Ep. 485 | Localization Lessons for Global Marketing Success

OnBase: Smashing Sales and Marketing Misalignments

Episode Summary This episode provides insights into effective global marketing strategies and cultural considerations for international expansion. Manuela Furtado shares best practices for localizing content and campaigns to resonate with target audiences in different countries and cultures. She emphasizes the importance of understanding local markets through research and tailoring strategies for each region. Manuela also discusses the need to align global and local marketing efforts with sales to ensure consistent branding while making the experience culturally relevant in each new market. Overall, the episode offers guidance to companies on prioritizing localization from the start of their global expansion planning.

About the guest

Manuela Furtado has 25 years of experience in the localization industry, driving innovative processes and technologies. With a strong background in languages and communication, she expertly guides clients through best practices, whether they are new to localization or looking to expand their global reach to maximize impact. As a leader in Sales and Account Management, Manuela excels in building meaningful relationships across the globalization ecosystem. She adeptly matches client goals with the most targeted services, technologies, and expertise, ensuring optimal results.

Connect with Manuela Furtado

Key takeaways
- Understand target audiences' cultural sensitivities and preferences through market research

- Tailor marketing strategies, content, design, and messaging for each local market

- Maintain brand consistency while adapting campaigns to be culturally relevant

- Involve localization experts from the beginning of global expansion planning

- Align global and local marketing efforts with in-country sales teams

- Start with pilot testing and localization of the most important pages/content

- Ongoing testing and adaptation is needed as the localization process is continuous

Quotes
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

-Manuela highlights Nelson Mandela’s quote that emphasizes the importance of truly connecting with target audiences by speaking to them in their language at a deeper, emotional level rather than just translating.

Recommended Resource

Books
-"Take Your Company Global" by Nataly Kelly.

Websites
-BornToBeGlobal.com by Nataly Kelly - Accompanying blog to the book above.

-AlphaCRC - For localization case studies and resources.

-Nimdzi Insights - Consulting agency that publishes content on localization.

-Slator - For content on localization and multilingual insights.

-CSA Research

-Locworld- A conference for localization professionals, networking, and industry innovation.