The Benefits of Translation as a Facilitator of Global Communication
The translation is often perceived as a cost centre. Instead, we encourage you to think of it as an investment in your growth, much like graphic design or social media marketing. A study of Fortune 500 companies found that those who increased their translation budget were 1.5 times more likely to see an increase in revenue compared to peers who did not.
Suppose you are looking to build a business case for translation. In that case, it is essential to understand how it benefits your company—and how to choose a reliable translation partner that will maximize your return on investment (ROI).
Translation Allows Your Company to Expand into New Markets
For the greatest chance of success in a new market, you need to translate your content into the local language. While English is widely spoken worldwide, consumers still prefer to shop in their own language. That is true even in countries like Sweden, where most people are fluent in English.
Translating your content into the local language shows a commitment to your new target market. Customers judge brands and companies on whether they have made an effort to connect by speaking in their own language.
Personal preferences aside, content in the local language may also be required for regulatory purposes. For example, companies doing business in Quebec must adhere carefully to laws governing the use of the French language or risk fines.
Similarly, the European Union has strict guidelines regarding packaging and operating manuals translation. If you want to sell your product in their market, translation is a requirement, not a “nice-to-have.”
Drive More Sales and Reduce Customer Churn
A 2020 study found that 76% of respondents will choose the product with information in their language given a choice between buying two similar products. The number increases to 89% among those who do not speak English.
The same study also reported that customers strongly prefer access to customer support in their own language—75% were more likely to repurchase a given brand if provided access to in-language help.
If other companies in your industry have not translated their software, website, or customer support, doing so can be a competitive advantage for you.
Translated content will also ensure that your local customers remain loyal to your brand—and it is always more affordable to keep an existing customer than bring in a new one.
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To accomplish these goals, a reliable translation partner who will help you facilitate global communication is a must.
What a Trusted Translation Partner Brings to the Table
At Art One, our clients entrust us with high-profile marketing copy, RFP-related documentation and proposals, challenging technical documents—and critical business objectives. In return, we enable them to win more business internationally, increase their profit margins, and enter new markets.
We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality work every single time. In fact, we do not believe that quality alone is enough to become your trusted translation partner—but it is a prerequisite.
Reduced Time to Market
We know that on-time delivery is crucial for you to meet your goals. When you have a translation partner that you can consistently rely on, you can plan accurately for future releases or campaigns and execute with confidence.
After choosing Art One as their translation partner, many of our clients report reduced time to market due to the speedy translation of their UI and other critical software components.
For example, our client, Copperleaf Technologies, was using internal resources to translate its analytics software. The process was time-consuming, and they were limited in the number of languages they could handle.
They sped up the process by hiring Art One to translate the user interface and marketing collateral.
“They really shortened our release cycle from a process that took months to a week at most. They’re translating all of the critical UI bits like the tooltips, hints, menus, and prompts—anything the user works with needs to get translated. We’re talking tens of thousands of strings of code,” said Copperleaf CTO Stan Coleman.
[Copperleaf Technologies: Empowering international business development]
Cost Savings
When you continue to work consistently with a reliable translation partner, you will often find that you spend less on translation overall.
Our commitment to quality and our pool of in-country specialist translators mean that you can avoid the cost of retranslating a document that was not up to scratch.
Additionally, as we continue to work together, we will develop robust terminology management resources, such as translation memories and glossaries specific to technical translation. Using these resources allows us to avoid errors and translate repetitive texts at a lower cost.
Our client JSI Telecom reported that “before [working with Art One], the cost overruns on Arabic alone were 100% over budget. Art One does the work on budget and in half the time! On a recent Arabic translation project, we saved over $50,000 and 2 months.”
[JSI Telecom: The confidence to take on more complex challenges]
Subject Matter Experts in Your Field
Many companies have hired a generalist translation company to handle technical documents, swayed by lower prices or an impressive client roster. But if they are not able to find subject matter experts to work on the content, the results can be disappointing.
Art One works with engineering, manufacturing, and technology companies. Our clients require accurate technical translations, so we have established a pool of qualified translators in a wide range of fields.
But translating technical documents such as user manuals is only one piece of the puzzle when selling your product in a new market. You will also need to translate your marketing collateral, and that is when we call in our transcreation experts. They have expertise in both copywriting and translation, allowing them to craft high-performing marketing copy.
Seamless Project Management
When you work with a reliable translation partner, it should reduce the workload for internal teams involved with translation and localization.
Art One provides a single point of contact to make the process as easy as possible. Your assigned project managers will work closely with you to set up the scope and timelines of a project, align all necessary resources and tools, share terminology queries as they arise, and ensure that you are satisfied with the final deliverables.
Full-Spectrum Localization
Another critical aspect to consider is whether your translation partner can handle various file types and projects. The process will be more efficient if you can rely on one language service provider for all your localization needs.
At Art One, “translation” is just the beginning of what we can do. Of course, we can translate documents in many file formats, from simple Word docs to XML-based files like those used by Adobe FrameMaker. Once the actual translation step is complete, we also offer post-translation desktop publishing services to create a publication-ready document in the language/s of translation that has the same look and feel as its source.
But when our clients are entering new markets, their needs typically go far beyond document translation. We also help them localize website content. We provide transcription, subtitles or captions, and voiceover in foreign languages if they have multimedia files such as videos.
What does this look like in practice?
Imagine you run a tech company and want to start selling your software in Germany. The process begins with localizing the user interface and the help documents. As you prepare to launch, we will translate your marketing materials and your website.
Of course, to support German users, you have decided to open a local office in Berlin. We will help you translate the rental agreement for your new office space. When you are ready to onboard new employees in Germany, we will translate your employment contracts, employee handbooks, and the modules from the eLearning program that you use to train all new hires.
This is what you can typically expect from your translation partner for all your translation and localization needs.
Scalable Translation Services
As your company grows and its priorities change, your translation needs will shift as well. Your translation partner should be able to meet your growing language requirements.
We are well-positioned to grow with you, whether adding new languages, incorporating new services, or handling larger volumes of content.
Art One has a reputation for exceeding long-term client expectations, no matter how demanding and challenging the requirements.
Projects for a Good Cause
When you partner with Art One, you also help support our work on behalf of non-profit organizations in Art One’s “Translation for a Good Cause” mission.
Past projects included: translating training materials for new Canadian parents to help their children succeed in schools, patient awareness materials for Vancouver’s Punjabi-speaking community, eLearning courses for people with autism, and subtitles for a film about a Holocaust survivor, among others.
With the support of our clients, we can offer our translation services at a rate that fits the budget of local non-profits. Our team is very proud of being a translation partner to non-profit organizations in Canada serving people with disabilities, refugees, and other marginalized communities.
Art One Translations has long been a trusted translation partner for companies in Canada and the United States looking to do business in new markets. We offer end-to-end translation solutions encompassing a wide range of file types, technical domains, and languages, so you can rely on a single vendor for all your language services needs.
If you are looking for a translation partner you can depend on, please get in touch with us to learn how we can help.
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