Main News Desk

Study shows organisations struggling to manage brands on a global scale

~ organisations going global, but failing to manage brands consistently ~

July 10, 2007

Less than a quarter of American companies are able to offer a consistent online customer experience in multiple languages, according to a study by Forrester Consulting commissioned by Global Information Management specialists SDL.

Compared to European marketers, half as many American marketers say that their brand values are well represented in all of their supported languages. As a result, only 24 per cent of US marketers say that their customer experience is consistent across all languages, compared to 54 per cent in Europe.

35 per cent of the survey’s total respondents cited language and translation issues, while another 35 per cent cited cultural differences, as the main barriers to effectively managing in global markets.

“Companies transitioning to a global model – especially companies based in the US – aren’t confident that their brand’s values are consistently represented across all the languages that they support,” wrote Forrester Consulting. “It is necessary, then, for marketers to adopt consistent technologies and processes across regions and to develop core skills for brand consistency and content management when they expand to new local markets.”

“It appears that globalisation has been a double-edged sword for American businesses,” said Chris Boorman, CMO at SDL. “While the Internet has removed boundaries between markets, the need for cultural and linguistic awareness is more pressing than ever.”

“The fact that so few US companies have effectively managed their brands internationally – despite acknowledging foreign culture as such a big stumbling block – reveals a real pessimism on the part of American business,” explained Boorman. “US enterprises accept the difficulties presented by foreign markets, but seem unwilling to make the strategic decisions that are imperative for success in global commerce.”

“European companies have been much more optimistic about the role of international brand management,” Boorman continued. “And the numbers speak for themselves: almost a third of the European companies surveyed expect to generate over half their revenue outside their native country.”

(341 words)

Executive quote

“It appears that globalisation has been a double-edged sword for American businesses,” said Chris Boorman, CMO at SDL. “While the Internet has removed boundaries between markets, the need for cultural and linguistic awareness is more pressing than ever.”

About the company

SDL (London Stock Exchange: 'SDL') is the leader in global information management (GIM) solutions that empower organizations to accelerate the delivery of high-quality multilingual content to global markets. Its enterprise software and services integrate with existing business systems to manage global information from authoring to publication and throughout the distributed localization supply chain.

Global industry leaders rely on SDL to provide enterprise software or hosted services for their GIM processes, including Audi, Bayer, Best Western, Bosch, Canon, Deutsche Bank, Kodak, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Reuters and SAP. SDL has implemented more than 400 enterprise GIM solutions, has deployed over 140,000 software licenses across the GIM ecosystem and provides access to on-demand translation portals for 10 million customers per month. Over 1000 service professionals deliver consulting, implementation and language services through its global infrastructure of more than 50 offices in 30 countries. For more information, visit www.sdl.com.

Contact details

For more information on SDL, please contact:

Dr. Chris Boorman
SDL International
Tel: +44.7836.590.901
Email: cboorman@sdl.com

Lisa Gillingham at LEWIS
Tel: 0207 802 2626
Email: lisag@lewispr.com
Website: www.lewispr.com

Technorati tags: SDL |

Bookmarklets:

Recent Press Releases

2010 Archive

2009 Archive

2008 Archive

2007 Archive

Jump to:

Main News Desk

Study shows organisations struggling to manage brands on a global scale

Executive quote

About the company

Contact details