How To Prepare for Your Localization Project Management?

Brand localization project management is challenging, and you must figure things out from the beginning. Before starting working on your localization project execution, you must have done the proper planning and preparation.

From researching ideal brand markets to assembling the localization team, you must have everything sorted before actual project execution is started. Preparing for your localization project also allows you to build a robust localization plan that will support your brand expansion needs. Moreover, advanced preparations also prevent you from missing out on some important steps. This article provides you with a checklist of all things that you must do in advance before working on your actual localization project execution.

Preparing For Localization Project Execution

There are a few things that you must get some clarity on before starting your localization operations. Here are a few things you must have figured out before getting started with brand localization.

Research For Target Markets

You can’t aimlessly start working on a localization project unless you don’t have your vision clear about your current and future target markets. To identify the potential in different markets for your brand, you have to conduct in-detailed research. Targeting the wrong markets would only waste your time, effort, and resources. So choosing the right markets is an important decision to make. You can conduct an online survey among potential audiences and ask them questions about your brand. Make sure also to get customer demographic information in your questionnaire. Add a feedback section to get valuable suggestions from your potential customers about your products. Finally, doing some research would help you identify the need for your product in specific markets.

Define Your Localization Goals 

What do you want to achieve from your localization plan? We all know that the generic aim of a localization project is to attract local customers attracted to your brand. However, you must have defined measurable localization goals. So you can effectively track the progress of your localization project through these goals. Your localization goals also make it much easier for you to make a robust localization strategy backed by market research and well-defined localization goals. At this step, you will get some idea about what resources or tools you may need to fulfill the requirements of your localization project. As a result, you can better make a decision whether you want to hire an LSP or invest in a localization management platform.

Partner With a Premium Language Services Provider

By now, you have clarified your brand localization goals. You will also know what sort of challenges you may face down the line to achieve those goals. Here’s the time to partner with a premium language service provider who would help you achieve your localization goals. A professional LSP is specialized in managing your translation and localization tasks. Before hiring any LSP, you have to get sufficient information about their credibility in the market and background. Ask your LSP about their experience, the type of clients they have worked with, their domain of expertise, and the LSPs platform that they use to manage their localization operations. Once you are convinced that the LSP can handle your localization project and has the right tools and resources to fulfill your needs, you can get them on board to work with you.

Get Localization Tool Suggestions from Forums / Social Media

In case you want to do your entire localization project or only some processes of the localization project in-house, you may need to buy a professional localization management platform for the purpose. There are many localization tools available online, and sometimes it takes effort to choose the best tools among all options. When selecting your perfect localization tool, you must have some basic technical understanding of localization platform features. So you can compare all the options available online. Moreover, you can also get some valuable suggestions from professionals in your networking by asking on social media platforms. You can also ask for a recommendation in public forums, so people would share their personal experiences with you. It would give you some first-hand information about localization tools so that you can find the right localization platform. You may also end up partnering with the right premium language services provider.

Assemble An Internal/ External Team

Last but certainly not least, you have to build your team of localization professionals who will be working on your localization projects. Hiring in-house and remote employees for your localization tasks could take a while. You must complete the hiring process in time. Make sure your localization team has relevant experience and is familiar with the intricacies of localization processes. Ask all potential candidates if they have any experience working in your niche and if they are familiar with the technological tools that you are using. You must carefully assess the credibility of your localization team during the hiring process. This way, you don’t have any problem working with them in the future.