The Monetization of Language
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This document discusses the importance of adopting a multilingual communication strategy for businesses. It begins with an executive summary highlighting the critical role of language in global business. It then poses five questions about how language can impact digital marketing, help tap new markets, increase profits, and enhance competitiveness. The document emphasizes that with most of the world's population not speaking English, language is crucial to communicate effectively in an increasingly diverse marketplace. It encourages businesses to understand target audiences and leverage language to connect with customers around the world.
The Monetization of Language
- 1. GLOBAL LANGUAGE BRIEF Global Speak Translations
- 2. Contents Executive Summary Question 1: Question 2: Question 3: Question 4: Question 5: Whyshouldmybusinessconsidercommunicating inlanguagesoutsideofEnglish? Conclusions © 2016 by Global Speak Translations All rights reserved. www.globalspeaktranslations.com 2016 Global Language Brief 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 2 Whatdoeslanguagehavetodowithmydigital marketing&SEOstrategy? Howcanlanguagehelpmycompanytapintonew andemergingmarkets? How can a foreign language strategy increase company profits? How will multilingual communication make my business more competitive?
- 3. 3 Executive Summary Asabusinessexecutive,it'syourjobtoexplorethetoughquestionsthataccompany anyplansforglobalexpansion. Thisincludeshowyouuselanguagetomarketyour company,andhowitcanhelpyouandyourteamconductbusiness. Regardlessofyourroleorrankwithinanorganization,itiscriticalthatyou understandthepowerandpotentialofamultilingualapproachintheglobalbusiness marketplace. Businesses,andbusinessprofessionals,todayneedtoacceptthefactthatwelivein anincreasinglymulticulturalsphereofinfluence. It'snotjustaboutthewaywedo business-it'salsoabouthowwecommunicatewithoneanother. Ifyouwanttokeepyourorganizationanditsservicesrelevantinthisdayandage, youneedtobeabletocommunicateeffectively. Whetheritisinyourhomemarket, oranewventureabroad,thesinglemostimportantcomponentinyourstrategy needstobelanguage. Ifyoufailtorecognizeandacknowledgethatwearesteppingintoanincreasingly diversemulticulturalbusinessmarket,youruntheriskofbecomingirrelevant. Like theadventofsocialmediaandtheensuingtechboom,youcanonlybeassuccessful asyoupositionyourselftobe. Languagemightnotbeuniversal,butitmakesourworldturn. Itispresentinevery facetofyourcurrentbusinessstrategy-you'rejustnottakingadvantageofit. That'swhyyouhavetostartaskingthedifficultquestions. Thiswhitepaperexploresfiveofthesequestions: 1: WhydoesmybusinessneedtocommunicateinlanguagesoutsideofEnglish? 2: Whatdoeslanguagehavetodowithmy digitalmarketing&SEOstrategy? 3: Howcanlanguagehelpmycompanytapintonewandemergingmarkets? 4: Howcanforeignlanguagestrategyincreasecompanyprofits? 5: Howwillmultilingualcommunicationmakemybusinessmorecompetitive? Companiestodayneed technicallanguage solutionsthatkeepthem safe,productiveand profitable. Whenconsideringexpandingintoemergingorforeignmarkets,you naturallygravitatetowardsthesinglemostconsideredquestionin business-"Howmuchwillitcostus?" 2016 Global Language Brief
- 4. 4 Question #1: Why does my business need to communicate in languages outside of English? Today, you need 21 languages in order to communicate with 90% of the world's online audience. Englishisn'tthemostcommonlanguageintheworld. Itdoesn'teven ranksecond. Wanttocommunicatewiththeglobalmasses? Theyare probablyspeakingMandarinorSpanish. Background Mandarin #1 #2 Spanish 2016 Global Language Brief ItisestimatedthatEnglishspeakersrepresent360millionpeopleacrosstheglobe. Inrecentyears,EnglishhasfallenbehindMandarinandSpanishasthemostcommon tonguesintheworld. Consideringthattheglobalpopulationisestimatedtobe7.1billion,communicating strictlyinEnglishisalienatingyourbrandfromthevastmajorityofpotentialglobal consumersandclientele. Nottomentionthefactthat,accordingtotheUnitedStatesCensusBureau,atleast 350languagesarespokeninhomesacrosstheUnitedStates.¹ Wearenotjustliving inanincreasinglyculturallydiverseglobalmarket-weareseeinganumberofthese multiculturalshiftsrighthereathome,acrossallmajormetromarkets. Forexample,didyouknowthatanestimated44millionpeoplespeakSpanishherein theUnitedStates? Languageisthemostfundamentalaspectofcommunication. Thefailuretoproperly leveragethelanguagehabitsofyouraudience,whetherathomeorabroad,isarisk thatyourbusinesscan'tafford. Consideryouraudience. IfyouarebasedintheUnitedStates,languageisstilla relevantconcernforyouroverallbusinessandmarketingstrategies. Forexample,in Houston,TXalone,nearly40%ofresidentsfiveyearsorolderspeakalanguageother thanEnglishathome. 1. Benjamin B. Sargent, “ROI Lifts the Long Tail of Languages in 2012”, Common Sense Advisory, Inc., 1 December 2015, pages 1-7. 2. Retrieved 1 December 2015 from www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-185.html. ¹
- 5. 5 Question #2: What does language have to do with my digital marketing & SEO strategy? DidyouknowthatGoogledeliversmorethanhalfofitssearchresultstocountries outsideoftheUnitedStates?¹ AlthoughthetechgiantwasfoundedinCalifornia,Google'ssearchinterfaceis availableinmorethan130languages. Furthermore,Internetusersacrosstheglobe canandwilltailortheirsearchqueriestoreflectoptionsavailableintheirnative tongue. IntheEuropeanUnionalone,nearly90percentofInternetuserssaidthat webcontentproducedintheircountryshouldbeintheirnativetongue.² Thatistherealityofthemodernbusinesstoday-itisnaturalthatcustomersrespond mostfavorablytocontentthatispresentedintheirnativelanguage,especiallywith theriseofdigitaltrendsandtechnology. Weliveinaworldtodaywherethevastmajorityofpeoplehaveaccesstoorregularly utilizeaninternetconnection. Ifyouwanttoberelevanttotheglobalmasses,you havetoadaptamultilingualapproachtoyourbrandingandmarketingefforts. Remember,restrictingyourselftoEnglishonlyreducesyourpotentialforSearch EngineOptimization(SEO),ultimatelyhinderingyourbrand'sdigitalfootprint. Thisincludessocialmediaplatforms,suchasFacebook,Twitter,LinkedInand YouTube,allofwhichshouldbekeyfacetsofyouroverallbrandstrategy. WhenitcomestoSEO,itisanumbersgame. Themorecontentorwebpagesyou generateinagivenlanguage,themoreyouarelikelytoturnupinonlinequeries. Learningtotalkthetalkcanbeagame-changerforyourdigitalstrategy. Websitesofferingmore thanonelanguage boostssearchabilityand performanceacross searchandsocial platforms. Does adapting a proactive language strategy boost your online presence? How can honing your multicultural digital footprint make you more accessible to the global masses? Background 2016 Global Language Brief 88% IntheEU,88%ofInternetusersindicated thattheythoughtwebsitesproducedin theircountryshouldbeintheirnative language. 1. Retrieved 1 December 2015 from www.google.com/about/company/philosophy/. 2. European Commission, “User Language Preferences Online”, Eurobarometer, The Gallup Organization, May 2011, page 6.
- 6. 6 Question #3: How can language help my company tap into new and emerging markets? Whenitcomestonewandemergingmarkets,fewarelocatedwithintheUnited States. Infact,LatinAmericaandAsiahavebeenidentifiedaskeygrowthmarkets forglobalbusinessandcommerce,withanumberofcountriesexpectedtocompete intheglobalbusinessarenainthecomingyears. Mexico,whichrankssecondamongLatinAmerica'seconomies(secondonlyto Brazil),haslongbeentoutedasoneofthosemarkets. A recentreportfrom GoldmanSachsindicatedthatMexicoisexpectedtogrowtobetheworld'sfifth largesteconomyby2050,surpassingcountrieslikethoseintheUnitedKingdom.¹ AsimilarreportbyPriceWaterhouseCoopershasforecastedMexicoasthesixth largesteconomyintheworldby2050. Generallyspeaking, regionsidentifiedas emergingmarketsare areaswhereEnglish fluencyisatitsweakest. Thecountriesthatareexperiencingthemostrapideconomicgrowth are,bylarge,notEnglishspeaking. Infact,someofthemost interestingemergingmarketsaresituatedacrossAsiaandLatin America. Background 2016 Global Language Brief Additionally,whenyoufactorinthefactthatPeru,MexicoandColumbiaareall listedasthe20fastest-growingeconomiesacrosstheglobe,LatinAmericaisa primebusinessdestinationforglobalbusiness. Ontheothersideoftheglobe,Chinaistappedtodominateallglobaleconomiesby 2050,withaGDPestimatedtobenearlydoublethatoftheUnitedStates. China currentlyrankssecondamongworldeconomies,takingoverfromJapanseveral yearsago. Themainhurdleindoingbusinessinanyoftheseregionalmarketsislanguage. InChina,Englishlanguageproficiencyhastakenabackseat. Thecountryhasfallen farbehinditsregionalpeers,andcurrentlyranksbehindthelikesofSingapore, SouthKorea,IndonesiaandPakistan,amongmanyothers. 1.JimO’Neill,DominicWilson,RoopaPurushothaman&AnnaStupnytska,“GlobalEconomicsPaperNo:134”,GoldmanSachs,1December2005, pages1-24.
- 7. 7 Question #4: How can a foreign language strategy increase company profits? Whencompaniesneedtomakedecisions,whetheryouareevaluatingspending prioritiesordevelopingaplanforglobalexpansion,theyoftenleanontheirROIfor insight. Inthemodernbusinessmarket,there'sgoodnewsandbadnewswhenitcomesto ROIandgloballanguage. Thebadnewsisthatyouneedmorelanguagesthaneverbeforetoreachmostofthe world'spopulation.² Thegoodnewsisthatspendingonlanguageservices,suchastranslationor interpretation,escalatesprofitsacrosstheboard,becausemoreandmorepeoplein themodernworldaredevelopingintoinformationconsumers.⁴ ArecentCommonSenseAdvisoryreporthasshownthat,overthecourseofthelast fewyears,addressableeconomicpotentialforonlinecommunicationhasballooned from$36.5trilliontoupwardsof$44.6trillion. Adecliningportion-roughlyathird- ofthattotalaccountsforEnglishasthenativetongue.³ It'squitesimple-themoreprominentalanguage'sonlinepresencebecomes,the moreeconomicspendingpoweritaccumulates. Inaworldwhereconsumersand customersareconstantlyinteractingwithgoodsandservicesonline,companiesneed tocompensatewiththeabilitytoaccessandcultivatebroadercirclesofinfluence, whichismosteasilyattainablethroughlanguage. Languageimprovesprofitandinfluencebecauseitmakesyoupartofthe conversation. Itisthestrongfoundationonwhichyoubuildyouroverarchingbrand strategy. Byadaptingaproactiveandlocalizedlanguagestrategy,businessesare abletocreatecontentthatimpactsprospectivebuyers. Astheworldevolvesintoacultureofinformationconsumption,organizationsneedto addressunprecedentedeconomicopportunitiesthroughinfluence. Did you know that companies that invest in translation spending are 1.5 times more likely than their Fortune 500 peers to see a jump in total revenue? Inthebusinessworld,cashisking. Businesseswanttooptimizetheir servicesandmaximizeprofits,andthatincludesprofitingontheinitial investment. OneofthebestwaystodriveROIisthroughstrategic localizationefforts,aidedprimarilybylanguage. Background 2016 Global Language Brief 1.BenjaminB.Sargent,“ROILiftstheLongTailofLanguagesin2012”,CommonSenseAdvisory,Inc.,1December2015,pages1-7. 2.Ibid. 3.Ibid. 4.RebeccaRayandNatalyKelly,"TranslationatFortune500Companies",CommonSenseAdvisory,Inc.,27March2012,pages1-19. ¹
- 8. 8 Question #5: How will multilingual communication make my business more competitive? Let'sfaceit,thebusinessworldasweknowitischanging. Increasinglydiversecommunitiesandtheadventofsocialmediahavepresenteda numberofchallengesforcompanies,bothathomeandabroad. Consumershavethe WorldWideWebattheirfingertips,anditisyourjobtostandoutinanincreasingly saturatedmarketplace. Yourcompanyneedstobeabletocommunicatewiththemasses,whetheryouare targetinginternationalmarketsorattemptingtoconnectwithnon-Englishspeaking audiencesathome. IntheUnitedStatesalone,64percentofadultsownasmartphone. What'smost interestingisconsumerbehaviorwithsmartphonedevices-nearly35percentof usersrelyontheirmobilephoneforthemajorityoftheirwebbrowsing.¹ Thisisahugedevelopmentforcompaniesbecause,forthefirsttimeever, organizationscaninteractdirectlywiththeiraudience,wherevertheymaybeinthe world. Youdon'thavetobeonthegroundorinthecountrytoberelevantinthat market-youcanconnectwithahugeportionoftheglobalpopulationremotely, throughlanguage. Forexample,didyouknowthatSpanishistheofficiallanguageof21countries acrossLatinAmerica,Europe,AfricaandtheCaribbean? Thattotalsmorethan400 millionspeakersacrosstheglobe. That'smorethantheglobalEnglish-speaking populationbyawhopping40million. Andwhileyoudon'thavetoleavetheUnitedStatestoreachalargeSpanish- speakingaudience,theabilitytocommunicatewithnearlyhalfabillionpeoplewould poseasignificantcompetitiveadvantage. Atit'score,businessisaboutopportunity. Theorganizationthateffectively leveragesglobalopportunitycanandwillemergevictoriousintheincreasingly competitivebusinessarena. Afterall, intheSpanish-speakingworldalone,yourorganizationhasapproximately 400millionopportunities. Offering branded, translated and localized content in dedicated markets will put your organization light years ahead of competitors. Theriseofthedigitalageisrevolutionizingthewaywedobusiness. Evenbrick-and-mortarbusinessesarelearningthepowerofmobile technology. Inasocietydrivenbyinstantgratification,isyour organizationmakingthegrade? Background 2016 Global Language Brief 64% ArecentPewInternetProjectreporthasrevealed,as ofOctober2014,64%ofAmericanadultsowna smartphone. Thereportalsodetailedbrowsing behaviors,revealingthat34%ofAmericansMOSTLY usetheirsmartphonewhilebrowsingonline. 1. Retrieved 1 December 2015 from www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/.
- 9. 9 Finding the resources you need It is impossible to adequately assess your company's international expansion strategy without first developing an in-depth understanding of your target market. After all, you can't know your audience until you understand the way they live, communicate and make decisions regarding goods or services. It is a good idea to assign an individual or team to explore your target market, so that you may adequately gauge the effectiveness of your business or marketing plan. From the legal sector to local competitors, your company needs to keep its finger on the pulse. It'senoughtomakeyou wonder-whatkindsof businessopportunities areyoumissingouton? Thiswhitepaperhasposedanumberoftough,relevantquestionsfor thosenavigatingthemodernbusinessmarketplace. Hereareafewsuggestionstohelpyoufindtheanswersyouneed. Tip #1: Understanding Your Marketplace 2016 Global Language Brief Tip #2: Important In-House Research Tip #3: There's No Place Like Home Thereareseveralfactorsassociatedwithanysortofinternationalmarketexpansion, -factorsthatgoaboveandbeyondlanguageandtheabilitytocommunicate. In additiontobeingabletocommunicate,yourcompanyalsoneedstoconsider: Existing or developing infrastructure Legal guidelines, including labor and other business laws Purchasing habits in dedicated cultural market How familiar your target market is with your product or service Remember,languagewillplayacriticalroleineverythingyoudoalongthepathto internationalorglobalexpansion. Youwillneedtodevelopbusinessrelationships onallofthesefrontstoguaranteeaseamlesstransitionfromoneculturalnormto another. Likeyou,yourcompanyandbrandneedtofeelathome,regardlessofwhereyouare intheworld. Sinceyouandyourteamwilllikelybetravelingtoorlivinginthisnew market,developingaworkingknowledgeofthelanguageandthecultureare necessary. Askyourself-"Isthistheplaceforus?" Ifatfirstyoudonotseetheanswersyouwantorneedinadedicatedmarket,donot losefaith. Theworldisavastandever-evolvingplace. Withtherightlocalized strategy,youandyourorganizationwillconquerthenextgreatfrontier.
- 10. 10 Conclusions Thiswhitepaperhasdemonstratedseveralareaswherebusinessexecutivesand decisionmakersneedamorein-depthandthoroughanalysisofglobalbusiness. Thisanalysisfocusesonthesinglemostimportantbuildingblockinbusiness- language. Andthisneedstobeunderstoodonalllevelswithinyourorganization. Youneedtoacceptthefactthatweliveanddobusinessinanincreasingly multiculturalworld. Steppingoutsideofyourculturalcomfortzoneisnolongeran option-itisanecessity,oryouruntheriskofbecomingvirtuallyirrelevant. AslegendaryAmericanBasketballCoachJohnWoodenoncesaid,"Failingto prepareislikepreparingtofail." Youandyourorganizationdohaveaplaceinthe globalbusinessarena,butyoumustinvestthetimeandenergyincultivatinga localizedlanguagestrategy. Ifyoudon't,considerthis-howdifferentisthebusinessworldtodaythanitwaslast year,ortenyearsprior? Asbusinesspeople,weareconstantlyevolving. Ourmethod ofthinkingandthewaywecommunicatemustcontinuetodosoaswell. About Global Speak Translations Wepublishedthiswhitepapertoassistcompaniesofallsizesinunderstandingthe roleandadvantageofmultilingualcommunicationintheglobalbusinesssector. Itisourexperiencethatadaptingastrong,localizedlanguagestrategyallows companiestoexperienceacceleratedgrowthanddevelopmentacrosshomeand emergingmarkets,allwhilecontinuingtohoneandbettertheircurrentbusiness goalsandstrategies. Tolearnmoreaboutthebenefitsofadaptingaglobalbusinessfootprint,ortodiscuss howlanguagecanhelpyourcompanygrowandprosperintothefuture,feelfreeto contactusat844.55.SPEAK,oremailinfo@globalspeaktranslations.com. Weliveinamulticultural world,andcompanies needlanguagestrategies tobridgethegrowing communicationgaps, bothat-homeand abroad. Global Speak Translations P.O. Box 271225 Houston, TX 77277 info@globalspeaktranslations.com www.globalspeaktranslations.com 2016 Global Language Brief