Major Mistakes To Avoid in Localization Project Management

Managing a localization project is challenging, it requires you to have the right tools, equipment, and expertise. If you are a localization service provider, managing multiple projects at a time makes the localization job even harder for you. It is quite challenging to meet the deadlines while maintaining the quality.  Language service providers have to work on different localization projects simultaneously. In localization project management, a project manager has to carefully handle the budget, and other resources keeping in mind the requirements of the clients.

Businesses that are new to localization are more likely to make mistakes. Some mistake can cost you a fortune. These mistakes can badly affect the reputation of your brand in the foreign marketplace, in addition to financial loss.

To avoid such mistakes, you should hire a professional project manager who has fair experience in the field.  An efficient and experienced project manager can do wonders and help complete your projects in time, saving you from all the hassle.

Make sure to read this article till the end to know what are the common mistakes in language localization that you are more likely to make.

In case you are making these mistakes, you should eradicate them on time for a faster and smoother success of your brand in the foreign marketplace.

Here are 5 key mistakes to avoid for smooth and successful localization project management. 

Top 5 Localization Mistakes Made by Global Businesses  

If you are thinking of taking your brand to the global marketplace, it is important for you to have a good understanding of localization to avoid potential mistakes. Read till the end to know the most common mistakes that you’re likely to make in business localization.

Resilience to Change

It is one of the major mistakes made by most global businesses these days. The demand of the international markets is continuously changing.

It is important for global companies to keep optimizing their localization procedures to cope up with the changing business landscape.

The businesses that fear change and avoid transforming their operation are usually left behind.

Traditional file management operations are unable to fulfill the globalization demands of today’s businesses. It is important to shift to automated translation procedures, for this, you can use any reliable TMS, or CAT systems.

Moreover, companies should also optimize their business models and processes to achieve better results. Of course, you have to take some risks and go through trial and error to stay relevant to industrial changes.

Poor Quality Translations

When it comes to localizing your brand, the quality of translation matters the most. There is no use in translating your content if you’ve lost track of the context and your message is not delivered appropriately to the customers.

Make sure your TMS has integrated effective quality assurance tools, so you can maintain a good quality of content. When it comes to translation, you should not just rely on machines.

Better to get some human editors on board to check the quality of content. You can get your content translated by a machine translation system, and professional translators would review the translation to eliminate any contextual and logical mistakes.

Error-prone content has a very bad impact on your brand’s reputation, and it makes it harder for you to engage with targeted audiences.

Not Looking Beyond Translations 

Localization is not just another word for translation, there’s a lot more to it. Most companies translate their content to the local languages of their targeted customers and consider this enough for localization.

It is critical for businesses to see beyond translation when it comes to localizing their brands. Other than translation, you also need to adapt all other elements of your brand to the cultural, legal, and social criteria of a particular region.

You might need to change the layouts, time & date formatting, colors, adjust keywords, payment methods, etc. to make your brand look more relevant to foreign audiences.

In localization, translation is just the first step. You should move beyond it if you want to make your brand successful in the international market.

Ineffective Tools

If you don’t have the right systems and tools in place, you can never achieve desired results in your localization. Most businesses couldn’t make it in the foreign market because of the ineffective localization tools.

You must use advanced TMS, CAT, and TM tools to make your localization process hassle-free, efficient, and fast. It also reduces the workloads on your employees and results in higher productivity.

Old systems and methods, like spreadsheets, can only complicate the localization tasks and it also slows down the whole process.

The language service providers, who have to manage volumes of projects, should keep upgrading their localization management tools to reduce the risk of errors.

Poor Communication 

Undoubtedly, communication is the most important aspect of your localization project. Not having proper means of communication between the localization team can lead to a lack of efficiency, and the performance of the team also suffers.

Moreover, if you are unable to communicate effectively with your client, it would affect your understanding of their business. It can also result in an ineffective localization strategy.

There should be a proper communication channel between the project manager, teams, and clients, so they can easily communicate their concerns with each other.

Lack of communication also leads to conflicts between localization teams, which can affect their work efficiency.

Final Words!

Whenever you make a localization mistake, you’re actually reducing the value of your content and affecting your brand experience. It would be helpful for you if you have partnered with a professional localization service provider.

Otherwise, localization won’t be an easy nut to crack. You would need advanced tools and professional localization experts to optimize your localization management process. 

To make your brand work in the global marketplace, you have to come up with a good localization plan, so you would not make any blunders. To achieve a flawless localization project management experience, make sure you are not making any of the mistakes mentioned in this article.