Christian Arno, MD, Lingo 24
When I first set up a translation company in a spare room in Aberdeenshire, running a global business seemed a far-off dream. The idea was to use online marketing to keep costs low, with translators based around the world providing a 24-hour service. But it was slow going at first. We made our fair share of mistakes, such as a poorly designed website and not targeting our advertising effectively.
But, with an enthusiastic, talented, and growing team, Lingo24 has managed to exceed my expectations. We?ve now got hubs on four continents, and work with major international clients such as World Bank, American Express, Orange, and Save the Children, as well as hundreds of small and medium-sized companies.
As a multilingual company, exporting has always been a key part of our strategy. We?ve recently set up offices in the Philippines and Germany, and a growing proportion of our business comes from overseas.
We?re passionate about helping Scottish businesses branch out and take advantage of some of the exciting emerging markets around the world. Languages really do open up a world of opportunities, and a little local knowledge is often the key to success.
Just a few years ago, becoming a global business was out of reach for many smaller companies due to the high costs. But the rapid growth of the internet has changed this. Now it?s relatively easy and affordable for companies to become ?micro-multinationals? by setting up international websites and selling their products and services overseas.
We?ve almost completed a project to translate and localise Lingo24?s website for more than 50 countries. We recently launched sites aimed at high-growth South-East Asian markets including Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. These are an effective way of giving a global company a local feel ? building trust and tailoring our services to each market.
I?d advice business owners to consider the opportunities on the foreign language internet. It?s easy to think everyone speaks English online ? but that?s far from the case. Arabic, Russian, and Portuguese have all seen huge growth in user numbers in recent years, while Chinese is soon expected to overtake English as the most widely spoken online language. But there?s still much less content in these languages, giving companies a competitive edge.
There?s also plenty of evidence that most consumers prefer to browse and shop using their mother tongue. In fact, a recent study by the Common Sense Advisory found that customers were four times more likely to make a purchase if they had information in their own language.
When we started out, our main work centred on European languages. But now, with the growing economies in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, we?re seeing rising demand for translation into Arabic, Spanish, Chinese and other Asian languages.
There are plenty of challenges to building a global company. With staff based in different countries and time zones, I think it?s still very important to build a close, supportive culture. We?ve worked hard to make sure we have effective communication channels, as well as giving people the chance to travel and develop their careers. On a personal level, I find it fascinating working with talented people from all over the globe.
Along the way, we?ve had invaluable assistance from Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International, from advice on marketing to organising networking events. Their GlobalScot Network helped us successfully launch in the United States ? and even led to us winning our first million-dollar contract with a major US technology company.
Whether you?re just thinking about exporting or want to move to the next level, I?d definitely recommend taking advantage of the support and advice on offer. Scotland has always been an outward-looking nation, and there?s a huge wealth of opportunities out there.
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