Updated September 2022. Topic: How to Select a Translation Company. Have you had your lunch today? Unless you’re the type of person who makes the time at home to prepare a healthy, balanced and satisfying lunch to take to work (and kudos to you if you are), you’re probably familiar with the following situation. Let’s say you’re at your desk, noon is approaching, you’ve been drinking coffee since nine, and you don’t know where to go for your lunch.
You’ve got multiple options, and a number of factors to consider in choosing one. You’ll think about convenience, service, satisfaction, and cost. Your most convenient options are a pair of eateries right across the street from your office. One of these will sell you a double cheeseburger (or other fast-concept sandwich of your preference) with fries and a large soft drink for less than $10. The establishment next door is a restaurant offering Pan-Pacific fusion cuisine for table service and carry-out. They’re prepared to order using only organic, all-natural ingredients. You’ve been meaning to check it out. And you’ve heard raves about their Panang curry and tom kha kai, but today may not be the day…
Restaurant Options Compared to Translation Options
Which will you choose? The burger? Delicious, easy on your food budget, and it’ll certainly fill you up. The curry and soup are bound to cost twice as much. And if your company keeps a strict eye on your scheduled lunch break, time spent waiting for your lunch is time you don’t get to spend eating it. Yet for that extra cost, the fresh vegetables and lean meats are better for your health and your mood than a ready-to-eat meal of ground beef, cheese, carbs and sugar. No one would blame you for choosing the quicker, cheaper option. But what about the deeper benefits of going for the full-service, fresh-made meal?
In this case, as in so many others, you get what you pay for. Would you prefer a tasty, nourishing, healthful meal for $20, or a tasty, heavy, eventual case of indigestion for $7.95? As the old saw goes, do you want it done fast, or do you want it done right?
Now, apply the above dilemma to choosing a language service provider.
How to Choose a Language Service Provider
Language services is a burgeoning industry. As a case in point, during the economic crisis of 2008 and its aftermath, it was one of the few industries that actually grew. This means that any company looking for a business translation provider will be faced with plenty of choices. Additionally, prices in the industry are all over the scale. Who will you go with? Will you make your decision based on your immediate bottom line. Or will you choose based on your long-term goals? What are the key factors to keep in mind when considering how to select a translation company?
Cost and turn-around time – can we get it cheaper, and can we get it faster? These are the two most frequent concerns of our new clients, and we do understand. We’ve gone into detail before about why our turn-around time and costs are what they are, and how we can reduce them if needed. When you’re on the market for an LSP, you’ll have many opportunities to buy translation services of the “fast food” type. And as with the above lunch dilemma, some circumstances and time constraints may make it necessary. Still, caveat emptor. You should bear in mind that any service that offers extremely low rates with rapid delivery time could be shaving dollars and hours from their estimates. And they could be doing this in ways that don’t inspire confidence in the substance and value of the final product.
Speed, Price and “Fast-Food” Translation
Why is fast food so fast? Because it’s prepared in advance to a set of predetermined specifications, with low-cost ingredients and little concern for each individual meal. You may be able to get a burger with no onions or extra tomatoes. However, that’s as far as the special attention paid to your eating experience will go. Do you want your company documents handled like pre-fabricated meat patties?
And don’t forget the costs that may mount up further down the road if you opt to spend less in the present. A diet of fast food turns out to be a false economy. Consider a future that includes medical bills, gym memberships and pharmaceutical costs. Some of these expenses could have been avoided if you’d gone for the green tea instead of the soda! Similarly, if your business doesn’t pay for quality translation services at the outset, you’ll have to pay more later for review and repair. An example of this is when clients in your target market spot errors that wouldn’t have occurred in a more careful, attentive translation phase. In summary, the fast food-industry doesn’t provide a very good example of how to select a translation company.
Translation is About More than Just Purchasing a Product
Again, please see the linked blogs above for info about our process and pricing. And do contact us with any further questions. For now, know that while we do strive to keep our prices low, the best translators, like the best ingredients, don’t always come at a low cost. Signing on for a “gourmet” translation experience will repay you amply in quality, satisfaction, and the healthy development of your enterprise. Remember that there are steps we can take to keep translation costs within your budget. We have ways of getting you what you need, when you need it. In the end, the risk you run with the quality of a “fast food” translation just isn’t worth taking. So, in short, when you’re thinking of how to select a translation company, take care not to overprioritize price as a deciding factor.
When it comes to your business, don’t think of buying a translation merely as purchasing a product. You should rather treat it as investing in the future of your company. In fact, to get back to lunch, think of it as feeding your business. In this way, it’ll endure and grow strong. And you wouldn’t want your growing business to subsist on French fries and soda, now would you?
Consider a Partnership with TrueLanguage
Are you looking for a partnership with a language service provider? If so, you may wish to consider TrueLanguage. We offer ISO-certified state-of-the-art business translation services that are on budget, on time, and to the exact specification. Every time. Or perhaps you’re just looking for a cost-free, no-obligation estimate for your next translation project. Either way, we’d love to hear from you!
