What’s in this report?
Organizations operating globally must find ways to make their offerings succeed in each market. The more diverse the markets, the greater the potential degree of marketing localization required.
While in-country field marketers may feel the need to offer a fully localized experience to local prospects and customers, the company’s corporate team is focused on identifying multi-market efficiencies of scale and the cost/benefit analysis for localization efforts. This difference is the root cause of difficulties that many companies face in building consensus on localization strategy and implementing a localization process. In this Core Strategy Report, we examine marketing localization from both points of view in order to help headquarters and geographically based teams find common ground.
Specific topics covered by this report include:
- Defining a common understanding. Localization is a complex, multi-dimensional subject with many nuances that vary based on point of view. We discuss key localization concepts to provide a consistent context and foundation for discussion.
- Determining the right model. Finding an acceptable localization approach requires a transparent and objective decision process that uses information and criteria that both headquarters and regional functions can agree on.
- Assessing and optimizing. Successful localization requires marketers to identify gaps between the current state and the agreed-upon model, and then to take action to eliminate those gaps.
- Localization impacts. Marketers must consider and respond to the implications of the selected localization approach for areas of concern including marketing skill sets, staffing, budgets, processes and timelines.
