Globalisation has opened up a lot of new opportunities for business across the world. Today, both big and small businesses are looking forward to ways of reaching new regions or countries. But all of these cannot be done overnight. It is crucial to understand the importance of translation and localisation to ensure that the customers understand the business offerings.
A simple word-for-word translation will not bring results. That is the major reason businesses are looking for professional translation service providers that can translate and localise their ideas to the target customers.
While hiring a translation service provider is crucial for businesses, businesses have a tough time finding the right one. This blog discusses the ways businesses, both big and small, can find the right translation service provider.
Let’s take you through a few ways you can find the right translation partner that can help you expand your business.
- Are They Experienced Enough?
Before you ink a contract with any translation service provider, ask yourself, ‘are they experienced enough?’ You cannot partner with a company that is relatively new and does not have the correct understanding of different cultural contexts and nuances.
Since translating business offerings is not only about converting one word from one language to another, you need to be very cautious. Look for companies that have professional translators who are not only fluent in both languages but also pay attention to accuracy and cultural nuances.
- Do They Have Industry and Subject Matter Experts?
Let’s say you are willing to expand your healthcare business to Australia. Hiring a company that does not have industry and subject matter experts will harm your brand. For example, the German word ‘kur’ literally translates to ‘cure’, but in the Australian context, it is a ‘rehabilitation programme’.
A translator with no industry experience will not be able to translate while maintaining the cultural context. Further, in Australia, you need NAATI translation for legal and other documents. This can only be provided by companies that have subject matter and certified experts. Therefore, whenever you are planning to hire a service provider, check their expert panel and the work they have done before committing.
- Can They Localise Your Content?
Localisation is one of the most important steps in the entire business translation process. The translation service provider must have a proper understanding of the target market to tailor their product to meet the specific needs of the particular region. For example, HSBC failed miserably because of its poor localisation strategies. Their most successful campaign in the US, ‘Assume Nothing’, was translated to ‘Do Nothing’ in several languages.
This is the reason you must check if the company you choose can localise your content and not just translate it from one language to another. Place a callback request from the customer support teams of translation companies, understand, and make a decision accordingly.
- Do They Have a Quality Assurance Process?
You must check if the translation company has a strong quality assurance process in place. Hiring a professional translator is not enough. You need to keep in mind that the human translators might make mistakes. On the other hand, machine translations can be accurate, yet they might miss out on the cultural nuances.
So, when you are looking for translation services in Australia, you need to check how they review each translation. The well-known and trusted companies have a proper review process in place. Each translation goes through a second translator check, project manager review, and has advanced technologies like Neural Machine Translation with Post Editing to ensure the results are accurate.
- Can You Contact Them Easily?
When it comes to translating business offerings, you need to find a translation company that you don’t have trouble connecting. Since most of the companies promise 24/7 support, it is difficult to make the final decision. We suggest you try them out before placing an order. Go for a one-on-one call with them to understand and work out an agreement.
Businesses connecting with translation companies are from different time zones, and it is essential that they sign up with the one that can respond to their queries when they need it. You need to check if they are available to take your call at any time during your business hours.
- How Do They Help in Progress Tracking?
Business translations are not something that can be done overnight. It takes time. But you need to set a deadline and track progress every now and then. So, the thing you need to check is how they help in tracking progress. Ask them if they assign dedicated project managers to your project.
Find the one that does. This will help you have a single point of contact and stay updated with the progress. The trusted service providers assign a project manager to keep businesses updated throughout the process. Further, it will also help you discuss changes in projects without waiting for someone to call you back.
- Are They Trusted by Others?
You cannot place an order with a translation company without checking their reputation. It is crucial to check the reviews from other customers before you trust them with your project. Go through the various reviewing websites to understand how the one you chose has done so far.
You must also check reviews on Google to understand the services. Don’t sign up in a hurry. Check for everything. This will help you make the right decision and get accurate results.
Conclusion: Make a Wise Decision
Finding the right translation service provider is not an easy task. You need to check all the things mentioned above to find the right one. It is highly recommended that you keep this in your plan when you think of expanding internationally.
The problem with most businesses is that they look for a translation company when the deadline is not far away, and make the mistake of choosing the wrong one. It is, therefore, wise to check every point, talk to a few companies, and decide accordingly.
