New research has highlighted that the growth of global businesses is hindered because decision makers have little knowledge of the core technology and budgets to help them communicate.

New research has highlighted that the growth of global businesses is hindered because decision makers have little knowledge of the core technology and budgets to help them communicate.

While all respondents saw globalization processes changing within the next year, 47% of all respondents surveyed do not even know the amount of their total globalization budget. 

Key technologies such as content management and terminology management are seen as important for effective brand management and international product launches, but are being sidelined on a global scale.

The study was conducted by the Localisation Industry Standards Association (LISA) and Global Information Management (GIM) specialist SDL. It aimed to identify trends in global marketing and ascertain how these trends are addressed by terminology management.

While highlighting a clear acceptance of the importance of terminology management in driving brand consistency and enhancing customer loyalty, the respondents demonstrated a lack of process or commitment to its effective implementation across a corporation:

• Over half of all respondents (56%) stated that the greatest benefit for effective management of terminology would be to consistently manage the global brand

• A third of all respondents (32%) stated that the key focus on terminology management is to deliver the right global content to the right people at the right time

• Less than half the companies surveyed (46%) have a dedicated terminology manager – and for the majority of those that do, the position exists only at a junior level

Commenting on the results, Michael Anobile, chairman of LISA, said, “The picture is that corporations are not investing in the infrastructure and processes required to effectively communicate with global audiences. Far too often we see companies approaching this in a piecemeal fashion.  Terminology is not being managed on any systematic basis, but rather it is treated as a part of the localization process and dealt with on an ad hoc basis.”

Chris Boorman, chief marketing officer of SDL, said: “This survey proves that global companies are not taking globalization efforts seriously enough. Globalization is an invisible force – and the majority of companies have yet to use the right technology to take advantage of it. Corporations need to take terminology management seriously since it is essential to communicating consistently with global audiences and has a profound effect on brand management.”

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