When someone is watching a TV show or a movie filmed on the other side of the world, whether dubbed or subtitled, they may not expect the names of characters or cities to be changed into names typical for their culture or cities in their countries. However, when that same person downloads an app or opens a company’s website to make a purchase, they expect everything from language and colors to visuals to feel intuitive to them.
As a result, companies trying to conquer new markets need to take care of localization—a series of processes through which a team of specialists translate and adapt all relevant content and tailor their products to the target audience.
The importance of localization
Although used interchangeably with translation, localization is about much more than just transferring a text from one language to another: when you are trying to launch software, an app, a website, or any other digital product overseas, its user interface and any related piece of marketing content should be adapted to meet local customs and expectations in your target market.
This means that you should use the date and time formats, currency, measurement units, etc. they would use in their everyday life. Equally important, any content related to your brand and product or service should feel as if it were created specifically for them. Most people who buy products online prefer to do so using a website in their native language, and 40% of consumers wouldn’t even consider buying something otherwise.
Introducing localization software
Companies can approach localization projects in various ways, depending on their needs and goals. They can hire human translators, use free or paid translation tools, or use software designed specifically for localization projects. Helping programmers, project managers, and translators in the process of adapting various forms of digital content, localization software provides the best solution for building a strong, efficient, and effective localization strategy.
Investing in localization software will help your company obtain faster and more consistent professional translations with better quality. By streamlining each stage of the localization processes and increasing project management efficiency, these tools are invaluable for any localization project. They can automate all phases of computer-assisted translation (CAT), allowing for quicker and more affordable translation without sacrificing quality.
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Benefits of using localization software
Automates routine operations
Thanks to localization software, the team working on the project will be able to automate many routine operations, which will not only facilitate their work but, most importantly, make it more efficient and eliminate common mistakes. For the best results, you can integrate localization automation with other development tools.
Facilitates translation
Apt localization software provides a higher quality machine translation, which, depending on your needs, can either replace human translators or transfer the focus of translation to the editing stage. Therefore, the translation team will be able to complete the process of translating faster and more efficiently.
Localization software tools feature innovative editors that will help translators instantaneously review history. They will allow you to double-check the quality and track the history of successful translations. They may also perform automatic grammar checks, and help ensure stylistic consistency, whether in terms of a specific piece of work or universally.
Maintaining consistency is vital for localization, and this type of software features translation memory, which stores each previously translated text, memorizing phrases and words, which can help translators maintain uniformity in their work. Moreover, it will constantly build and enrich an area-specific terminology database, facilitating the localization team’s work even further.
Improves workflow efficiency
Overseeing and tracking all aspects of any project is key to good project management. Localization software provides tools to give you more control over your projects, allowing you to increase productivity and efficiency, ultimately saving time and money and providing better results. It’s perfect for improving collaboration since each team member will have access to the appropriate components of the project.
If you carry out localization without specialized software, keeping track of and analyzing efficiency can be difficult. But technology has made it possible to track key performance indicators, allowing you to understand what does or doesn’t work, and even why. That knowledge will help you optimize the workflow and improve your bottom line.
In a nutshell
Consumers are more likely to choose you over your local or international competitors if you communicate with them in their native language, but this doesn’t mean that simple translation is enough. To successfully conquer new markets, you must make your brand attractive to your target audience – through localization. This is why you should invest in localization software that can help you streamline the process of localizing your products, your website, and your marketing.