In today’s highly interconnected world, many businesses are eager to expand their reach across borders and tap into new markets. Nevertheless, as companies of all sizes aim to go global and increase their bottom line, one crucial aspect of the entire process outshines all others—the importance of effective communication with the target audience.
As language barriers can significantly hinder success in foreign markets, translating and localizing content is becoming a critical component of international business strategies. After all, this allows prospective consumers to learn about the company’s products or services in their native language, become their customers, and, ultimately, help the company grow internationally.
This is precisely where enterprise translation management systems (enterprise TMS) come into play, revolutionizing how businesses approach multilingual communication. According to a CSA report, companies that invest in such translation systems are 1.5 times more likely to increase the business’s total revenue and expand faster than their counterparts.
Still, how can you prove that enterprise translation management systems drive international growth? This article will delve into the impact of enterprise TMS on global businesses and how measuring the return on investment (ROI) in this context can drive business growth.
Determining the value of translation
When it comes to assessing the financial impact of utilizing an enterprise translation management system, ROI provides a quantifiable measure. However, what exactly should you monitor?
The evaluation of ROI depends on the specific priorities of your business. Different companies have varying yardsticks for measuring success, often centering on vital key performance indicators (KPIs) like revenue, market share, and acquisition of new clients. Additionally, intangible factors such as higher brand visibility and enhanced customer satisfaction might also be of interest.
To effectively gauge ROI, linking your translation endeavors with your business objectives and the corresponding performance indicators is crucial. In the end, projects aligning with the pre-set strategic goals stand a higher chance of receiving funding, support, and worldwide success.
Monitoring relevant KPIs
When measuring content translation performance, you need to consider several key performance indicators. That being said, it’s advisable to start small and keep your KPIs as simple as possible. For example, when the scope of translation work is manageable, your primary focus might be on optimizing translation efforts for cost-reduction purposes. In this context, you could consider monitoring KPIs like:
- Translation cost per word: Measures the cost of translating each word from the source into the target language
- Quality assurance efficiency: Assesses the effectiveness of quality checks, including proofreading and editing
- Turnaround time: Measures the time for project completion
As your business grows, the potential for a favorable ROI escalates with the surge in translation volume, target languages, update frequency, and adeptness in leveraging predefined automated workflows. By adopting more high-level, strategic measurements that illuminate the impact of translation and localization on your overall business goals, you can make informed decisions that have the power to guide your organization toward greater success:
- Conversion rate
- Market share
- Number of new customers
Generated revenue benefits of measuring the ROI of utilizing an enterprise TMS for global businesses
By measuring the ROI of leveraging an enterprise TMS for global expansion, you can get a better understanding of where your business stands in the process and reap the benefits that come with a successful EMTS implementation:
Capturing a more significant market share
Expanding the customer base is usually the foremost benefit for businesses considering investment in translation. In that context, once your content is ready in the new language, it opens avenues to new potential customers for your business.
Numerous studies suggest that individuals are more willing to purchase when information is available in their native language—no need to point out that this can lead to a discernible uptick in sales.
Translation cost savings
Cost reduction is likely the most apparent benefit of measuring the ROI when implementing a translation and localization solution for your company’s needs. All expenses stemming from subpar translations, manual procedures, and administrative overhead can be substantially diminished by employing proficient translation management tools and the automation features they provide.
In that context, automation in translation tools helps companies save money by streamlining the translation process, reducing manual labor, ensuring terminology consistency, and enabling efficient content management system integration. Additionally, features like computer-assisted translation and machine translation with human review offer cost-effective solutions for different translation projects.
Consistency and quality assurance
Maintaining a consistent brand image and messaging is paramount for global businesses. Enterprise TMS plays a pivotal role in achieving this goal. They facilitate the creation and management of terminology databases and style guides, ensuring that specific terminology and brand guidelines are always the same in every translated piece of content.
Furthermore, these systems incorporate quality assurance checks, flagging potential linguistic or formatting issues before publishing content. This meticulous approach to quality control significantly reduces the likelihood of costly mistakes or misinterpretations that could harm a brand’s reputation in a foreign market.
Final thoughts
Measuring ROI demands dedication, and the processes of establishingand monitoring key performance indicators requires considerable effort. However, the value of translation and localization becomes evident in content that provides greater utility to your customers. This results in increased revenue, faster time-to-market, enhanced brand recognition, and higher customer satisfaction scores.
