For today’s localization companies, there is more than just translation. Performance analytics and measurement are no longer optional to stay competitive and grow.
KPIs are easily quantified measures for agencies to track what's working and what's not, improve efficiency, and show their worth to clients. Such KPIs enable rational choices to highlight areas of improvement.
The article explains five KPIs that localization companies must track at all times. These are client satisfaction scores and translation quality scores. Agents who master these metrics can drive higher-quality services and development.
Client Satisfaction and Retention Metrics
The best localization agency has a satisfied client. Specific metrics let agencies gauge customer satisfaction and brand trust.
● Net Promoter Score (NPS) tracking
The new fad is NPS (non-prorated satisfaction score). This ratio asks clients to assign a 0-10 to how likely they are to recommend agency services. Clients rated 9-10 are proponents, and those rated 0-6 are disbelievers. Some of the most successful agencies run at NPS of +60 (2.5 times higher than the B2B service company average).
● Client retention rate analysis
Client retention ratios tell you how good an agency is at retaining clients. There is a simple formula for this: ((clients at the end of period – new clients)/clients at the start of period) x 100. More clients will re-use your services if you have good client relationships and quality service.
● Client feedback implementation system
A robust feedback process will have to get customer feedback in different formats:
• Regular satisfaction surveys (CSAT).
• User research and focus groups.
• Customer support interaction analysis.
This client feedback strategy has been effective in Silicon Valley, where customer retention and buy-backs power companies. Genuine agencies know there are more user reviews than linguistic reviews regarding localization quality.
The agency should use CSAT surveys every few months over a smaller geographical area and refine them to provide better services. This is how agencies find an issue in the first place and offer a solution.
Revenue and Growth KPIs
Firms doing localization need revenue and growth numbers to assess the business and find growth spots. Global Language Services Market Size — 2022 is USD 71.77 billion. Such numbers are the secret to ecology and growth.
• Estimate revenue per pair of languages.
Revenue by Language Pair to get the most money out of agencies. Translating expenses also vary between languages. For example, English to Japanese translation takes USD 0.16 a word, and Italian to Japanese translation takes USD 0.18. These price differences affect project revenues and allow agencies to allocate budgets to their most profitable pairs of languages.
• Client lifetime value metrics
Client Lifetime Value (CLV) is one of the most essential quantifications of long-term returns. A complete CLV analysis considers:
• Purchase frequency and value
• Client involvement levels
• Retention duration
• Net Promoter Scores
It's also a number that helps agencies identify the right clients and better use resources. Agencies can apply CLV knowledge to tailor services and drive retention.
• Market penetration rate
The market penetration information shows which regions can get you in the game. North America is a 38% market for localization; other areas are enormous. Its 7.2% industry growth rate until 2030 makes it ample growth room. The latter is especially true in emerging markets, where the need for localization services is rising.
Agents must often revisit these KPIs to update plans and take advantage of opportunities. The global localization market is estimated to reach USD 53,718.2 Million by 2033. You want to measure those numbers to succeed in the long term.
Project Delivery Performance
Having projects on time is the heart of the business for any localization agency. Performance tracking keeps agencies ahead of the curve and clients happy.
• On-time delivery rate
OTD rate is the overall index of functioning that directly contributes to business loyalty and brand value. Good localization agencies aim for at least 95% OTD. That % is an absolute must for operational excellence.
• Project completion efficiency
The project efficiencies metrics are three-sided:
• Turnaround time tracking.
• Throughput rate analysis.
• Project milestone completion rates.
The throughput rate is the traffic transfer rate in the localization system and presents a capacity map. Agencies need to maintain each localization's start and end dates to calculate the time to completion.
• Deadline adherence metrics
Not just on-time delivery. It involves logging many factors that affect the completion of the project on time. Time to market is no longer optional since it keeps agencies in line with the market.
All good agencies have complete monitoring tools that monitor significant dates and milestones across the project lifecycle to keep it within strict timelines. These systems flag bottlenecks before they occur and proactively present options before deadlines.
Here are 3 areas that project managers must know about:
1. Initial timeline & baseline generation.
2. Regular progress monitoring against milestones.
3. Analyse in-time delays in the event of future events.
Maintaining files of project timelines and completion rates helps localization agencies find patterns and streamline processes. Such analysis allows agencies to delight their clients with the exact quality deliverables repeatedly.
Translation Quality Metrics
A translation company that excels at quality control is worth working with. Translators and localizers need quality indicators to deliver the best translations and win clients' trust.
• Error per thousand words
High-quality translation relies on standard error rate calculation. This universalism has that and words per unit time as its comparisons. It is an objective quality score. No 1 percent errors, good translators. Major agencies want even more. Top Quality Managers assign errors based on tiers:
• Meaningful mistakes: Meaning-damaging mistranslations.
• Minor typos: Style and grammar errors.
• Reasonable typos: Possible legally or safely related text.
• Client revision requests
Quality of the translations means client revisions. Clients typically request 3-5 revisions. This number will go down as agencies consolidate. Companies can block such requests. Once the revision numbers exceed the average, the process and QC in translation teams must be reviewed.
• Quality assurance scores
Successful localization companies also have quality control tools that score you from 0 to 100. The new prevailing score is MQM (Multidimensional Quality Metrics). It gives quality points based on the number of error words/evaluation words.
Big numbers (2,000-4,000 words) Q score of 80 or so with 7-8 penalty points. Smaller samples (less than 500 words) get up to 15 penalty points for the same score. Quality is about sample size.
All the top localization companies have advanced quality metrics that mix them all up so they never miss out. Teams can do amazing translations and keep good clients by tracking errors, revisions, and quality.
Conclusion
Real-time decisions enable localization agencies to be winners through KPI tracking at every level. They are customer service, sales, project completion, and translation quality. Both construct a customized model of agency effectiveness quantified and optimized.
These days, localization companies need to deal with multiple KPIs and be very consistent. Services are marked by customer reviews, such as NPS and the number of customers they retain. Revenue indicators point to an expanding global market. Prompts allow you to move the projects along, and translation quality checks keep the language consistent.
With confirmed tracking, localization companies provide the best service and attract more business. Agents that use these metrics will only grow in the overcrowded language services market. Quality, speed, and happy customers are how they survive.
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