Do you run a multi-national corporation…or hope to in the future? Either way, you need to conduct international market research. Such research has its challenges. International surveys frequently require translation at both the “front-end” (the questions) and the “back-end” (the responses), as well as for the invitation, introduction, error messages, and more. In some countries, such as Switzerland and South Africa, translation into multiple languages or dialects is also necessary.

But translation is only half the battle. Another crucial—and often overlooked—process is localization. Localization “involves making specific questions or words local in character or meaning.” In other words, it “ensures that the translated versions are on-target, contextually precise, and culturally correct.” Without localization, research participants may misinterpret or bypass certain questions, resulting in weaker or inaccurate insights.