Have you heard the old English expression to “mind your P’s and Q’s”? This saying means to mind your language and be on your best behavior. Though a simple phrase, it sums up a world full of considerations with international business. Going global may mean evaluating your communication style when it is time to interact with potential partners and customers from a different culture.

Language Learning

Pitching a deal to someone who does not speak your language will have its challenges, but can be just as successful as negotiations in your own tongue as facial expressions, body language and voice tone can communicate just as much as words.

It is not necessary to speak the language of every customer abroad. Using an interpreter is perfectly acceptable to ensure clearly shared information. However something important to note is that interpretation is a separate service from translation. Both services involve language but have different skill sets and needs – so ensure you ask for the right service when setting up the request.

It is polite to at least know how to introduce yourself, welcome your client and say your goodbyes at the end of the meeting in their language. Learning a few words will not take long and it will be appreciated by the people you want to work with.

Documents

Any documents, brochures, PowerPoint presentations or videos should be available in the target language. The best option is to translate this material using a professional human translator, even though the use of machine translation combined with a post-edition by a professional human reviser should not be eliminated of the game. It can be insulting and embarrassing to use machine translation only as the quality result could be very poor.

Brochures and other marketing material may also require desktop publishing. This means the documents will require formatting when taken from the source to the target language. This service will ensure the translated version will have the same look and feel as the original. The text will fit perfectly into the space provided even with expansion or contraction.

Also consider the preferred colors and acceptable images for the targeted country as they do matter. The Chinese for example do not care for white as it represents death; so if you are dealing with a Chinese company consider red, purple or gold, all of which have a positive appeal. Images too need to reflect a country’s culture. For example you would want to reconsider any images that do not reflect the norm or could be potentially offensive. Your clients will appreciate your effort to respect their culture.

Etiquette

Be aware of any of your target country’s etiquette rules. Find out if there are any gestures you should not use, whether or not they shake hands at business meetings, or whether it is considered rude to touch the arm of a person while you are having a conversation. Things that are perfectly acceptable in the US or Europe may be considered inappropriate in your target country. Also remember that people from other cultures may conduct business in different ways. For example it is a common impression that the Japanese and Chinese are very formal; Germans are forthright and Saudi Arabians are quietly spoken negotiators.

The Contract

Some countries may have different norms when it comes to closing a deal as well. Some may consider a handshake equal to an agreement. When presenting a contract or agreement, ensure it is translated into your client’s language and explain this is a normal working process in your culture. Explain in a positive way that the contract is a way of cementing the trust both parties have for a successful business future.

The internet opens the world to global business which is the perfect opportunity to gain new customers and expand your business. Minding these considerations with your international communication and customer approach will mean more successful interactions.

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Terralingua is an ISO 9001 and ISO 17100 certified translation partner that can help your business communicate on a global platform. We provide professional translation, localization and desktop publishing services to some of the world’s top brands. Please visit our website and contact us to discuss your requirements.

Your company only has a domestic presence, and if English is the primary language of your country there may be a belief that translation is not needed. However there are some important considerations before making a default assumption.

Who Is Using Your Product or Service?

Even if your company does not have international marketing targets or does not do business in other countries – there are consumers who may prefer materials in other languages even in a primarily English speaking country.

Who is using your equipment, service or product? Though the customer’s company may do business in English, critical safety and support information may be required in another language for the operator or end user. Your company’s reputation could be affected and legal implications could arise from improper usage due to language barriers.

In the Unites States there are at least 350 languages spoken according to the Census Bureau. Spanish is the most popular language after English but there are also a large number of German, Chinese and French speakers.

Where Are the Decision Makers?

The Common Sense Advisory, a market research company based in Massachusetts, polled 3,002 consumers in 10 countries in their languages to test the hypothesis that companies can increase their sales by localizing their products and websites. According to the report, the “survey found a substantial preference for the consumer’s mother tongue. This partiality leads many potential prospects unsure of their reading skills to avoid English-language websites, spend less time during their visits, and not buy products that lack instructions or post-sales customer support in their language. In summary, we found that more local-language content throughout the customer experience leads to a greater likelihood of purchase.”

Though potential clients may have offices in the US, key decision makers or their corporate headquarters could be based in other countries. Though doing business in English, do you know the native language where buying decisions are made?

Expanding Your Reach

Companies are going global even without a physical presence in another country. The internet takes your company around the world even if you do not seek international markets. Customers who speak other languages may have a desire and need for your product, so providing information in other languages will increase your product or service’s reach to markets and consumers you may not have even considered but are looking for exactly what you can provide.

Make a Great First Impression

These important considerations will help your company decide if a translation investment may be needed after all. Investment is a key word as some companies mistakenly believe free or inexpensive machine translation would suffice. It is impossible to gauge or meet a need if the materials do not make sense to the reader or are of such poor quality that it will affect your company’s reputation. As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Have you ever received product information that was obviously not written by a native speaker? How did it make you feel reading it? Frustrated? Confused? Did you feel the company valued you as a customer? Did the poorly written materials affect your perceived value or the product? Machine translation cannot replace a professional translator’s ability to correctly and clearly communicate.

If your goal is to increase web traffic and attract more customers, then providing professionally translated materials in additional languages will achieve that objective.

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Terralingua is an ISO certified company that has helped many companies go global through translation and localization solutions. If expanding your company’s reach is a 2017 goal, please visit our website and use the contact form to reach our US, European or Brazilian offices.

Putting your business into the local marketplace makes sense if you want to attract new customers from different countries.

According to the Common Sense Advisory (CSA), a company will need ‘14 languages to reach 90% of the world’s opportunity.’ A large, wealthy corporation may well be able to cover these languages. Take Coca-Cola for example, their brand is sold in more than 200 countries. During the World Cup, Coca-Cola localized their websites in over six continents to cover teams playing in the World Cup.

However, if you’re a company on a budget, how do you decide which languages to target and what to localize? How do you make sure you get a good return on your investment?

Pick your Countries

Firstly, pick out the countries you already do business with and look at your company’s goals for the next five years. Is it worth investing in one of the overlooked emerging markets, like Indonesia, or should you be thinking about a country like India?

40% of India’s population speaks the official language, Hindi. Although many Indian people also speak English, the internet is spreading into rural areas, where there are only Hindi speakers. These new internet users are looking for products and services in their own language.

Who are your Customers?

Secondly, find out who your customers are. This means speaking to your sales and marketing teams. Ask questions: How old are they? How much do they earn? What jobs do they do? What are their likes and dislikes? What are their hobbies?

If you are dealing with B2B companies, you’ll need to know who’s in charge, who buys the products, and how many people there are in the decision-making chain. Marketing and sales teams can also help you get information from current customers by asking them questions like: “How did you find our company?”, “What did you buy?” and “why do you like us?”. Creating customer profiles will help you identify your target market.

Web Sites and Content

Next, you need to use your budget to translate and localize the most important parts of your sales and marketing tools. This will probably be your websites, mobile apps and website content.

Finally, decide on how to localize your content in order to provide an engaging customer experience. You need to think about the type of content that will interest your target audience and encourage them to buy. This applies to B2C and B2B purchasers.

The Importance of Localization

Localization is the key to attracting new customers from abroad. According to an article by the Harvard Business Review, 72.1% of customers spend time on websites in their own language. 72.4% said they would most likely buy from a website in their own language and 56.2% said they would not mind paying more for something if the information is in their own language.

Another Common Sense Advisory survey found that 40% of people said they would never buy from a website in a different language and 20% of people never looked at websites that weren’t in their language.

Translation and localization are important. Translation enables people to read and understand information in their own language, which gives them confidence in the product. Localization is a way of engaging customers by being aware of their way of life, which makes them feel valued.

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Terralingua is a translation company that can help you with your localization projects. We have helped some of the world’s largest brands. For more information, please visit our website for further details.

In some fields of translation, mistakes may cause embarrassment and turn out to be costly, but can be quickly rectified without causing harm to customers. Some lost-in-translation stories even make us laugh, as in the case of the bank that wanted their catchphrase to be “assume nothing” but it was unfortunately translated to mean “do nothing.”

However in certain fields, errors can be more than just bloopers; they can cause injury, physical harm, or even death. In one real-life example, translated surgical procedures erroneously stated that cement wasn’t needed, when in fact it was, leading to a large number of failed knee replacements. Or piece of equipment with an incorrectly translated operator’s manual could mean a fatal mistake to the user, just by following instructions.

It can be tempting to use free translation services or automated web-based machine translations. The old adage rings true – one gets what one pays for. There is no one assuming risk for detecting errors in these translations or assuring their fitness for use.

It is vital that translations, especially those with risk, are completed by professionally trained, experienced translators. To not use a qualified resource required to ensure accuracy at every step is a prescription for a corporate horror story. Is your “free translator” certified? Is your bilingual co-worker a professional translator with errors and omission insurance? Do you want to risk using a “free” translation service, especially if there are serious injuries that could result? Probably not.

A professional translator is more than just someone who has studied and speaks another language. Translation is a skilled craft. Someone may know a language but this does not mean he or she knows the proper way to present the same message in another language. They may be able to speak fluently but do they have the correct writing skills such as grammar and spelling?

Professional translators in many countries are required to have advanced courses in the language as well as translation in order to obtain a degree. In addition, many business, community, and governmental organizations that utilize translations have their own certification requirements. Professional agencies that employ translators have standards and testing procedures to further ensure ongoing quality controls.

As well as meeting general education and certification requirements, many professional translators specialize in certain subject matter areas. This can sometimes involve a great deal of additional skill, training and education. Many industries require not only an in-depth knowledge of both the source and target languages, but also field knowledge. Industry background may include fields such as heavy machinery or medical experience.

You may think you can rest easy if someone states they have field experience. Sweet dreams can turn into a nightmare if not vetted. What level of experience and knowledge does your translator have?

For example, just because someone has medical experience does not mean they can handle all related translation such as chemistry and pharmacology. Medical translators may have translations related to pharmaceuticals, which can include research and findings related to drugs trials, drug data and applications for new drugs coming to the market. Or they may translate research papers and other academic documents for publication in medical journals, or instruction manuals for medical instruments, materials and devices. Someone may state they have experience with medical translations which could mean that he or she translated physicians’ notes for patient records, information for patients, newsletters, or web sites for medical companies. Who will you hand the scalpel to when handling your company’s localized content?

When making decisions regarding your company’s message, you carefully control your content with many reviewing and signing off before publication. However when it comes to the translated version of this documentation, many carelessly turn over their content to distributors or in-country staff to “do what they will” to sell their product. They assume that the same care will be given to the translated version that was used to create the source documentation. Free rein to remove, change or add content is implicitly given when the editable files are turned over, unless there are controls in place to ensure consistency with the source documentation.

What is the unforeseen “trick” when you think you have a “treat” of free translation? Will the price be your company’s reputation? Or will the cost be something as priceless as a human life?

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Terralingua is an ISO certified translation agency that adheres to LISA standards. We work only with professional translators with industry experience. Our processes, from terminology management and translation through formatting, are certified to ensure quality. Please visit our website for further information.