Lingo24: a translation services micro-multinational, active around the Globe

In 2001, at the age of 22, young Scotsman Christian Arno launched translation agency Lingo24 from his bedroom in his parents’ house. Two years later, the agency had employees in New Zealand and China, and by 2005, more than 20 people on its payroll.  Soon, the company had a website in three languages and four offices abroad.

Today, Lingo24 directly employs more than a hundred members of staff and has a network of over 4,000 translators around the world.  Its clients are based in more than 60 countries. It provides round-the-clock services and has branches in Panama, China, the US and France.

In 2009, the company, whose head office is still in Scotland, achieved a turnover of 4.67 million euros.

A global SME, a micro-multinational

Lingo24 is a global SME that now operates in practically every timezone, managing several teams. It occupies a clear place in the ever-growing category of micro-multinationals. Christian Arno, its founder, has been recognised as an entrepreneurial figure in the eyes of several British daily newspapers.

Of course, these days the Internet is the company’s strategic field of operations, with its customers arriving in ever-increasing numbers via the web.

What steps did the Scottish SME take to establish itself at this level?

Dan Aldulescu, Lingo24 Marketing Manager, provides some answers.

“Addressing the global market? A natural progression”

“Any company offering a good product or a quality service will sooner or later find a need to globalise. If the company in question is large enough to have the financial resources to launch into markets outside of its home country, the expansion process will be straight-forward: once its marketing resources are strategically in place, it won’t take long for the public to hear about it”.

“The real challenge facing SMEs wishing to open up internationally is using the appropriate strategies, all the more so when, in addition to localising marketing and communications material, they also anticipate setting up physical offices“.

Accordingly, in 2008, Lingo24 opened an office in Panama and an additional office in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Seizing niche opportunities on which to base international expansion

Initially, the international expansion was aimed at diversifying markets in order to reduce the risks associated with exchange rate fluctuations. Gradually, however, the Scottish company developed a highly realistic deployment strategy, from analysing the following:

• “Identifying countries where employees master the linguistic and technical aspects and where salaries are competitive (such as Romania) in order to be able to cater to Europe and North America
• Targeting poorly exploited markets such as Scandinavia and the Netherlands.
• Adapting linguistically and culturally to each new market or office as well as adapting staff proportionally to requirements”.

Global Internet marketing, but with an approach tailored to each country

For Lingo24, the Internet is key to reaching out to international prospects.

“Localising (adapting to local customs and cultures) regional search engine optimisation of websites was one of the main strengths of the globalisation strategy”.

The company’s online presence is achieved primarily through a search engine positioning strategy, as well as targeted keyword pay per click campaigns.

“Today, over 50% of searches entered on Google are in languages other than English. More than a third of these are entered in another European language”.

“Adapting the online marketing strategy into foreign market languages offers competitive advantages”.

“As searches demonstrate, the majority of consumers (approximately 85%) look for information in their own language before making a decision to buy online. Speaking these prospects’ language determines their confidence in the company and the services or products it offers”.

A paid-for geographically targeted digital strategy

“With a quality US online marketing strategy, sales in target markets soared”.

“For the US, this increase reached 1,000%. For Scandinavia and the Netherlands, growth exceeded 500%. Overall sales in Europe also recorded a sharp increase of 300%, and now represent 37% of total sales”.

Managing remote teams in all four corners of the world

To support its development, Lingo24 had to adapt its organisational structure. Managing a world-wide network of service providers is no easy task.

The following teams have been set-up or expanded:

The Sales team, which also includes native speakers for Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Germany in order to be able to respond ever better to the requirements of potential clients.

The Project Management team, which takes care of production, the translation service itself. Project Managers have access to a network of 4,000 freelance translators who can provide almost any language combination.

The Linguist Management team, which is responsible for recruiting translators and ensuring that the work of all its translators meets with the quality standards set by the company.

• The Marketing team, which is in charge of ensuring the online visibility of Lingo24 in addition to other activities associated with brand image.
• The Human Resources team, which is responsible for the recruitment needs exhibited by each team.
• The Finance Management team, which oversees the effective management of the company’s accounts.
• The IT team, which provides technical support and develops new technological solutions for the increasingly efficient running of the business.
• Management is provided by the head of each team, who report to the Senior Management in the form of Managing Director, Christian Arno, and Operations Director, Jack Waley-Cohen.

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