Localization

Focus
to localization. For some startups, this could also come
down to a lack of experience in localization, or building a
company where the workforce is already stretched across
several roles. Regardless of the reasons, most startups will
cite one major roadblock: cash. It boils down to the definition
of what it means to be a startup: starting up. When
you’re starting up and have an expensive wish list of á la
carte needs, localization can seem just a bit too rich of an
undertaking.
Another ubiquitous feature of startups is investment
funding. In the majority of cases, startups wouldn’t exist
if it were not for the help of growth-focused, venture
capital funding. It is logical that if your balance sheet is
based on the aid of parties who want to grow a company
as quickly as possible, taking a punt on new markets can
be a hard sell. Quite frankly, it may seem more prudent to
focus on growing the home customer base that is already
speaking your language. And yet, if you look at the
growth path of the most successful startups out there,
that is exactly what they did. Expanding to new markets
allows you to replicate your successes with a fraction of
the original investment.
Why to localize
Even if your potential new user speaks English, there
is little doubt that connecting with them in their mother
tongue gets results. Consider this: nine of every ten internet
users will visit a website when it is provided in their
own language, so there is no faster way to cement your
first-leap advantage. Added to this, 73% of customers are
more likely to make a purchase when it is presented in
their own language. There are millions more internet users
in Europe than in the United States. These are statistics
that are only too familiar for some startups. For them,
localization can seem like a catch-22: you need to grow
and engage with new customers in order to make money,
but they lie just beyond your grasp because you don’t have
the money to sell to them.
So what can a startup do to localize without gobbling up
valuable capital, just when they’re trying to stretch every
penny? First, let’s dispel the myth that localization comes
with huge overheads right from the very start. Doubtless,
it is a booming industry, where companies spend a lot of
money. The decision to localize comes from solid gains
in a new market. If a company is spending thousands to
translate their help content, it is only because it already
has customers in that locale. It makes perfect business
sense, however, that the first localization efforts for that
country started out very small.
So start structural. By designing the product in such a
way that text strings are easily extracted for translation,
quality assurance and testing will run more smoothly. It all
starts at the project beginning — if you have your sights
on expanding into new markets, try to brand globally.
Don’t pick a company or product name that’s too localized.
Stick with something that will be easily understood
and remembered. The English speaking world often takes
second language speakers for granted. If you expect them
to be your brand ambassadors, brand simply.
Following from this, the process of designing marketing
materials can be instilled with the idea that, at some point
in the future, the number of characters you need to display
will grow. If this is factored into the design process, imagine
how much simpler it will be to recycle designs that
were made for the home locale when you grow into new
markets. A good rule of thumb is to allow text expansion
of about 20%, which will cover most languages, although
each language varies. The best way to guarantee quick
desktop publishing is to design loose and clean. Uncluttered
designs allow for plenty of text expansion. Adding
information such as character limits for boxes can also
really help translators.
When you start to translate, it’s okay to start small. You
don’t need to translate everything at once. Pinpoint the
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