More businesses than ever are branching out into multilingual communications as a way to expand their customer base. So the question these days is not so much “Should we translate?” as it is “How should we translate?” The answer is an important one.
After deciding it’s time to target a more global audience, the next step is to determine whether to use internal staff to handle the work or partner with an outside language service provider (LSP). There’s certainly a cost either way, and any budget-conscious business leader should factor that into their analysis. But there are also many other pieces that go into creating and maintaining a successful translation program. That’s why any results-oriented business leader should weigh the pros and cons of both sides.
We put together some things to consider when deliberating the question: in-house translators or outside translation partner?
Decision, decisions: is it time to employ translation services to grow your business?
For sure, it’s a weighty question. Many leaders at the helm of private businesses and non-profit organizations alike have either not considered using translation services or don’t believe they could benefit from them. The reasons vary widely:
- My customers aren’t located outside the country anyway
- It’s too cumbersome to manage
- It’s too expensive and time-consuming
- I don’t have anything that needs translated
- Software translation tools will suffice
- I have more pressing company needs to focus on
We realize it can seem a little intimidating or overwhelming to think about communicating with people from all around the world. But the beauty of the Internet, social media and shifting demographics means your “international” customers are right in front of you, either physically as Limited English Proficient (LEP) customers here in the U.S. or electronically as someone located on the other side of the globe. You just have to talk to them.
Pretend you’re traveling in a foreign country. You receive an urgent call from the hospital saying your spouse’s heart has been imprisoned. Would you at least feel relieved to learn that he or she won’t fall over?
If you had to rely on machine translation of that country’s language, that’s just what you might hear, or something equally alarming, amusing or confusing.
Remember way back when in the 1990s, at the dawn of the mainstream Internet Age, when bigger companies began launching these things called websites? Many small and mid-size companies, as well as government and non-profit organizations, were slow to join in. The reasons varied. Some thought it was just a costly fad peculiar to a small segment of tech-savvy geeks. Others could not envision how a website would apply to their operations, that traditional customers would never consider buying goods or receiving services online. Still more found the whole matter too intimidating and complicated, with the new languages (HTML), terminology (what’s the difference between a Home Page, a website and a URL?), and concepts (sure, this “internet” thingy is really gonna revolutionize the way we live!).
In the language services field, translators and interpreters play similar but different roles. Translators deal primarily with the written word while interpreters work with the spoken word. Both are integral to bringing people of different languages and cultures together, but more recently the interpreting function has gained increasing traction. The trend is one you should pay attention to.
The United States’ proud identity as the “land of opportunity” has been a clarion call for immigrants since our country’s founding.
While playing a large role in building the nation from “sea to shining sea,” immigrants also helped weave diverse customs into the cultural fabric of America—from food to fashion, from religion to politics, from music to literature, and more. But the most distinguishing trait people brought from their far-flung corners of the globe is…language.
Much has changed in the insurance business since 1752 when Benjamin Franklin helped launch the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, the first property insurance company in America.
One of the changes from those early colonial days is the number of languages spoken by insurance customers. Today our country is more of a “melting pot” than ever, so successful insurance providers, carriers and agents must cater to clients of many different nationalities, languages, cultures and financial needs. Even Franklin must have appreciated the important role of translation in the insurance industry — afterall, he taught himself to speak five different languages.
The holiday decorations are likely put away, the in-laws are gone and the irregular-fitting sweaters you just received are safely stored away in the back of your closet. Now it’s time to tackle those New Year’s resolutions. No, not the short-lived personal goals you boldly make each year that usually sputter to an end by February. We’re talking about the resolutions to grow your business this year simply by being more active in the global marketplace.
Here are three simple New Year’s resolutions to make 2016 your year for ‘Going Global.’ And best of all, we’ll help you meet them if you tend to falter.
Resolution #1: Embrace multilingual translations into your marketing strategy
If you aren’t doing this already, your competitors probably are. The growth of the Internet and social media have made international transactions commonplace. But your international customers no longer have to be physically located on the other side of the globe; they can be right up the street. Census figures confirm that demographics are shifting in cities across the U.S. Over 60 million people – more than 1 in 5 people – now speak a language other than English at home. That means your multilingual customers are as likely to walk into your business as they are to visit your website. So make sure your marketing plans and tactics for 2016 include tapping into a whole new world of customers, whether here at home or around the world.
Businesses large and small are steadily expanding efforts to sell their goods and services to new markets—both within the Unites States and abroad. Evidence of this growth is everywhere. One sign is the job market. Research from various sources predicts that professional translation and interpretation services will continue to grow.…
As more and more businesses emphasize the role of social media as a marketing tool, a misconception that email marketing has become irrelevant has sprung up. However, the mediums of email and social media are not mutually exclusive. A recent study by the marketing analytic group Custora reaffirms that email…