Thanks Bryan. That’s a good point. It would be a mistake to think simply translating the copy will also translate the user experience — there are bound to be cultural and behavioural differences to consider.

I imagine you’d need a separate ‘syndication’ team running user testing on the new market in parallel with the original team’s ongoing iteration of the product. Based on the findings, they’d then decide whether a distinctly different platform is needed, or whether small changes (such as improving iconography or reducing verbal prompts) could be made to the original platform to broaden its effectiveness. I would guess this starts by recruiting UXers and copywriters from, or with a knowledge of, those different markets.

I haven’t worked on a project large enough for this to be an issue yet, but I agree it’s worth considering.