How to Cross Business Cultural Barriers

Sunny Gault: Hi, welcome to Dog and Pony. I'm Sunny Gault. As the world gets smaller, business is getting more complicated. Our employees and clients are located all over the world, and with this expansion comes a new set of challenges. Siobhan Hanna, representing Localization World, helps international business cross language and cultural barriers. Siobhan we use the term localization. But what exactly does that mean? Siobhan Hanna: Localization is actually the process of adapting your product or service to different languages, to bring it to new markets. If you have a product or service, and you want to reach the European market, or the Asian market, really to make sure that that's relevant and appropriate for that market, you're going to want to reach them in their native language. There can be issues with you know, acceptance and appropriateness if you're not speaking to them in their language, in an appropriate manner. Sunny Gault: What exactly is Localization World? Siobhan Hanna: So Localization World is the leading industry conference. It's an educational forum for thought leaders in the translation and localization industry. It's a great forum to get started in localization, or if you already have some experience, to educate yourself further. Sunny Gault: Who typically attends Localization World? Siobhan Hanna: On the business side, it could be middle managers, it could be CEO level, you could just be getting started in the industry, or already have a significant amount of experience but want to educate yourself further, expose yourself to new contacts, new products, new services. Sunny Gault: And what is your role in Localization World? Siobhan Hanna: Well I work for Lion Bridge. We're actually a gold sponsor of Localization World. We recognized early on that this was a really key opportunity to bring together thought leaders in the industry. Lion Bridge is a leading provider of translation and localization services. Sunny Gault: So how exactly does the process work? Siobhan Hanna: Well first of all, I suppose there's the reason why they are considering localization, and typically that's because they want to access target markets. They want to make sure that their message is accessible, and that they can create familiarity with that target market. From there it's actually working on defining your strategy, what markets do you want to reach, how do you translate your message and your brand to those markets. And then from there, once you start to sketch your localization strategy, it's defining the nuts and bolts. For example, if you have a very, very defined look and feel, you'll want to make sure that when you're bringing it to the Arabic world, you know, you do it right. And there are considerations around quality, timeline if you have a very accelerated release cycle, and so on. And that's when you'll want to engage a localization service provider. Sunny Gault: So I have a company, and I want to localize my company. Why can't I do this on my own? Siobhan Hanna: Well I think there are lots of examples, you know, over the years of organizations that have been very excited about localization, and wanted to reach all of those markets very, very quickly, and didn't necessarily take the time to ask those questions about adapting their content in advance of localization. And perhaps in their rush to launch to those markets, made some mistakes. The biggest risk is potentially alienating or switching off the market you're trying to reach. Sunny Gault: How does localization impact a company's bottom line? Siobhan Hanna: All business is local. So ultimately businesses will have significantly greater success if they're able to access other target markets. It all comes down to revenue, through localization you can access those other markets. And that is going to significantly impact your bottom line. Sunny Gault: So I know you've been in the localization industry for a while now, but what keeps you going? What keeps you motivated and exciting about this industry? Siobhan Hanna: Well it's a really fun industry, it's obviously you know, very international by its very nature. It's very fast moving, I love the mix of technology and working with people. On my side, I love working with different organizations and coming up with customized solutions. So it's just really fascinating. And it's fun to know that you're helping to bring different messages to markets all over the world. Sunny Gault: Siobhan, thanks so much for joining us today. Siobhan Hanna: Thank you for having me. Sunny Gault: Absolutely. And as always, if you have questions, comments, or ideas for guests, please email info@dogandpony.com. I'm Sunny Gault, thanks for watching. Siobhan Hanna: Thank you for having me. Sunny Gault: Absolutely and as always, if you have question, comments, or ideas for this. Please e-mail info at dogandpony.com. I’m Sunny Gault, thanks for watching.