There’s a reason that ‘going global’ has become such an over-used phrase: globalization has become key to the success of companies all over the planet. But how do you globalize your business? Who needs translation services? How much do translation services cost? If you’re not sure whether you should you be localizing or globalizing, it’s time to find a decent translation company and map out your strategy. The right agency can help you to localize and globalize, maximising your customer engagement, partnership potential and, ultimately, your bottom line.
Read on to discover all you need to know in our five tips for globalizing your business.
- Localize to globalize
Ironically perhaps, the key to successful globalization, at least when it comes to your company website and marketing content, is localization.
What is a translation company? It’s a business that exists to convert one language to another. What is a localization service? That’s a little more complex…
Localization is the process of adapting your materials to suit specific target audiences, ensure that everything is culturally appropriate and that it stands the maximum chance of engaging those reading/viewing it.
Localization is a huge part of the global language services industry. That industry was worth US$49.6 billion in 2019 and is due to rise to a value of $56.18 billion by 2021, according to Statista. Consider that the industry was worth just $23.5 billion back in 2009 and it’s clear to see how rapid the growth in demand for language services has been.
Globalization has been a hugely influential factor in that growth and those businesses that have turned this to their advantage are those that have localized.
- Be systematic
If you’re serious about going global, it’s time to take a systematic approach. Connecting with foreign audiences means translating everything important into their language(s). It also means adapting content through the localization process to take into account varying cultural norms, currency, measurement standards and more.
Googling ‘translation services near me’ and clicking the first link you see isn’t going to cut it. Online translation is a huge industry, so put some time into defining what you want and them finding the right international translation company to meet your needs.
That means short-listing potential translation services,
reading reviews and researching the range and quality of their services.
Rushing through this process could end up costing you time later down the line,
so take a systematic approach to the recruitment of the best global translation
company for you, as well as to mapping out your translation and localization
needs.
- Consider the cost of your translation
How much do online translation services cost? Well, that depends on several factors. Is the language pairing that you need a common one? Do you need your translator to have any specialist experience, such as legal or medical translation knowledge? All of this will influence how much your translation and localization services cost.
For example, if you need someone to translate Spanish into English or to translate into Spanish from English, you’ll easily find plenty of translators available. If your Spanish to English translation is of a website or some marketing documents, you’ll also be spoiled for choice. However, choose a pair of less widely spoken languages and throw in some legal or highly technical content and suddenly the bill from your translation company will start to grow.
Cheap translation services do exist, and some deliver on quality, but shop
around carefully if your budget is low, as not all services are equal when it
comes to the accuracy of their translations or the attention to detail of their
localizations. Reading detailed reviews and references of your chosen online
translation company is essential when it comes to balancing cost with quality.
- Refine your strategy
Everything from environmental factors to global health scares can impact your chances of international success. As such, it’s not just a case of appointing a translation company to translate website content for you and then ticking that task off your list. You’ll need to regularly revisit and refine your globalisation strategy and, as a result, the way that you use translation services to grow your business internationally.
- Rely on the right translation resources
What is a good translation company? It’s a service that delivers accurate translations on time, operating efficiently to support your business’ growth. Why use translation services? So that you can go global effectively! Doing so means find the right resources to rely on.
Even with the advent of machine translation and translation apps, translation services aren’t going away and translation companies aren’t a dying breed. Statista reports that the market size global language services industry is growing every year. In 2019, the global market value reached over $46 billion in 2019! More and more translation agencies are popping up to meet the growing demand of translation services around the world.
The huge number of translation services available means that
you will be spoiled for choice when it comes to which services to use, but also
that finding the right resources can be tricky. Whether you need website
localization, certified translation services or financial translation, be sure
that the translation company you choose has sufficient expertise that your
business can rely on it even is your needs change as part of your developing
globalization strategy.