Translation: A vital step when exporting

New Year, new challenges. That’s what they say, isn’t it? The start of a new year is often not only a chance for personal reflection but also an opportunity to look at professional goals and achievements. For many companies, one such goal is often to expand to international level but how do you do this if you don’t speak a foreign language? Well, the good news is, this is actually far easier than you might imagine as long as you find the right translation partner for your business.

At Accent Language Solutions, we often come across businesses who are looking to export their products and services, very often these businesses tell us that they have decided that although there is huge potential for them in non-English speaking markets, they have decided to focus on English speaking clients. Although this approach may work for some businesses, for others, focussing on non-English speaking markets has the potential to yield far better rewards. This is where finding a reliable translation partner really can aid export success.

In exporting, translation is more than a one-off task and therefore it is vital that you find the right fit for your business. Before you start working with any supplier, arrange a call with them to discuss how they work and how this might fit your particular requirements.

ATTRACTING A FOREIGN AUDIENCE
The first thing to consider when looking to export, is how to attract a client base from outside the UK. Your company website is likely to be the first thing that potential clients see, therefore the first thing to consider is to have this translated and localised for your target markets. Although website translation is not overly expensive, if your budget is limited and doesn’t quite stretch to a full website translation, a good idea is to create a landing page in the target language that includes any key information along with contact details just in case the prospect would like more information about your products or services.

As with any website, regardless of language, SEO is key to making sure you reach the right clients and to increasing traffic on your website. Translation plays a key part in this process and this should also be discussed with your chosen language partner.

Another important step to attract a new audience is marketing materials. If you are planning on attending meetings, trade shows or events, having your company brochure and also your business cards translated is a great way to show your potential clients that you care about making things as easy as possible for them to get to know more about your company.

COMMUNICATING WITH POTENTIAL CLIENTS
Once your website and marketing materials start to attract interest from overseas, how will you communicate with these potential new clients? This is something that often holds companies back when looking to export to overseas markets yet it is something that is relatively easy to overcome.

Although machine translations such as those offered by online search engines can help you to get an idea of an email or enquiry, using a service such as this to reply to your client can often make you look unprofessional as errors often occur in these translations. Whenever you wish to respond to a client, a professional translation agency should be used in order to ensure that nothing is lost in translation.

Working alongside a professional agency such as Accent Language Solutions can make communicating with potential clients in their language as easy as speaking with an English speaking client however this is not the only benefit to this approach. Translating your response makes your services seem more professional than those of competitors who simply either respond in English or who use free online translation tools.

Appointing a professional service also demonstrates to your potential client that you care about the service that they receive as it removes any potential stress relating to communication from the client making them far more likely to buy from you. Professional translation services also offer an attention to detail that is impossible to replicate with machine translation.

LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR TRANSLATION
In some cases, e.g. food labelling, translations are a legal requirement. In these cases, translating information is compulsory rather than optional and is usually a matter of safety for the end user. Therefore, instructing a language service provider such as Accent Language Solutions is the only option as using a machine translation for something as important as this leaves the potential for translation errors and therefore puts the end user at risk leaving your company liable for injury or worse.

The translation of legal documents such as contracts should always be carried out by a trusted supplier, after all you wouldn’t sign a contract here in the UK without reading it fully and making sure that you understand each section, so why would you do this in any other language? Once again, a fully qualified, human translator can pick up on any nuances in the text and will consider any potential for ambiguity, something that a machine simply cannot do.

Occasionally, translations may need to be certified, sworn or notarised, these services can only be carried out by fully qualified linguists and are used to show that the translation in question can provide a certain level of language skills.

In summary, translation services are something that are required regularly when exporting so it is important to build a good relationship with your language service provider. Translation services are an incredibly important part of any export journey and getting the right translation partner can make a real difference to exporting success.

At Accent Language Solutions, we are always happy to chat with you about our services and to learn more about your brand and brand requirements. If you currently export or are hoping to start your export journey, contact us to see how we can help to remove the barriers to international trade.

[email protected]

+44 (0)1704 821262