Our Analysts' Insights

Buyers of language services often focus too closely on their immediate translation and interpreting needs, missing the wider picture – the underlying knowledge that allows the delivery of written and spoken content in multiple languages. But why should buyers and providers care about this short-sightedness?

When people think of changing their lives, they might put up a map of their country or the world and throw darts at it, trusting that chance – or their favorite deity – will guide them to a better life. Unfortunately, they usually discover that this approach plants their new home firmly in the middle of the ocean or an undeveloped forest rather than a desirable neighborhood or vacation destination. However, when it comes to selecting the next language to add to a website, many enterprises do e...

Based on an examination of more than 5.5 million individual webpages from major brand websites, CSA Research has identified the languages with the greatest depth of localization. Depth follows economic opportunity, with major European and Asian languages leading the listings, but partial localization is the norm, with most brands localizing only a small portion of their content. The results provide guidance for localization groups in formulating their content strategies.

Many readers of this blog are gearing up to work on strategy development and budget forecasting for next year – whether they work in the B2C, B2B, or non-profit sectors. To support you in that endeavor, below we provide three datapoints that will resonate with financial, marketing, and engineering executives as you present your ROI proposal for language investment.

Last year, CSA Research investigated 137 languages with measurable internet activity to identify those with the top online economic potential. We divided languages into four tiers based on the share of the “world online wallet” they commanded. This examination revealed that as internet penetration, populations, and GDP rise, the number of tongues needed to reach a given percentage of the market also increases and the mix changes. Recently, we used economic, population, and technology forecasts...

Winter sports enthusiasts – and the companies that sponsor them – are focused on the Olympics in, South Korea this month. This global sports event may prompt your organization to review jumping into South Korea for the first time. Or it may offer the chance to review your current investment level to prepare for the future. In either case, here are four actions you can take to support the executive decision-making process and, at the same time, gain more visibility for your team at the strategi...

In any given year, web and mobile sites add and drop language support in response to a wide variety of macro-economic and business factors. In a detailed analysis of 2,648 global brand websites, CSA Research found that 26% added one or more languages in 2017. However, not all enterprises increased multilingual support. In fact, one in 10 removed at least one language. About 1% removed more than 10 from their roster.

As companies come to terms with the central role that content plays in the customer journey – from building awareness through purchase and onto customer care – their digital marketing teams and localization groups are tasked with content creation, adaptation, and rollout at the global level.

The Indian e-commerce market continues to grow as the government there encourages its expansion and works to ensure that the country’s local languages are integrated into its Digital India and Make in India programs. Unlike its neighbor to the east – China – the Indian playing field is open to international companies, as the ongoing competition between Amazon and Flipkart and Uber and Ola Cabs demonstrates. Apple, Amazon, and Google have announced billions of dollars in additional investment ...

Does your site support Chinese, German, French, Spanish, or other major languages? What about Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, and Mongolian? Could you be missing out on opportunities for increased sales because you are targeting the wrong languages? Probably, but you aren’t alone.