profits, while your global revenue is climbing upward? If not, you better find out why.

• Translation enhances your existing market presence – even at home. Do you own 100% of any market that you’re already in today? Doubtful. But you can get closer to penetrating the markets you’re already in by adding more languages. Even just one language – such as Spanish in the United States, Polish in the United Kingdom, or Turkish in Germany – can help you reach customers in the locations in which you’re already spending marketing dollars, making that money go even further.

• Translation costs very little. Your investment in languages will be insignificant compared to the international revenue it will enable. After all, the average cost per word to create original content is US$0.65, while the average cost per word for translated content is only US$0.10. Your financial and procurement teams will be on-board once they recognize that millions of dollars of additional income can be generated through a very minimal investment.

• Translation doesn’t have to be difficult. If you’re concerned about losing control of your content when it moves into other languages, rest assured that there are professionals out there to help you. Recruit the talent you need to build a great translation team from a vast team of professionals in this $26 billion industry. Or outsource the function to professional language service providers (LSPs). The bottom line is that there is no reason to reinvent the wheel – plenty of companies (including competitors) have already learned the most painful lessons on your behalf.

• Translation makes it easier to win against competitors. You can leverage your investment in global markets based on a defensive or offensive strategy. Either way, the goal is to prevent challengers from dominating markets that could have a negative effect on sales, revenue, or overall brand perception in other markets, including the one at home.

• Translation provides your brand with a consistent voice. Over the last decade especially, firms have learned that consistent branding with local flavor represents a corporate asset with a hard dollar value. It now requires at least 16 languages if you want to be among the best at remaining competitive online.

• Translation allows you to protect and enhance your global reputation. If your organization is not set up to implement every product or service launch around the world, then you risk relinquishing control to your customers. With machine translation readily available for many languages, people buy, write reviews, and provide feedback on your offerings whether or not you officially launch in their market.

• Translation is often required by local markets anyway. You may be barred from selling your product or service unless it has been translated, and perhaps even adapted to meet local business requirements, in countries that have language compliance laws such as Belgium and Canada. Similar rules will apply for regulated industries such as energy, financial services, life sciences, telecommunications, and utilities. And even if you’re not in a regulated field, you may be required to translate in order to support customers who are.

• Translation is simply what smart executives do. It’s not enough for you to merely mandate that your company be #1 in its top five markets around the world. To be able to earn globally over time, you must invest consistently in local markets and the internal teams to support them (see “The Global Business Leadership Manifesto,” Mar11). The key is to create a global presence through building many strong, local presences, which includes delivering and supporting products in the right languages that are adapted to the right level.

English may be the language of business, but it’s not the language of your local consumers. The demand for language directions such as Zulu<>Chinese and Turkish<>Chinese is increasing as new trading agreements are established. According to the International Monetary Fund, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) alone will account for as much as 61% of global growth over the next three years. Currently, these five countries comprise 42% of the world’s population and 18% of its GDP. And right behind them are Indonesia, Mexico, and Turkey as fast-growing economies with middle classes whose purse strings are loosening and whose wallets are expanding. Now is the time to put your international business strategy in order, supported by an appropriate translation plan, to allow your team to support local prospects and customers according to their expectations.

Verztec is a leading ISO 9001:2008 Global Content Consulting Services Company. Verztec assists companies around the world to design, develop, localize and publish their global communication messages in over 60 languages across various channels. For more information as to how Verztec may partner and assist in your next localization project, kindly contact us at info@verztec.com or call +65 6577 4646 now!

*Sources: Why Smart Companies Invest in Translation: 1 January 2012 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his National Day Rally speech in Mandarin on Sunday, said Singapore will need to seize opportunities and reinvent itself to progress in the next 20 years.

Singapore’s situation is similar to other East Asian economies — like Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea — whose era of rapid growth is over.

Singapore, like the others, is in search of new strategies and formulas.

While many of the East Asian economies are anxious about their future, Mr Lee said Singapore is better off than many others.

Mr Lee said people from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan have sent study groups to look at Singapore’s social and economic policies.

But as Singapore evolves, Chinese Singaporeans should not neglect their culture.

The prime minister said he supported recent proposals to set up a Chinese Cultural Centre and a Singaporean Hokkien Huay Kuan Cultural Academy.

Mr Lee said: “Our Chinese community has always been concerned about the preservation and promotion of culture and tradition.

“Chinese culture is an important pillar of Singapore culture. It is an emotional anchor and moral compass for many Singaporeans. We should preserve our cultural roots, lest we lose ourselves in this ever-changing world.”

Mr Lee said traditions and culture help strengthen the sense of identity, and the Chinese language here has local characteristics.

He said: “Recently, a National Day documentary shown on our local TV channel had some translation errors. For example, National Servicemen was translated as “national soldiers”, and HDB flats became “national housing”.

“This drew many criticisms. The mistakes were clearly made by foreign translators. The translators were competent in Chinese, but they did not know our local context or terms.”

Prime Minister Lee said Singaporeans have a unique culture, but this meant that new immigrants must work harder to integrate.

Mr Lee added that Singaporeans understand the local norms for acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. But new immigrants need time to learn and understand the Singapore mindset.

Mr Lee also encouraged everyone to stay positive, lead active lives and be self-reliant.

He said while it will be easier for younger Singaporeans to adapt, it is also possible for older people to keep up, though help must continue to be provided.

Mr Lee cited a few existing examples, including training courses and upgrading programmes offered by the government and NTUC, to allow older workers to acquire new skills and improve their job prospects.

Article reference source from Channel News Asia

As a result, many firms still debate whether it makes business sense to globalize their online marketing, online commerce sites, and call centers. Nonetheless, research dating back to 1998 indicates a high propensity for people to buy in their own language. It’s clear that website globalization has become a mainstream business activity today; in future years what is now a low curve in the below graph will likely become a straight diagonal line from upper left to lower right.

Most people prefer buying in their own language

More than half of the web users who purchased online (52.4%) buy only at websites where the information is presented in their language. More than 60 percent of consumers in France and Japan buy products from localized sites. In terms of language competence, people with no or low English skills were six times more likely not to buy from Anglophone sites than their countrymen who were proficient in English.

Language significantly influenced more important purchases

The vast majority (85.3%) feels that having pre-purchase information in their own language is a critical factor in buying insurance and other financial services. Conversely, just 45.8 percent thinks that it is important to buying clothes on the web. The more valuable an item, the more likely it is that someone will want to read about the product and buy it in their own language.

It takes more than local language to sell something

Over two-thirds (67.4%) of web users visit English-language sites monthly or more frequently, but just a quarter (25.5%) regularly purchase goods or services at those properties. Even with information available in the local language, the inability to use their own credit cards or currency stymies many international buyers. Converting those international browsers to buyers requires translation plus improved site performance and commercial enablers such as credit card and country-specific transaction support.

Global brands trump language and price

Half of the web users (50.8%) would buy a global brand over a local one, even without translated information. Looking at individual countries, just Germany and Japan fell below the 50-percent mark. However, having information in their own language was more important to 56.2 percent of the global web users than a low price.

Verztec is a leading ISO 9001:2008 Global Content Consulting Services Company. Verztec assists companies around the world to design, develop, localize and publish their global communication messages in over 60 languages across various channels. For more information as to how Verztec may partner and assist in your next localization project, kindly contact us at info@verztec.com or call +65 6577 4646 now!

*Sources:

• What LSPs Need to Know about global Website Trends: 14 April 2011 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
• The Word’s 100 Best Global Websites in 2011: March 2011 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
• Can’t Read, Won’t Buy: Why Language Matters: September 2006 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.