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Global expansion is a goal for many businesses. Ambitions differ depending on industry and location, but a found that 96% of multinationals planned on expanding into international markets. A of global IT businesses also found that 72% were looking to expand in 2023, with 71% of that number targeting either new countries or regions.Ìý

Targeting a broader range of customers makes perfect sense from a growth perspective, but global expansion is rarely simple. This means other priorities can be neglected. Given its common placement at the tail end of the process, translation can all too often become such an afterthought.Ìý

Postpone translation until the last minute and you invite risks such as poor customer experience, brand inconsistency, longer time-to-market, and higher costs. Don’t let mistranslations hinder your growth: in this guide, learn when and how to incorporate translation into your global expansion roadmap.

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Your global expansion is a concert of many moving parts. Region-specific business plans, regulatory and legal compliance, talent acquisition, governance, and ongoing operations are all critical. Your business must also use localization to align products and operations with the unique cultures and preferences of your prospective customers, then market them effectively – all tasks that require deft research and consideration.Ìý

It’s a given that all these things will be delivered in the language of your target nation, and with simple translation tools readily available to anyone with a smartphone, you’d be forgiven for assuming the task is as simple as copy and paste. You might also be dissuaded by budget constraints, poor internal expertise, a lack of time, as well as the perceived complexity of translating copy. With second-language English skills strong in many markets, you might not see the benefit in translating at all.

While translation might seem like a nice-to-have when globally expanding, poor, last-minute translations can have seriously negative effects on businesses that drop the ball. At best embarrassing, at worst market-killing, here’s what can go wrong.Ìý

They don’t make sense 

Bad translations can make your content, brand, and offering incomprehensible to your customers. Frustration and confusion are never emotions companies should convey, and if your customers don’t understand what you do, how you do it, or what you stand for, they’ll abandon your product, mistrust you, and see your brand as lacking credibility. At worst, you may invite legal problems.Ìý

They’re difficult to pronounce 

Most brand and product names are the product of meticulous research. But there’s no reason why a name or phrase that reads perfectly in one language will do the same in another. Translated, your brand names or content might be difficult to read or speak, frustrating customers and turning them away from your business.Ìý

They offend the audience 

Localization and translation are critical in ensuring your brand, products and content are culturally appropriate. Whether a mistranslation sounds similar to a rude word or ridiculous phrase, or your content is stereotypically insulting, the resulting criticism can morph into a damaging PR crisis. A deep understanding of cultural context is essential to ensure your messaging is not just correct, but also culturally appropriate.Ìý

They fail to convey the right tone 

A word-for-word translation doesn’t capture nuance. If your brand voice is confident and engaging in one language, it might very well come across as overly formal, dull, or even aggressive in another. The right translation strategy ensures that your brand personality shines through consistently across markets.Ìý

Ultimately, customers value multilingual content. In our 2025 report, Riding the AI Shockwave, 76% of consumers surveyed said they wouldn’t buy products or services that didn’t offer local language support. 91% said that it was important for global brands to show cultural insight into the places they operate. And a huge 96% said automatic real-time translation should be a customer service norm.Ìý

showed 76% of global consumers prefer to buy products in their native language and 40% never buy from English-only websites. This doesn’t just cover product copy either: if customer care was delivered in their language too.

Zooming in a little further, Latin America is an excellent example of translation unlocking opportunity. With over 300 million online shoppers, it offers huge growth potential, but with 250 languages and dialects to contend with, clear communications are key. found 77% had refrained from purchasing from multinationals because of avoidable translation mistakes.Ìý

It’s not just customers that are affected either. found businesses that offer employee language support have a 42% higher market share in non-English-speaking countries compared to companies that don’t. And found that companies lose 40% of potential business opportunities due to failures in localizing their buying process.

As our stats show, translation can be a powerful differentiator. But incorporating it effectively is a step-by step approach whereby translation is integrated at all stages of your roadmap. Integrate it early and successfully, and you can gain a much better handle on brand consistency, reduce long-term costs, and enhance your chances of succeeding in your new market.

Leveraging translation at the correct stage of your expansion strategy is a sound first step, but honing your approach is a must if you want to ensure success from the get-go.Ìý

Develop a translation strategy early 

Don’t leave your translation plans to the last minute or you’ll invite potentially costly errors. Instead, incorporate translation planning in the early stages of global go-to-market planning, working out which languages you need to translate for based on your chosen markets and demographics. Also consider how you are going to translate – human translation, machine translation, or a hybrid approach that combines accuracy, authenticity and speed.Ìý

Make translation a key aspect of your marketing strategy 

Whatever shape your marketing strategy takes, make multilingual content creation a clear part of each step.Ìý

Translate high-impact content first like your website, marketing materials, product descriptions, and customer support. Ensure legal and regulatory documents are accurately translated for compliance. And if you offer software or apps, don’t forget to localize the user interface and experience for each market. Lastly, don’t forget to regularly update your translations to reflect changes in markets and products.Ìý

Focus on localization, not just translation 

Messaging and content shouldn’t just be presented in the right language; you need to account for cultural and regional nuances such as currency, units, idioms and images too. Modify your branding and messaging to align with local values and customs, and localize your search engine optimization efforts to ensure customers can search for and find you in different languages.Ìý

Use human + AI-driven translation tools for marketers 

AI-driven translation is your business’ ticket to faster turnaround times. By integrating tools like HAI into your multilingual content production process, you can benefit from the speed of AI and simplicity of having a live project dashboard featuring all ongoing projects. That’s all while enjoying the peace of mind that comes with knowing a human expert has checked over the outputs for cultural and language accuracy.Ìý

Work with localization experts 

It pays to work with experts in your chosen market and industry. With their oversight and insight, you can ensure none of your messaging or products are lost in translation. To simplify the process and reduce back-and-forth, choose a partner that incorporates experts within their localization process.

Measure success with key performance indicators 

Translation can be tracked and honed just like any other aspect of your business activity. Monitor translation performance through user feedback, time-to-deployment, and multilingual content performance analytics like bounce rate, session duration and number of sessions through the likes of Google Analytics.Ìý

International keyword lists should be individually tracked to ascertain SEO performance too, as well as brand performance metrics like share of search versus close competitors. Lastly, social listening tools can also help you understand how international audiences perceive your brand.Ìý

Train and align teams 

If you don’t land your focus on translation internally, it’s much more likely to fall by the wayside. As such, create and maintain workflows between marketing, product, and customer support teams, educate internal teams on localization importance and best practice, and provide translation tools to teams to enable clearer collaboration across your business.Ìý

Learn more localization best practices.

Much hinges on your global expansion roadmap. Failing to translate what you do and who you are could put your team’s hard work to waste and significantly hamper your long-term goals.Ìý

¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ’ HAI platform is a translation tool for content owners that gives your team the ability to quickly and accurately translate, bringing together the power of AI and human cultural and language experts. For significant global expansion plans, it supports time-to-market and provides agility when adapting messaging, content and communications.Ìý

If you're not ready for a translation platform, our localization specialists are here to help. Connect with us to discuss your challenges and find the right solution to achieve your global business goals.

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