Key Localization Takeaways
Nearly 90% of companies plan to enter new-language markets, but most are still held back by outdated, unscalable localization workflows.
Invest in localization as a growth strategy — not just a cost center — to expand faster and compete more effectively in global markets.
Scaling localization requires more than translation tools. It needs ownership, automation, and strategic alignment.
Two in three companies attribute 26-50% of their revenue growth to localization, according to Lokalise's 2025 revenue report.
Yet many still struggle to pull it off successfully.
As demand for faster, higher-quality localization rises, most teams are still stuck with workflows that weren’t built to scale.
Etgar Bonar, CMO at Lokalise, has seen these challenges firsthand across roles at Amazon, Taboola, and Rapyd.
At Lokalise, a localization platform, he now helps teams scale content and software efficiently across markets.
I spoke with Etgar, who breaks down the three biggest mistakes SaaS teams make when localizing at scale, what’s at risk if they don’t evolve, and proven strategies to acheive the results you're looking for.
Who is Etgar Bonar?
Etgar Bonar is the chief marketing officer at Lokalise. Before Lokalise, he was VP of Sales at Rapyd, where he led global go-to-market strategy and scaled multiple revenue teams. At Taboola, he headed SMB and Growth Customers during the company’s IPO period. Earlier in his career, he led global marketing communications at Amazon.
Many of the problems teams encounter when attempting to localize at scale stem from three key mistakes:
- Treating localization as a last-minute task
- Failing to provide translators with adequate context
- Seeing localization as a cost center instead of a growth lever
To avoid this, Etgar advises teams to implement these three proven localization strategies:
Strategy 1: Make localization part of your product DNA
Strategy 2: Provide translators with the right context
Strategy 3: Treat localization as a growth lever
1. Build Localization into Your Product Workflow
Many companies still see localization as something that happens after the product is built, but that mindset creates delays, broken experiences, and missed market opportunities.
“The most significant mistake is viewing localization as an isolated, post-development task rather than an integrated part of the product lifecycle,” Etgar says.
When teams manage localization with spreadsheets and email chains without assigning ownership, things break down quickly.
Copy-pasting strings back and forth across departments creates friction, especially when each new feature or language multiplies manual effort.
At scale, this becomes unsustainable, Etgar explains.
“It’s a costly and inefficient cycle that cripples speed to market and drains resources, especially when there’s no clear ownership or unified strategy to guide the process.”
Instead, the companies that have successfully expanded into new-language markets treat localization as a continuous, integrated part of their product workflow, starting from the earliest design stages.
Etgar calls this a “shift-left” approach.
Teams build with multilingual support in mind from day one, making localization faster, more accurate, and less disruptive.
“Localization isn't strategically integrated into your operations from day one? Every market expansion becomes harder, more expensive, and less effective than it should be,” Etgar says.
2. Give Translators the Context They Need to Succeed
No matter how advanced your AI engine or how experienced your human linguists, poor translation is often the result of poor inputs — specifically, a lack of context.
When localization teams hand off raw text without explaining the tone, purpose, audience, or where the string appears in the product, they’re setting translators up to fail.
And it’s a mistake that happens more often than most realize.
Instead of treating translators as creative partners, many teams still rely on outdated workflows: exporting spreadsheets or snippets of copy with no screenshots, no usage examples, and no brand guidance.
That might save time upfront, but it creates a costly ripple effect of rework, rewrites, and missed nuance later on.
“AI models, no matter how advanced, don't understand human intent; they predict patterns based on data,” Etgar says.
“When teams feed raw text into a translation engine without critical context… they are asking the AI to guess.”
This applies to human translators too.
Without visibility into where a word or phrase will appear, even native speakers struggle to capture the intended impact, especially in UI strings, legal disclaimers, or culturally sensitive campaigns.
To fix this, Etgar recommends that teams embed visual and contextual cues directly into the localization workflow.
That means attaching screenshots, assigning tone and usage notes, and linking glossaries and brand style guides right where translators work.
“Without the ‘why’ behind the words, the output fails to create a product that resonates with local users, undermining adoption and engagement,” Etgar explains.
When context is built in from the start, AI translations improve dramatically, human editors spend less time rewriting, and products feel seamless across every market.
3. Invest in Localization as a Strategic Growth Driver
One of the most common and costly mistakes SaaS companies make is treating localization as a necessary evil rather than a lever for growth.
When viewed strictly as an operational cost, localization tends to be deprioritized.
Companies opt for budget methods, thinking they’re saving money.
But as Etgar points out, this is a shortsighted approach that backfires fast.
“Teams often make the mistake of seeing localization purely as an expense to be minimized, rather than a strategic investment in global market expansion.”
This mindset leads to underinvestment in technologies that make localization scalable, such as Translation Memory (TM) systems or fully integrated localization management platforms (LMPs).
“Instead of leveraging technologies like Translation Memory or robust Localization Management Platforms, companies default to cheaper, manual methods.”
The result? A growing backlog of translation tasks, poor translation quality, inconsistent user experiences, and missed market opportunities, all of which compound as a company tries to scale.
“They quickly become incredibly expensive at scale due to inefficiencies, constant rework, and missed opportunities in new markets.”
Etgar emphasizes that companies that treat localization as a core growth strategy move faster and win bigger in global markets.
After all, automation and strategic tooling aren’t “nice to haves.” They’re essential infrastructure for global-ready products.
Scale Demands a Smarter Localization Playbook
As SaaS companies expand globally, localization has evolved from a back-office function into a core pillar of growth.
It’s no longer just about translating content. It’s about building systems that support speed, consistency, and quality across every market.
Teams that treat localization as an afterthought often encounter the same challenges: launch delays, disjointed user experiences, and escalating costs as translation needs multiply.
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That’s why the companies that excel on the global stage are the ones that invest early in automation, workflow integration, and context-rich collaboration.
That includes aligning localization with their product and go-to-market strategies to accelerate expansion.
At the end of the day, localization done right doesn’t slow you down.
It compounds your ability to grow efficiently, effectively, and at scale.
