Putting a new marketing plan in place for your growing business is a substantial task – but it can reap substantial rewards. As time consuming and taxing an undertaking as creating a new marketing plan is, it pales in comparison to the monumental process of globalizing that marketing plan. But, as is often the case, the greater the challenge the larger the reward.

Designing and implementing a universal multi-lingual marketing strategy is not for the weak of heart; it can be an extremely overwhelming process. But the important thing to remember is: it is a process. There are steps to follow, ways to break up the task into more manageable chunks, and plenty of help available from specialists along the way.

The first challenge to undergo is deciding on the markets you want to target. There are a number of potential factors that come into play in this part of the process. Where your product or service is needed – where are the markets with the capacity to embrace your business? What are your logistical limitations – especially if you would need to ship a product and/or provide onsite customer support? Do you want to spread out slowly from your current location or pinpoint new starting points all over the world and spread out from those? Answering these questions will take a considerable amount of research, but it's well worth the time and effort.

The research you do to choose your target markets will transition naturally into target market research. Now that you know which cultures and languages you will be working with, you need to learn everything you can about them. This is the first place a translation and localization agency with specialized international marketing services will be a big help. Your translation agency has most likely already done a lot of the research you need to access, and, more importantly, will be able to provide you with translators who know the cultures you are targeting inside and out. The best translation and localization agencies use translators who are a part of the culture they are translating for.

There are a number of reasons why it's beneficial to work with one single translation agency for your whole multi-lingual marketing initiative. You may find that some agencies don't offer every language you need – hold out for one that does. Not only will your project's workflow be greatly simplified by working with only one other organization, but you will avoid a lot of potential confusion. And while you may think you can nickel and dime a better total cost by finding the lowest prices for each language you need, ultimately, it's very likely that working with one agency for everything will net you a sizeable volume discount, even if their prices were a little higher to begin with. The most important reason to work with one translation and localization agency is the continuity of your message across all languages. Translation is not an exact science – that's why human beings are still vastly superior to machines when it comes to translating languages. Translation, by definition, requires a certain amount of interpretation, and although your project will likely have as many different people working on it as it has languages, working with one agency means that those interpretations will be overseen by one project manager at your translation agency. Working with one person to ensure your words are interpreted correctly is much easier than working with several.

It's vitally important to use the knowledge you gained in your market research to further develop the individual prongs of your universal campaign. That is to say, for each target market, you will need a slightly different approach. Not all cultures respond to the same marketing strategies – so you will need to make the appropriate modifications to yours depending on each group you target. This is another area in which a translation and localization agency can be of great value to you. The translators working on your campaign will know the cultures you are targeting, and know how to get your message across in the most effective ways. Rather than just translating your text word for word, good localization will find the best way to present your core message to your target cultures.

Implementing a universal multi-lingual marketing strategy is a large and challenging task, but working with a good translation and localization agency can free your business from a lot of potential headaches. And of course, in the end, it will be worth the effort.

Expanding into new, worldwide markets will set your company up for rapid growth, as long as you have the systems to support yourself in multiple markets. You'll be increasing your market share, and your revenue, as well as giving your company's global profile a major boost. Working in new markets presents the potential for growth in more ways than one. There is the obvious potential for more and more business year over year, but in addition, new markets will mean new data to process and respond to. Your new customers have different needs, and from listening to your customers all over the world, you will be presented with new challenges and needs that will lead to new ideas and expansions of your existing products and services.

The world is your oyster, and all you need to take hold of it is a great international marketing strategy and the right translation and localization agency to help you implement it.