Is Spending Money on Translations Worth It for My International Sales and Marketing Efforts?

So, you’ve expanded your business into international territory. It’s a great way to increase business, as 96 percent of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States. Not to mention that going global gives you access to new talent pools, which could provide unique advantages. But what about the language barrier? Translation and interpretation are absolutely essential when dealing with foreign markets, especially when it comes to the nuances of language. For example, when Coca-Cola was first introducehttps://www.truelanguage.com/d to China, the literal translation of the brand name was “bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax” depending on the dialect. You definitely don’t want that kind of miscommunication with your global marketplace. But is the cost of translation worth it?

Doesn’t Everyone Speak English These Days?

In truth, quite a lot of people are bilingual and multilingual nowadays. However, the actual number of the world’s population that speaks English is only around 20 percent. So, maybe you send a technical document to one of your overseas offices, in English, and the person on the other end reads English just fine. You may think having that translation is redundant and not worth the cost. However, certain things just don’t translate well. Take General Motors for example. When they introduced their car, the “Nova” to South America, they had no idea that the literal translation of the word Nova meant “it won’t go”. Can you imagine wanting to buy a car that “won’t go”? Yeah, the South Americans couldn’t either. Having it translated properly would have caused a lot less confusion. And while native English speakers might find this scenario funny, it could have been a financial disaster. And consider this. English speakers make up only 28 percent of the internet’s population. That’s a lot of folks that need their advertising in a language other than English.

You Don’t Want Poor Quality Content Out There

So, now you know that translating is pretty much a given. If you want your target audience to respond, you must speak their language. The question now is, do you just use an app, or do you hire a service? Apps may be good for one-on-one conversations. But if you’re using one to translate your marketing materials, you’re going to have a bad time. Even though apps have improved a lot over the last few years, there is still not a real guarantee of accuracy. For example, the French phrase “Se taper le cul par terre” means to laugh in an uproarious fashion. However, Google Translate says it means “Butt banging on the floor”. With mistakes like that you could be dealing with multiple, costly disasters.

The Benefits of a Professional Translation Service

You most definitely want to hire a tried-and-true professional translation service for your global marketing. Someone who is not a professional may not know the culture as well as the language, which can additionally lead to costly mistakes. For example, the slogan that Coors beer used when advertising in Spanish translated from “Turn It Loose” to “Suffer From Diarrhea”. I’m sure not many Spanish-speaking people decided to try that brand. To ward off mistakes like this, hire real professionals like TrueLanguage. They not only know the languages, but they know the cultures as well. That’s a benefit you won’t be getting from any app. Indeed, their immersion into global cultures allows them to practice political and social correctness in their translation and interpretation, preventing further mishaps.

So, is spending money on professional translation services worth it? You bet your bottom dollar, it is. Without translators, the miscommunications and mishaps would be endless, and you would most likely lose money because of it. Take that next step and contact the ones who provide linguistically and culturally accurate translations that will help you take your business to the next level, Request a FREE quote Today or call us now at 1-888-926-9245