When the time comes for your business to expand and enter new markets in different countries Make sure that you are communicating with your customers and your partners in a language that they can understand as well as their preferred language. In fact, this suggestion also applies to companies where English is the main language for business!
The reason is simple; numerous studies have demonstrated that people are more likely to purchase a product or service from a company that communicates with them in their native language. Furthermore, in certain instances your company could have to legally translate documents like manuals and instruction manuals into the local language.
A professional translation agency can assist you in guiding your company in the proper direction.
Why you should choose an agency that specializes in translations over freelancers
There isn’t an “standard” translation task as being able to communicate in two languages isn’t enough to qualify someone to be a translator , any way than having two hands qualifies them to be a pianist. The process of translating between two different languages is a task that requires exceptional linguistic abilities along with a deep comprehension of the country, culture and industry the translation is intended for. In other words, what defines a top-quality translation is precise terminology, the correct usage of industry jargon as well as an effortless, grammatically correct writing style that’s tailored to the intended audience, while taking into consideration the cultural differences and transposing the subtleties of one language to one. In the world of translation this laborious process is called localisation.
When you partner with a professional and reliable translation agency you can be confident that your translations are provided to experienced and competent translators who have gone through a rigorous testing and selection process.
A decision to work with an agency rather than individual freelancers also eliminates any chance of the project becoming one of the major bottlenecks to your projects, as translation agencies are experienced in handling large volumes of texts that require translation into various languages within very short periods of time. That’s why you’ll get speedy time-to market for your product when you choose to outsource your translation with an agency.
What translation agency should you pick?
If you’re looking for the best firm for your needs, you’ll quickly discover the number of agencies available to select from. You may also find it difficult to tell how they actually differ from one another.
Which agency to pick depends a lot on your needs as well as your preferences and criteria. If you just require a single text translated for internal use, and precision and quality are not an essential factor then you’ll just need to concentrate on the cost.
If your text will be read by customers or partners it’s important to choose a provider that will deliver the high-quality you’re expecting. After all, a poor translation can have devastating consequences for your business’s reputation , and threaten the impact of your product the market that is evolving. Think of the severe negative consequences that a badly translated set of instructions could lead to, or should your website’s online business card – makes your business appear unprofessional.
How do you choose a translation company that can offer the high-quality and reliable service you require?
In this respect also, it’s nearly impossible to see how the agencies differ from one another from a first glance. They all offer the same things: top-quality translations, cheaper prices than competitors, fast turnaround and great service.
Here are our nine helpful strategies to make it easier for you to cut through the jungle of companies offering language services and locate the most reliable translation agency that matches your preferences and requirements.
Make sure to keep these 9 helpful tips in mind when selecting the right translation company:
1. Inquire about your contacts and ask for references
The best way to locate a trustworthy provider is usually simple as asking around. There’s a good chance that people in your circle may already have a trusted translator that they recommend. If so, it’s a good idea to follow up with a couple of questions on whether they’ve found the firm to be trustworthy as well as stable and how content they’ve been with quality of their translations.
You could also look for cases and other references on the agency’s site, or, if you wish to go further, contact the agency directly and ask to supply some client references that you could contact directly.
2. Ask about their procedure and processes
Professional translation agencies have implemented efficient processes to handle translation tasks they receive from clients and help them keep track of every assignment and all the different languages that the client’s texts have to be translated into and from. These processes allow the agency to speed up their translation projects to ensure they’re completed as swiftly as is possible. They often also offer clients the opportunity to track the status of their assignments and view every ongoing and completed translation that they’ve handed over to that agency.
3. Inquire about the languages that the agency offers
If you’re only needing translation of texts into one or handful of languages initially it’s worth to inquire if the agency is capable of translating texts into any language. If they can in the position, you can rest assured your business won’t eventually ‘outgrow the agency, and they can assist in the expansion of your business and always meet your needs.
4. Check out the standards the agency has in relation to its experts in the field of language.
Professional translation agencies rely upon freelance translators as well as language experts, and they have developed a group of regular vendors that enable the translation of their customers text into a wide variety of languages while meeting their clients’ tight deadlines.
There may be major variations in the standards agencies expect their vendors to adhere to. To ensure that you receive the level of quality you are expecting the agency should be monitoring their vendors regularly for’ quality of work and proficiency in their respective language combinations. They should also establish criteria for the language specialists levels of knowledge, experience, and education.
There are few translation agencies that decide to utilize an internal workforce of translators. But, there are obvious advantages to working with an in-house team comprised of experienced translators who are able to guarantee the highest standard of quality and understand the ins and ways of their profession.
5. Find out what you think of the service quality offered by the agency.
Contact the agency to find out how they respond to your email or phone call and whether they are spending time with you as you’re entitled as a (prospective) potential client.
How long did it take them to reply? Did they appear positive about your request? Did they inquire about your needs? This will give you an idea of what would be like working with the agency as well as how they deal with their clients.
You can also ask few questions about the way they interact on behalf of their customers. Will you be assigned a specific contact person? Will you always have the option to reach them by phone or write them an email? Are they willing to be available for regular meetings to discuss your collaboration?
Of course, the entire above will depend on what you’re looking for and require from a translation agency.
6. Find out about their costs and deadlines
As a customer It is usually helpful to know how much you can expect to pay for a service or product. However, many translation firms do not provide an estimate for an undertaking after they have had the chance to read the text you need translated. This is due to the fact that the difficulty of a translation task can differ greatly depending on the degree of technicality of the text and the topic(s) it addresses and the combination of languages, etc. The process of reviewing the text prior to its completion lets the agency analyze the text and to include discounts for repeats and segments that have been translated previously in the cost.
We recommend that you select an agency that isn’t offering a price until they’ve had the chance to look over the copy.
Be aware that the price an agency charges per word is not just for the translation itself. This includes project management costs and proofreading. If you’re offered a price which seems too appealing to be true the agency could be making a mistake in one or several parts that are involved in translating which ultimately affects what they can deliver. they produce.
7. Ask the agency if they offer other services
The best option is to locate an agency that is able to offer the full range of language services that you and your colleagues require so you can send all your assignments to the same agency. There’s also benefits to choosing a partner who you and your team members can establish a close and friendly friendship with. The whole process is much simpler – and the end product becomes much better – once the translation agency has become familiar with you and your business’s requirements in terms of tone of voice, terminology, etc.
It is therefore important to inquire whether the agency offers correction of text, proofreading copywriting, DTP and more. Also, if they have any restrictions when it comes to file formats or languages.
8. Find out if the agency utilizes technology and CAT tools
Professional translation agencies employ the computer assisted translation (CAT) tools to translate your texts. CAT tools can help to improve the quality of your translation, ensuring that the terms are translated uniformly for instance as well as ensuring that you get the best possible price for your translation job because you will pay less or nothing at all for segments that have been translated before as well as repetitions.
9. The financial condition of the agency
It’s not a good idea to arrive to work one day and discover that a trusted partner has suddenly stopped providing services or must shut down, leaving customers hanging. This is why we suggest that you look into the length of time that the agency has been operating as well as the status of its financials.
If you adhere to these 9 helpful tips when choosing your language service provider, you’ll definitely be off to a great start. The most important thing is to choose the best partner from the start so that you avoid having switching between agencies which can waste a lot of energy and time starting over.
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