Global means universal. Something that’s global means that it has reached almost all countries and regions of the world, making itself accessible to hundreds of different languages, customs, and systems of values.
You can think of Apple iPhones which people in all countries use without exception, or accessible streaming services like Netflix that became the mainstream worldwide as examples of globalized products.
We keep repeating that we live in a globalized world but what does this globalization mean and how is it connected to translation and localization?
This, and more, we shall find out in this article.
What is globalization?
Globalization refers to the spread of products, brands, businesses, and services across many countries and regions despite national or linguistic borders. In short, it’s the process of expanding business on a worldwide scale
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, globalization is the integration of world economics politics, and cultures; it’s a word that was coined by German American economist Theodore Levitt and has been around since the Industrial Revolution.
Globalization finds similarities between all regions in order to create an appealing customer experience that can resonate with everybody.
The advantages of globalization
- Standardization of Process
Globalization can lead to the standardization of certain processes, products, and cultural elements across different regions.
- Manifesting a huge customer base.
- Massive exposure to international markets.
- Skyrocketing potential for revenue.
- Access to plenty of global resources, and industry talents.
- Independence from a risky local economy.
- Increased competitive advantage in the market.
- An exciting competition with new competitors.
Read more: What is Internationalization?
The disadvantages of globalization
- Putting the business at risk of being insensitive or uncaring of cultural aspects.
- The risk of being too dependent on the global economy could suffer from disruption due to major events like wars or pandemics like COVID-19.
- Facing difficulty when entering completely foreign markets, for example, imagine a country in North America trying to franchise in Asian countries like China or Korea
But of course, there is no such thing as a universal experience all the way, since differences and diversity are inevitable among customers, globalization eventually needs the help of localization.
The difference between localization and globalization
Now, we’ve come to the most important question. Let’s explore the primary differences between those two seemingly similar terms.
Think of international companies you interact with on a daily basis, like the biggest search engine Google, Apple iPhone, or Amazon. All of them are global brands that are almost the same anywhere in the world.
Yet, globalization is not the only answer to how these brands reach you, whether you live in the Middle East, Asia, America, or any other part of the world, they reach you because of localization too!
Think of globalization as the bigger goal, or the main outlook, and of localization as the means in which a company maintains that outlook.
Same Product, Slight differences
A globalized product or service is fulfilling the same marketing needs with the same brand values.
However, localization makes slight differences to the product in each region or market to make sure it fully resonates with the audience. Food giants like Burger King, or Pizza Hut carry the same brand identity wherever they go, yet, their menus, Ad copies, and slogans can be translated and localized differently according to each culture.
Objective of Globalization versus Localization
Globalization fosters communication, brand awareness, solidified brand identity, and collaboration with different cultures with the goal of collective economic growth and cultural exchange.
On the other hand, localization wants to get closer to a local audience. It wants to gain likeability and trust through a customized user experience. The customization involves many things such as using a specific dialect and avoiding symbols that are not politically correct or can be offensive to any social group. It also involves tweaking the marketing copies across all channels.
Focus Points of Globalization and Localization
During globalization, businesses focus on things such as shipping, environmental impact, and sustainability. rules and regulations of the market, market research. a global brand strategy
Localization involves understanding the culture thoroughly, including traditions, current events, seasonal holidays, dialects, and customs. religions, political events, trends..etc
The language used in Globalization VS localization
Globalization’s language is monolithic, it doesn’t encounter intrinsic changes. In fact, it is made to suit a wide demographical area.
Localization goes beyond globalization in this aspect because it uses multiple languages, each for a specific region. Instead of translating brand slogans literally, localization keeps the meaning while making sure that the same linguistic effect in the source language is transferred into the target language.
Read more: Localization Glossary
Globalization VS Localization in a Nutshell
Globalization is the bird’s eye view. It’s the mindset that decides what you want your brand to be famous for. Let’s sum up these differences below by using keywords using the SGIA method, Scope, Goal, Impact, Approach:
| POC | Globalization | Localization |
| Scope | Broad, featuring interconnectedness of cultures | Narrow |
| Goal | Foster communication on a large scale between countries. | Provide a personalized and culturally tailored experience to a narrow customer base. |
| Impact | Promotes product and service standardization | Promotes diversity and respect for different markets. |
| Approach | Uniformal, standard, the customer knows what to expect. | Personalized, features slight differences, loyal to the local customer. |
| Example | Uber as a Car Ride service that is present in more than 10,000 cities around the globe, has the same identity everywhere. The mobile app design and its use are expected to be the same wherever customers use it. | However, the same globalized application Uber, uses localization.
In Middle East countries, Uber customizes offers specifically for the Ramadan season. In 2017, Uber launched its UberBOAT, for Egyptian passengers who need a cruise across the Nile river. |
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