Why translations are so important for your international success
Due to globalization it has become very easy for companies to cross international borders with their products and services.
Globalization can be described as the growing interdependence of economies and cultures of countries all over the world due to trade in goods and services and technology. The ongoing development of technology has made it very easy to communicate with each other and to ship products all over the world in a very short time.
Developments like these have made it very easy for companies to go international. But, what many companies don’t realise is that language (errors) play a huge role in the amount of success. Especially when companies let their texts be translated by a machine or inexperienced translator they encounter problems. In this article we’ll tell you about the most important translations for international success and the consequences incorrect translations can have.
Translate your website and product information
Your company’s website can be used in two ways: as a business card or as an online shop. Whichever applies to your website, if you want to go international with your business the translation of your website is inevitable. In order for people to do business with you they have to trust you and your company’s vision. If your website contains a lot of language errors, it won’t create any trust with your target audience. And no trust creates no costumers.
When you want to run an online shop as well, the translations of your product information are just as important. If you want people to buy and use your product, you have to write convincing and informative texts. Something you’ve probably already done in your own language. Professional translators will translate your texts in a conversion-oriented way and use jargon to ‘speak’ to your target audience. However, when you choose for an automatic or inexperienced translator, your texts won’t be of very high quality and therefore will not be trustworthy or convincing.
The importance of accurate translated product manuals
As an online shop you want people to buy and use your products. By investing in the translation of your website and product information people will most certainly buy your products. But, what about product manuals and/or instructions?
Let’s say you sell products which have to be assembled by the buyer himself. To do this he (or she) uses your manual, which is translated by an automatic translator (e.g. Google Translate). Because of a too literal translation the buyer misplaces a part and the product breaks down, injuring the buyer. After recovery the buyer decides to file a lawsuit.
A lawsuit can be extremely damaging to your company and its reputation. And, what’s even more important, no company in the world wants to see their customer get injured by a product of their own. Just like the texts on your website, the product manual is very important and should not be taken lightly. Not only will this prevent people from possibly getting hurt, you also save yourself a lot of money due to no damaging lawsuits.
Don’t neglect your financial documents
A company needs certain financial documents in order to do business. Especially when you’re doing business across borders. Of course it differs which documents you exactly, but fiscal reports, annual reports and customs documents apply to almost every company. Since these are official documents they can’t contain any language errors.
For example, if you want to export your products to a foreign country you’ll need certain customs documents. Without these documents your products simply will not enter the country. This delay can cost your business a lot of money since it doesn’t only affect you, but most likely also the person you sold the products to. Especially if they’ve already made arrangements to sell your products.
Skip automatic & inexperienced translators
As you can tell, the translations of your texts and documents have a huge impact on whether you’ll be successful in a foreign country or not. An automatic or inexperienced translator is best to be avoided. You are better off with a professional translation agency. They work with native speakers that not only speak and write the language effortlessly, but also take context and jargon into the equation. With these translations your success abroad will be inevitable!