By Sarah-Claire Jordan
Practically every business by now knows how important it is to keep up with the trend (or is it more than a trend) of globalization. If you aren’t targeting markets outside of your own country, or that speak different languages than you, as a business you are not as likely to succeed in the long run. Still, there are some business owners that need a bit more convincing in order to start looking into what it takes to go global.
One of the most integral parts of globalizing as a business is the translation aspect of it. Though some may argue that translation is simply one small part of the whole thing, I have to respectfully disagree for a number of reasons. The first reason is that, in a world driven by information, how that information is transmitted and what is understood of it is extremely important.
The words used to describe your product or service are the first pieces of information a potential customer absorbs related to your brand or company. If something isn’t quite right in terms of word choice, grammar, or otherwise, people will take note and possibly bypass your brand and products or services completely, opting for something that they immediately understand and speaks their language, literally.
This doesn’t just stop at the marketing phase, however. Yes, your campaign should be translated and localized properly, but to even get permission to sell your product overseas requires a good amount of paperwork, which will involve translation as well. If you decide to pinch pennies here and get a cheap rate from an inexperienced translator, you should prepare yourself for disappointment. You will likely have the papers rejected and have to find a professional, experienced translation team to do the job, like you should have in the first place.
Before your product or service is ready to be marketed overseas, it is important to take a moment and think about what else, besides an ad campaign and slogan, needs to be translated. Something like “safety information” or “ingredients” should pop up in your head immediately, as these, if properly translated, will help you gain a customer base and keep them. If a potential customer can’t understand how to use a product or what is in it, they will move on to one they can understand. Don’t risk this happening and make sure these things are all ironed out before a product launch overseas.
There is also a cultural aspect to working with translators. If you have someone you are working with who is only good at literal translation, you won’t get very far. Professional translators are the ones who know exactly how to manipulate the language to make it relevant and interesting to a foreign market. Think about it: overseas customers are already used to being marketed to in their native language, with all of its idioms and idiosyncrasies. To compete, you have to at least do just as well as them in using language to gain their attention, if not better. A professional translation team can help you do just that.