According to the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, by 2017 the percentage of the global population that use mobile phones is set to increase to 69%. But that said, only 34% of Apple iOS, 39% of Android and 25% of Windows users speak English as their mother tongue. Global brands will therefore miss out on revenue if they translate mobile apps and websites poorly or by not localising them at all.
Common challenges
Localisation is often left until after an app or website’s development, which can add to the amount of costly revisions. There’s nothing worse than an app or site that has been only part localised, especially when it comes to right-to-left language scripts, such as Arabic and Hebrew, which require a mirrored interface.
Marketing localised mobile apps or websites also tends to be left as an afterthought. China, for example, doesn’t use the Google Play app platform but instead has more than 200 different Android app stores that require high-quality translations in simplified and traditional Chinese. Each one will require a slightly different marketing strategy.
Translation, if done well, can dramatically increase downloads and pageviews, which in turn will lead to better reviews and word-of-mouth promotion. Take a leaf out of fashion brand ASOS’s book. The company has eight versions of its core website (English, American, Australian, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian) and customers can switch easily. The brand’s mobile apps are also fully joined-up, covering the same languages.
The hotel sector in general has a strong track record in multiple markets, with Hotels.com, for example, offering more than 90 different versions, and luxury brand Sofitel covering more than 25 different versions of its website, plus a broad range for its mobile app.
Top tips
1. Make implementation planning central to the process
Brands must focus on implementation planning to reduce costs and ensure products are delivered on time – with measurable results. Continual testing and tweaking means that global brands require an experienced implementation team that knows how to manage translations in high volumes.
An expert implementation partner should also have the skills and bargaining power to deliver the best results at the best possible price.
The implementation team should ensure that brand guidelines and glossaries are created in multiple languages to save time and money, and lessen the need for individual project briefings.
2. Choose the right technology to automate administration
For apps and websites in multiple languages, an effective, scalable and robust content management system (CMS) is essential. This should be a unified platform that streamlines content creation in multiple languages, with clear digital asset management, accurate version control and team support through social collaboration.
There are also many good translation management systems (TMS) that facilitate automation of admin tasks, which can cut costs and increase turn-around times while reducing scope for human error.
3. Don’t compromise on translation quality
It’s true that machine translation is pretty impressive; Google Translate is a popular tool, but it’s a big mistake to rely solely on a machine to provide quality online content. Machine translations currently don’t have the facility to deliver nuances of culture and implicit meaning in brand identity.
It’s fine to go for straight translation when dealing with technical, non-marketing content, but word-for-word translation just does not cut it with apps and websites.
Pressures on budgets entice companies to reduce costs by accepting less than perfect translation and localisation, but this is a false economy. Maintaining the highest production values will help to ensure there are fewer mistakes, time delays and revisions in the global marketing process. By adhering to high quality translations, localised apps or websites will have the impact expected from the campaign strategists.
Kevin Freedman is chief executive at Freedman International
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