Our Analysts' Insights

Do you work for a brand that addresses Spanish-speaking prospects and customers formally during some phases of their experience with your company, while informally during others? You're not alone in mixing these styles of address; this is a common challenge for which CSA Research has verified data. But how do you decide which tone to adopt?

Here are four areas for sales, marketing, product management, localization, and customer support teams to analyze as they decide which direction to go.

If you or your colleagues want to dive deeper into this topic, register for the Localization Institute’s second annual “Spotlight on Spanish” virtual conference on November 12 and 13.

• What is the image that you want to project – by brand? With multiple brands, the choice of which tone to use may differ by brand. For instance, youth-oriented products and services may require an informal tone, while ones catering to government, wealthy, or business audiences may perform better with a formal voice. The choices may also differ by geography. These decisions have gained in importance as synthetic voice allows delivery of more video content for less money than in the past.
• What are local staff, customers, and partners telling you? Depending on the vertical, you’re more apt to hear “give us formal” from the EMEA crowd, while those in the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA) push hard to be addressed informally. Seek input and provide a venue for principal stakeholders to present their opinions and – hopefully – hash things out. However, be prepared to tune out “squeaky wheels” that may lead you down a less-than-ideal path.
• Where are your largest sources of revenue – now and in the future? Focus on current and projected ROI along with the future strategic importance of specific markets. For example, it may currently be Spain for your flagship brand, but Mexico and Argentina for a few less strategic ones. However, if most of your customers over the next decade will be younger audiences throughout Latin America, make sure that your language is as inclusive as possible for them.
• What are your competitors doing? What about trends in your industry? How do they express their brands via social media and websites? What about their help- and knowledge-based content? Pay close attention to local and regional competitors and media channels including publications for the vertical in the region.

In summary, formulate your decision for which tone to use in  Spanish based on verified data. Ensure that all stakeholders understand what they need to do. Distribute and maintain terminology and style guides to support translators and LSPs for all content types. Stick to your decision until new trusted data demonstrates the need for reassessment.