Finding The Right Translation Services For Your Business
Looking for a translation service for your new or growing business? Great! You’re already well on your way to effective expansion and international reach. The only thing you need to do now is find yourself the right translation company.
Sure there are plenty to choose from, and they all seem like great choices, but just picking the first one would be doing a real disservice to your company, and might even do your company damage in the long run. Just imagine a company lacking in expertise badly translating your correspondence with an important client. Or finding out the translation of your promotional material was wrong, so thousands of potential customers assume your company is so unprofessional it can’t even translate its services properly.
Don’t shudder just yet, you’re not going to get yourself into this kind of pickle, because you’re going to take the time to find the right translation services for your business. They don’t just need to be great at what they do, they need to be great for your business.
These easy tips should help you get started:
What Is Good?
Before you start to get detailed, why not have a basic list of things you are looking for. When we get ahead of ourselves with niches and specific services, we can forget about the basics which are always important. So what exactly is a good translation service? Examples could be:
- Lots of experience and ways to prove that experience
- Expertise in lots of areas of translation
- Dedicated team members
- A large, qualified pool of linguists and experts
- Great customer service
- The ability to fix issues or problems quickly
- A desire to help
- A passion for providing excellent service
Having a good idea of what the very basics you are looking for before you look at anything else is really useful.
What Is Good For Your Business?
Once you have a good grasp on the basics, you can then think about ‘stage two’ for the companies that you like. So this isn’t just why they are good to work with, but why they are right for you. Consider the following:
- Do they need to be close enough for you to meet with them in person?
- Are they fully experienced in any niches you need?
- Can they expand and decrease services dependant on your needs?
- Are they fairly priced?
- Can they prove experience in projects like the one you want them to work on?
What is good for someone else’s business is going to be different from what is good for yours, so you must consider your priorities when speaking to a potential translation company.
Be Impressed By The Translators
You should be really impressed with the translators they have, and feel assured that your needs will be easily met by those people. If you need a document translating fast, you should be able to expect that. If you need a translator with sector-specific experience, you should be able to expect that. Look for mother-tongue linguists, or at least linguists with huge experience in specific areas. A company that also uses a combination of machine and human resources is also useful.
What Is The End Goal?
It can often be a good idea to look for companies who have already achieved what your business is looking to achieve. So if they have worked with clients to get them established in a new international market place, then they could be a good fit. Or if a well-known market leader has used them for brand translation services, or big client meeting translation, you have a direct marker to show you that their company is up to the task. Establishing the end goal is important in order to find the right company for you.
Take Your Time
Remember, first and foremost take your time. This is a big decision and it might take a lot of back and forth communication with several companies before you find the right fit for you. Relax, do your research, ask for recommendations and ask lots of questions – this union will catapult your business into the big leagues, as long as it’s the right fit for your company.
This article has been based on an interview with Neil Gauld, owner and MD of Brightlines Translation Services, a UK based translation company offering a wide range of services for businesses and brands globally.