{"id":46,"date":"2019-11-18T13:53:45","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T13:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trends.memoq.com\/?page_id=46"},"modified":"2020-01-13T23:11:29","modified_gmt":"2020-01-13T23:11:29","slug":"actionable-analytics-reporting","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/trends.memoq.com\/actionable-analytics-reporting\/","title":{"rendered":"A Desire for Actionable Analytics and Reporting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you spend 10 minutes with a group of C-level executives discussing translation services, chances are, the word \u201creporting\u201d will come up.  And, it might come up more than once. After all, management wants to know how a significant investment in translation technology impacts revenues.<\/p>\n

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This strong interest in reporting and analytics isn\u2019t new. But, with a greater reliance (and investment) on translation services, there\u2019s also a greater desire for actionable <\/i>analytics. Leadership wants to understand how their investment is performing and then make adjustments to capitalize on opportunities and improve the return on investment (ROI).<\/p>\n

\n\t\tIs the Desire for \u201cActionable Reporting\u201d all Talk and Mere Hype?\n\t<\/h3>\n\t

As much as senior executives discuss ROI, currently many global companies are not yet measuring it. According to a recent survey reviewed by Arle Lommel, a Senior Analyst at Common Sense Advisory specializing in localization and translation, just half of survey respondents measure broad business indicators (i.e. cost versus revenue). This is despite it topping the list of what teams would like<\/i> to measure. Similarly, a recent customer survey done by memoQ, showed 8 out of 10 companies would like to measure ROI, but only 42% are currently doing so.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s why: translation companies readily offer tools to measure internal key performance indicators (KPIs), like cost, quality, delivery time, and process adherence. According to Lommel, et al. \u201cSuch [internal KPIs] are easier to track with the resources most localization departments have at hand, and they provide a good way to get operational issues under control.\u201d This is opposed to external KPIs, which offer insight into results that are outside of the translation services, such as customer satisfaction, revenue, and market position of products. (1)<\/p>\n

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Internal KPIs are less actionable, and they don\u2019t necessarily measure ROI or business objectives. Meanwhile, external KPIs alone are difficult to tie back to localization of content.  According to Lommel, et al, the best approach is to connect these external KPIs with internal KPIs, and therefore, discover actionable trends that speak to the company\u2019s ROI.<\/p>\n

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Anett Guth, Market Researcher at memoQ, agrees that many of the reporting features on the market today don\u2019t showcase ROI or go very deep. \u201cMost translation technology providers are just scratching the surface here. They\u2019re implementing reporting features that don\u2019t really go beyond a nice visualization,\u201d says Guth.<\/p>\n

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According to Guth, data visualization is the one area where companies have made significant improvements. Newer reporting products offer clear, easy-to-understand dashboards that outline costs, time to translate, text quality, and more. Now, if the industry could take these KPIs, go beyond visualization, and deliver actionable analytics\u2026<\/p>\n

\n\t\tClearly, There is Room to Improve Reporting Features in 2019\n\t<\/h3>\n\t

Both translation software companies and buyers desire better reporting. After all, localization of content is a significant investment. If a global company invests in localization<\/a> of their website content, for example, they need to see the amount of traffic and conversions the website generates. Or, if a product\u2019s package label is translated, companies should see whether the market was more likely to purchase the product in its localized format.<\/p>\n

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But the need for better reporting goes beyond ROI \u2014 the industry also needs analytics that are actionable. For example, imagine if translation providers could better understand their core competencies, whether they\u2019re in pharmaceutical or legal translation, and then hone in on the type of work they do best.<\/p>\n

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On the buyer side, imagine if a global company could see which departments need more translation services. They could better understand what content is already being translated and then take steps to recruit more translators \u2014 or switch to machine translation technology for larger volumes of content.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tThe Need is There, but Who Will Start the Conversation?\n\t<\/h3>\n\t

Ironically, even though everyone agrees that reporting features need to be improved, there isn\u2019t an industry consensus on which specific features are needed.<\/p>\n\t

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\u201cThe biggest question is who will start the conversation\u2026whether it will be translation buyers who define the needs or if it will be the translation technology developers that recommend a more suitable platform for better understanding their ROI,\u201d<\/header>\n\t\t\t\t\t