If it’s time for your business to expand and expand into new markets in different countries Make sure that you are communicating with your customers and partners in a language they understand and, ideally, their native language. In fact, this suggestion is applicable to businesses where English is the main language for business!
The reason is straightforward; several studies have clearly shown that consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service from a company who communicates with them in their own language. In some instances, your company could be legally required to translate text like instructions and manuals in local languages.
A professional translation agency can help you take your enterprise in the right direction.
Why you should choose an agency that specializes in translations instead of freelancers
There’s nothing that can be described as an “standard” translation task as having the ability to speak two languages isn’t enough to qualify someone to be a translator , any more than having two hands qualifies them to be a musician. Translation between languages can be a task that requires exceptional linguistic abilities as well as an intimate understanding of the country, culture and industry the translation will be used for. In other words, what makes a good translation is accurate terminology, correct use of industry jargon , and an effortless, grammatically correct writing style that’s tailored for the intended audience, taking into account cultural differences as well as transferring subtleties of one language over to the other. In the translation industry, this painstaking process is called localisation.
When working with a professional and credible translation company, you can be confident that your translations are given to skilled and experienced translators who have passed rigorous screening and selection process.
Selecting an agency instead of freelancers is also a way to eliminate the possibility of the translation procedure becoming an obstacle to your work, as translators are adept at managing large volumes of text that have to be translated into many different languages within extremely short periods of time. That’s why you will get a quick time-to-market of your product when you decide to outsource your translation work to an agency.
What agency to choose?
If you’re in search of the ideal agency for your business You’ll be amazed at how many to pick from. You might also find it difficult to discern how they actually differ from each other.
Which agency to choose depends heavily on the needs you have as well as your preferences and criteria. If you only need an individual text translated for internal use, and accuracy and quality aren’t the top priority and you be able to only focus on the cost.
If your text will be read by customers or business partners it’s important to choose a provider that can provide the quality you’d like. Since a poor translation can have negative consequences for your company’s reputation and endanger the potential value of your product in the market of the future. Think of the severe consequences a poorly translated set of instructions may bring about, or even the case that your website’s business card on the internet – makes your business appear less professional.
How do you choose a translation agency that can provide the quality and service you require?
In this manner, too, it’s almost impossible to see how the agencies differ from one another from a first glance. Most of their websites promise the same things: top-quality translations at a lower cost than their competitors, speedy turnaround, and excellent service.
Here are our nine helpful suggestions to make it easier for you to sort through the maze of translators and language services to find the professional translation agency that meets your preferences and requirements.
Use these tips to keep in mind when you select the right translation company:
1. Contact your friends and family and request references
The best method of finding a trustworthy provider is usually simple as asking around. After all, some of your contacts may have a reliable translation agency that they would recommend. If this is the case, it’s a good idea to follow-up with a couple of questions on whether they’ve found it to be trustworthy and stable and how satisfied they have been with the quality of the translations.
You could also look for the case stories and testimonials on the website of the agency, or if your desire is to go a step further, contact the agency and ask for some client references to contact directly.
2. Ask about their practices and procedures
Professional translation agencies have implemented efficient processes to handle translation tasks they receive from clients which allows them to keep track of each project as well as all the languages that the texts of their clients need to be translated into and from. Such processes help the agency speed up their translation projects and ensure that the translations are completed as quickly as possible. Most often, they offer clients the chance to keep track of the progress of their work and view every ongoing and finalized translation they’ve given to the agency.
3. Find out which languages the agency has available.
Even if you need texts translated into one or a handful of languages to start with It’s a good idea to inquire if the agency can be capable of translating texts to any other language. If they can in the position, you can rest assured you won’t see your business grow out of the agency, and they can contribute to the future expansion of your business . They will always satisfy your needs.
4. Ask about the standards the agency applies to its language experts
Professional translation firms rely upon freelance translators as well as experts in language They have also developed an established network of vendors which allows them to translate their customers texts into a vast variety of languages while meeting their clients’ strict deadlines.
There may be major variations in the standards that agencies expect their vendors meet. To ensure you get the high-quality service you want agencies should be monitoring their vendors regularly for’ quality of work as well as their proficiency in their language combinations. They must also establish criteria for language experts degree of training, experience and knowledge.
Today, there are very few translation agencies that decide to utilize an internal staff of professional translators. But, there are obvious advantages to employing an in-house team comprised of experienced translators who will ensure a consistently high quality of service and understand the ins and aspects of the field.
5. Get an impression of the agency’s level of service
Contact the agency to find out how they respond to your call or email and whether they are spending the time you are entitled to as prospective (prospective) prospective client.
How long did it take for them to reply? Did they appear to be positive about your request? Did they take the time to inquire about your concerns? This can help give you a sense of what it is like to work with this company, and the way they interact with their clients.
You can also ask few questions about how they communicate with their clients. Will you be assigned a specific contact person? Do you have the option of calling or write them an email? Are they willing to have regular meetings to discuss your partnership?
Of course, the entire above is contingent upon what you want and need from a translation company.
6. Ask about their prices and the deadlines
As a customer as a customer, it’s important to know what you can expect to pay for a service or product. However, many translation firms do not provide an estimate for an assignment once they’ve had a chance to review the text you’re looking to have translated. This is because the difficulty of a translation project can differ significantly depending on how technical the text and the topic(s) it addresses, the language combination and so on. A review of the text in advance permits the agency to analyze the text and to include discounts for repeated as well as previously translated segments into the cost.
That’s why we recommend that you choose an agency that doesn’t insist on giving a quote before they’ve had the chance to look over the copy.
Keep in mind that the price an agency charges per word will include more than the translation itself, including expenses for managing the project and proofreading. If you’re offered an estimate which seems too impressive to be real it could be that the company is making a mistake in certain aspects in the process of translation which ultimately affects how well the translated text they deliver.
7. Ask if the agency offers additional services
The best thing is to find an agency that can offer the full range of language services that you and your colleagues require and then you can submit all your projects to the same agency. There is also benefit in selecting a partner both of you and your colleagues are able to establish a close and friendly business relationship. The whole process is much more simple – and the final product becomes much better – when the translation agency is familiar with your and your business’s requirements, manner of speaking, language and more.
Therefore, you should inquire whether the agency provides correction of text, proofreading writing, DTP and more. And if they are subject to limitations with regards to file formats and languages.
8. Ask if the agency is using technology and CAT tools.
Professional translation firms employ computers-assisted translating (CAT) tools to translate your documents. The CAT tools improve the quality of the translation – by ensuring that words are translated uniformly for instance but also guaranteeing that you get the highest price for the translation task because you will pay less or none at all for previously translated sections and repeats.
9. The financial condition of the agency
It’s not a good idea to arrive to work and learn that a reliable partner is suddenly discontinuing its services or must shut down, leaving you hanging. That’s why we recommend that you look into the length of time that the agency has been operating for and its financials.
If you use these tips for selecting the language service provider you choose You’ll be on the right track to success. The most important thing is to select the right partner early on so that you don’t have to change between different agencies which can waste a lot of energy and time starting over.