This document discusses the importance of adopting a multilingual communication strategy for businesses. It begins with an executive summary highlighting the critical role of language in global business. It then poses five questions about how language can impact digital marketing, help tap new markets, increase profits, and enhance competitiveness. The document emphasizes that with most of the world's population not speaking English, language is crucial to communicate effectively in an increasingly diverse marketplace. It encourages businesses to understand target audiences and leverage language to connect with customers around the world.

1. GLOBAL
LANGUAGE BRIEF
Global Speak Translations

2. Contents
Executive Summary
Question 1:
Question 2:
Question 3:
Question 4:
Question 5:
Whyshouldmybusinessconsidercommunicating
inlanguagesoutsideofEnglish?
Conclusions
© 2016 by Global Speak Translations
All rights reserved.
www.globalspeaktranslations.com
2016 Global Language Brief
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Whatdoeslanguagehavetodowithmydigital
marketing&SEOstrategy?
Howcanlanguagehelpmycompanytapintonew
andemergingmarkets?
How can a foreign language strategy increase
company profits?
How will multilingual communication make my
business more competitive?

3. 3
Executive Summary
Asabusinessexecutive,it'syourjobtoexplorethetoughquestionsthataccompany
anyplansforglobalexpansion. Thisincludeshowyouuselanguagetomarketyour
company,andhowitcanhelpyouandyourteamconductbusiness.
Regardlessofyourroleorrankwithinanorganization,itiscriticalthatyou
understandthepowerandpotentialofamultilingualapproachintheglobalbusiness
marketplace.
Businesses,andbusinessprofessionals,todayneedtoacceptthefactthatwelivein
anincreasinglymulticulturalsphereofinfluence. It'snotjustaboutthewaywedo
business-it'salsoabouthowwecommunicatewithoneanother.
Ifyouwanttokeepyourorganizationanditsservicesrelevantinthisdayandage,
youneedtobeabletocommunicateeffectively. Whetheritisinyourhomemarket,
oranewventureabroad,thesinglemostimportantcomponentinyourstrategy
needstobelanguage.
Ifyoufailtorecognizeandacknowledgethatwearesteppingintoanincreasingly
diversemulticulturalbusinessmarket,youruntheriskofbecomingirrelevant. Like
theadventofsocialmediaandtheensuingtechboom,youcanonlybeassuccessful
asyoupositionyourselftobe.
Languagemightnotbeuniversal,butitmakesourworldturn. Itispresentinevery
facetofyourcurrentbusinessstrategy-you'rejustnottakingadvantageofit.
That'swhyyouhavetostartaskingthedifficultquestions.
Thiswhitepaperexploresfiveofthesequestions:
1: WhydoesmybusinessneedtocommunicateinlanguagesoutsideofEnglish?
2: Whatdoeslanguagehavetodowithmy digitalmarketing&SEOstrategy?
3: Howcanlanguagehelpmycompanytapintonewandemergingmarkets?
4: Howcanforeignlanguagestrategyincreasecompanyprofits?
5: Howwillmultilingualcommunicationmakemybusinessmorecompetitive?
Companiestodayneed
technicallanguage
solutionsthatkeepthem
safe,productiveand
profitable.
Whenconsideringexpandingintoemergingorforeignmarkets,you
naturallygravitatetowardsthesinglemostconsideredquestionin
business-"Howmuchwillitcostus?"
2016 Global Language Brief

4. 4
Question #1:
Why does my business need to communicate
in languages outside of English?
Today, you need 21
languages in order to
communicate with 90%
of the world's online
audience.
Englishisn'tthemostcommonlanguageintheworld. Itdoesn'teven
ranksecond. Wanttocommunicatewiththeglobalmasses? Theyare
probablyspeakingMandarinorSpanish.
Background
Mandarin
#1
#2
Spanish
2016 Global Language Brief
ItisestimatedthatEnglishspeakersrepresent360millionpeopleacrosstheglobe.
Inrecentyears,EnglishhasfallenbehindMandarinandSpanishasthemostcommon
tonguesintheworld.
Consideringthattheglobalpopulationisestimatedtobe7.1billion,communicating
strictlyinEnglishisalienatingyourbrandfromthevastmajorityofpotentialglobal
consumersandclientele.
Nottomentionthefactthat,accordingtotheUnitedStatesCensusBureau,atleast
350languagesarespokeninhomesacrosstheUnitedStates.¹ Wearenotjustliving
inanincreasinglyculturallydiverseglobalmarket-weareseeinganumberofthese
multiculturalshiftsrighthereathome,acrossallmajormetromarkets.
Forexample,didyouknowthatanestimated44millionpeoplespeakSpanishherein
theUnitedStates?
Languageisthemostfundamentalaspectofcommunication. Thefailuretoproperly
leveragethelanguagehabitsofyouraudience,whetherathomeorabroad,isarisk
thatyourbusinesscan'tafford.
Consideryouraudience. IfyouarebasedintheUnitedStates,languageisstilla
relevantconcernforyouroverallbusinessandmarketingstrategies. Forexample,in
Houston,TXalone,nearly40%ofresidentsfiveyearsorolderspeakalanguageother
thanEnglishathome.
1. Benjamin B. Sargent, “ROI Lifts the Long Tail of Languages in 2012”, Common Sense Advisory, Inc., 1 December 2015, pages 1-7.
2. Retrieved 1 December 2015 from www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-185.html.
¹

5. 5
Question #2:
What does language have to do with my digital
marketing & SEO strategy?
DidyouknowthatGoogledeliversmorethanhalfofitssearchresultstocountries
outsideoftheUnitedStates?¹
AlthoughthetechgiantwasfoundedinCalifornia,Google'ssearchinterfaceis
availableinmorethan130languages. Furthermore,Internetusersacrosstheglobe
canandwilltailortheirsearchqueriestoreflectoptionsavailableintheirnative
tongue. IntheEuropeanUnionalone,nearly90percentofInternetuserssaidthat
webcontentproducedintheircountryshouldbeintheirnativetongue.²
Thatistherealityofthemodernbusinesstoday-itisnaturalthatcustomersrespond
mostfavorablytocontentthatispresentedintheirnativelanguage,especiallywith
theriseofdigitaltrendsandtechnology.
Weliveinaworldtodaywherethevastmajorityofpeoplehaveaccesstoorregularly
utilizeaninternetconnection. Ifyouwanttoberelevanttotheglobalmasses,you
havetoadaptamultilingualapproachtoyourbrandingandmarketingefforts.
Remember,restrictingyourselftoEnglishonlyreducesyourpotentialforSearch
EngineOptimization(SEO),ultimatelyhinderingyourbrand'sdigitalfootprint.
Thisincludessocialmediaplatforms,suchasFacebook,Twitter,LinkedInand
YouTube,allofwhichshouldbekeyfacetsofyouroverallbrandstrategy.
WhenitcomestoSEO,itisanumbersgame. Themorecontentorwebpagesyou
generateinagivenlanguage,themoreyouarelikelytoturnupinonlinequeries.
Learningtotalkthetalkcanbeagame-changerforyourdigitalstrategy.
Websitesofferingmore
thanonelanguage
boostssearchabilityand
performanceacross
searchandsocial
platforms.
Does adapting a proactive language strategy boost your online
presence? How can honing your multicultural digital footprint make
you more accessible to the global masses?
Background
2016 Global Language Brief
88%
IntheEU,88%ofInternetusersindicated
thattheythoughtwebsitesproducedin
theircountryshouldbeintheirnative
language.
1. Retrieved 1 December 2015 from www.google.com/about/company/philosophy/.
2. European Commission, “User Language Preferences Online”, Eurobarometer, The Gallup Organization, May 2011, page 6.

6. 6
Question #3:
How can language help my company tap into new and
emerging markets?
Whenitcomestonewandemergingmarkets,fewarelocatedwithintheUnited
States. Infact,LatinAmericaandAsiahavebeenidentifiedaskeygrowthmarkets
forglobalbusinessandcommerce,withanumberofcountriesexpectedtocompete
intheglobalbusinessarenainthecomingyears.
Mexico,whichrankssecondamongLatinAmerica'seconomies(secondonlyto
Brazil),haslongbeentoutedasoneofthosemarkets. A recentreportfrom
GoldmanSachsindicatedthatMexicoisexpectedtogrowtobetheworld'sfifth
largesteconomyby2050,surpassingcountrieslikethoseintheUnitedKingdom.¹
AsimilarreportbyPriceWaterhouseCoopershasforecastedMexicoasthesixth
largesteconomyintheworldby2050.
Generallyspeaking,
regionsidentifiedas
emergingmarketsare
areaswhereEnglish
fluencyisatitsweakest.
Thecountriesthatareexperiencingthemostrapideconomicgrowth
are,bylarge,notEnglishspeaking. Infact,someofthemost
interestingemergingmarketsaresituatedacrossAsiaandLatin
America.
Background
2016 Global Language Brief
Additionally,whenyoufactorinthefactthatPeru,MexicoandColumbiaareall
listedasthe20fastest-growingeconomiesacrosstheglobe,LatinAmericaisa
primebusinessdestinationforglobalbusiness.
Ontheothersideoftheglobe,Chinaistappedtodominateallglobaleconomiesby
2050,withaGDPestimatedtobenearlydoublethatoftheUnitedStates. China
currentlyrankssecondamongworldeconomies,takingoverfromJapanseveral
yearsago.
Themainhurdleindoingbusinessinanyoftheseregionalmarketsislanguage.
InChina,Englishlanguageproficiencyhastakenabackseat. Thecountryhasfallen
farbehinditsregionalpeers,andcurrentlyranksbehindthelikesofSingapore,
SouthKorea,IndonesiaandPakistan,amongmanyothers.
1.JimO’Neill,DominicWilson,RoopaPurushothaman&AnnaStupnytska,“GlobalEconomicsPaperNo:134”,GoldmanSachs,1December2005,
pages1-24.

7. 7
Question #4:
How can a foreign language strategy increase
company profits?
Whencompaniesneedtomakedecisions,whetheryouareevaluatingspending
prioritiesordevelopingaplanforglobalexpansion,theyoftenleanontheirROIfor
insight.
Inthemodernbusinessmarket,there'sgoodnewsandbadnewswhenitcomesto
ROIandgloballanguage.
Thebadnewsisthatyouneedmorelanguagesthaneverbeforetoreachmostofthe
world'spopulation.²
Thegoodnewsisthatspendingonlanguageservices,suchastranslationor
interpretation,escalatesprofitsacrosstheboard,becausemoreandmorepeoplein
themodernworldaredevelopingintoinformationconsumers.⁴
ArecentCommonSenseAdvisoryreporthasshownthat,overthecourseofthelast
fewyears,addressableeconomicpotentialforonlinecommunicationhasballooned
from$36.5trilliontoupwardsof$44.6trillion. Adecliningportion-roughlyathird-
ofthattotalaccountsforEnglishasthenativetongue.³
It'squitesimple-themoreprominentalanguage'sonlinepresencebecomes,the
moreeconomicspendingpoweritaccumulates. Inaworldwhereconsumersand
customersareconstantlyinteractingwithgoodsandservicesonline,companiesneed
tocompensatewiththeabilitytoaccessandcultivatebroadercirclesofinfluence,
whichismosteasilyattainablethroughlanguage.
Languageimprovesprofitandinfluencebecauseitmakesyoupartofthe
conversation. Itisthestrongfoundationonwhichyoubuildyouroverarchingbrand
strategy. Byadaptingaproactiveandlocalizedlanguagestrategy,businessesare
abletocreatecontentthatimpactsprospectivebuyers.
Astheworldevolvesintoacultureofinformationconsumption,organizationsneedto
addressunprecedentedeconomicopportunitiesthroughinfluence.
Did you know that companies
that invest in translation
spending are 1.5 times more
likely than their Fortune 500
peers to see a jump in total
revenue?
Inthebusinessworld,cashisking. Businesseswanttooptimizetheir
servicesandmaximizeprofits,andthatincludesprofitingontheinitial
investment. OneofthebestwaystodriveROIisthroughstrategic
localizationefforts,aidedprimarilybylanguage.
Background
2016 Global Language Brief
1.BenjaminB.Sargent,“ROILiftstheLongTailofLanguagesin2012”,CommonSenseAdvisory,Inc.,1December2015,pages1-7.
2.Ibid.
3.Ibid.
4.RebeccaRayandNatalyKelly,"TranslationatFortune500Companies",CommonSenseAdvisory,Inc.,27March2012,pages1-19.
¹

8. 8
Question #5:
How will multilingual communication make my
business more competitive?
Let'sfaceit,thebusinessworldasweknowitischanging.
Increasinglydiversecommunitiesandtheadventofsocialmediahavepresenteda
numberofchallengesforcompanies,bothathomeandabroad. Consumershavethe
WorldWideWebattheirfingertips,anditisyourjobtostandoutinanincreasingly
saturatedmarketplace.
Yourcompanyneedstobeabletocommunicatewiththemasses,whetheryouare
targetinginternationalmarketsorattemptingtoconnectwithnon-Englishspeaking
audiencesathome.
IntheUnitedStatesalone,64percentofadultsownasmartphone. What'smost
interestingisconsumerbehaviorwithsmartphonedevices-nearly35percentof
usersrelyontheirmobilephoneforthemajorityoftheirwebbrowsing.¹
Thisisahugedevelopmentforcompaniesbecause,forthefirsttimeever,
organizationscaninteractdirectlywiththeiraudience,wherevertheymaybeinthe
world. Youdon'thavetobeonthegroundorinthecountrytoberelevantinthat
market-youcanconnectwithahugeportionoftheglobalpopulationremotely,
throughlanguage.
Forexample,didyouknowthatSpanishistheofficiallanguageof21countries
acrossLatinAmerica,Europe,AfricaandtheCaribbean? Thattotalsmorethan400
millionspeakersacrosstheglobe. That'smorethantheglobalEnglish-speaking
populationbyawhopping40million.
Andwhileyoudon'thavetoleavetheUnitedStatestoreachalargeSpanish-
speakingaudience,theabilitytocommunicatewithnearlyhalfabillionpeoplewould
poseasignificantcompetitiveadvantage.
Atit'score,businessisaboutopportunity. Theorganizationthateffectively
leveragesglobalopportunitycanandwillemergevictoriousintheincreasingly
competitivebusinessarena.
Afterall, intheSpanish-speakingworldalone,yourorganizationhasapproximately
400millionopportunities.
Offering branded,
translated and localized
content in dedicated
markets will put your
organization light years
ahead of competitors.
Theriseofthedigitalageisrevolutionizingthewaywedobusiness.
Evenbrick-and-mortarbusinessesarelearningthepowerofmobile
technology. Inasocietydrivenbyinstantgratification,isyour
organizationmakingthegrade?
Background
2016 Global Language Brief
64%
ArecentPewInternetProjectreporthasrevealed,as
ofOctober2014,64%ofAmericanadultsowna
smartphone. Thereportalsodetailedbrowsing
behaviors,revealingthat34%ofAmericansMOSTLY
usetheirsmartphonewhilebrowsingonline.
1. Retrieved 1 December 2015 from www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/.

9. 9
Finding the resources you need
It is impossible to adequately assess your company's international expansion
strategy without first developing an in-depth understanding of your target market.
After all, you can't know your audience until you understand the way they live,
communicate and make decisions regarding goods or services.
It is a good idea to assign an individual or team to explore your target market, so
that you may adequately gauge the effectiveness of your business or marketing
plan. From the legal sector to local competitors, your company needs to keep its
finger on the pulse.
It'senoughtomakeyou
wonder-whatkindsof
businessopportunities
areyoumissingouton?
Thiswhitepaperhasposedanumberoftough,relevantquestionsfor
thosenavigatingthemodernbusinessmarketplace.
Hereareafewsuggestionstohelpyoufindtheanswersyouneed.
Tip #1: Understanding Your Marketplace
2016 Global Language Brief
Tip #2: Important In-House Research
Tip #3: There's No Place Like Home
Thereareseveralfactorsassociatedwithanysortofinternationalmarketexpansion,
-factorsthatgoaboveandbeyondlanguageandtheabilitytocommunicate. In
additiontobeingabletocommunicate,yourcompanyalsoneedstoconsider:
Existing or developing infrastructure
Legal guidelines, including labor and other business laws
Purchasing habits in dedicated cultural market
How familiar your target market is with your product or service
Remember,languagewillplayacriticalroleineverythingyoudoalongthepathto
internationalorglobalexpansion. Youwillneedtodevelopbusinessrelationships
onallofthesefrontstoguaranteeaseamlesstransitionfromoneculturalnormto
another.
Likeyou,yourcompanyandbrandneedtofeelathome,regardlessofwhereyouare
intheworld. Sinceyouandyourteamwilllikelybetravelingtoorlivinginthisnew
market,developingaworkingknowledgeofthelanguageandthecultureare
necessary. Askyourself-"Isthistheplaceforus?"
Ifatfirstyoudonotseetheanswersyouwantorneedinadedicatedmarket,donot
losefaith. Theworldisavastandever-evolvingplace. Withtherightlocalized
strategy,youandyourorganizationwillconquerthenextgreatfrontier.

10. 10
Conclusions
Thiswhitepaperhasdemonstratedseveralareaswherebusinessexecutivesand
decisionmakersneedamorein-depthandthoroughanalysisofglobalbusiness.
Thisanalysisfocusesonthesinglemostimportantbuildingblockinbusiness-
language. Andthisneedstobeunderstoodonalllevelswithinyourorganization.
Youneedtoacceptthefactthatweliveanddobusinessinanincreasingly
multiculturalworld. Steppingoutsideofyourculturalcomfortzoneisnolongeran
option-itisanecessity,oryouruntheriskofbecomingvirtuallyirrelevant.
AslegendaryAmericanBasketballCoachJohnWoodenoncesaid,"Failingto
prepareislikepreparingtofail." Youandyourorganizationdohaveaplaceinthe
globalbusinessarena,butyoumustinvestthetimeandenergyincultivatinga
localizedlanguagestrategy.
Ifyoudon't,considerthis-howdifferentisthebusinessworldtodaythanitwaslast
year,ortenyearsprior? Asbusinesspeople,weareconstantlyevolving. Ourmethod
ofthinkingandthewaywecommunicatemustcontinuetodosoaswell.
About Global Speak Translations
Wepublishedthiswhitepapertoassistcompaniesofallsizesinunderstandingthe
roleandadvantageofmultilingualcommunicationintheglobalbusinesssector.
Itisourexperiencethatadaptingastrong,localizedlanguagestrategyallows
companiestoexperienceacceleratedgrowthanddevelopmentacrosshomeand
emergingmarkets,allwhilecontinuingtohoneandbettertheircurrentbusiness
goalsandstrategies.
Tolearnmoreaboutthebenefitsofadaptingaglobalbusinessfootprint,ortodiscuss
howlanguagecanhelpyourcompanygrowandprosperintothefuture,feelfreeto
contactusat844.55.SPEAK,oremailinfo@globalspeaktranslations.com.
Weliveinamulticultural
world,andcompanies
needlanguagestrategies
tobridgethegrowing
communicationgaps,
bothat-homeand
abroad.
Global Speak Translations
P.O. Box 271225
Houston, TX 77277
info@globalspeaktranslations.com
www.globalspeaktranslations.com
2016 Global Language Brief