Businesses looking to grow their business overseas often face a major challenge. How can they replicate their business model and success in a new country with a different culture and language? While there are many cost-effective ways to have marketing materials and communications content translated, there is no substitute for proper translation. That’s why many are on the lookout for the top translation agencies in the countries they are looking to expand to.
By working with one of the top translation agencies, you ensure that the translations are accurate and meet local requirements for both culture and regulation. These are critical elements for any new brand entering an unfamiliar market that can make or break any product or service launch.
Here are some of the benefits of using a top translation agency to assist with market expansion.
Ensure Accuracy
Language is a very particular and nuanced human construct. Differences in dialects of the same language can be vast even if the regions where those languages are spoken are geographically close. Because consumers react to advertisements that speak to them, it’s necessary to make sure that any translation matches the local language and dialect accurately.
Take the United States, for example. The shoreline states of New England, including Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, all speak English natively but use different words to describe the same thing. In Rhode Island, you may be drinking water from a public “bubbler”, but in Connecticut, that would be called a “water fountain”. Referencing a bubbler in Connecticut would turn heads in confusion and may cause customers to ignore a marketing message.
More seriously, consider Mandarin. Mandarin is spoken in Mainland China and in Taiwan. In Mainland China, they write using Simplified Chinese characters, but in Taiwan, they write in Traditional Chinese characters. Moreover, some words used in Taiwanese Mandarin are not used in Mainland Chinese. Considering the tensions between the two, using Taiwanese words or characters could spell doom for your business in China and may cause your brand to be de facto blacklisted.
Using a top translation agency eliminates this risk entirely. As a foreign brand, you are fully unaware of the nuances of language and the consequences that can come from using the wrong words. A top translation agency, in contrast, understands these nuances and can make sure that all messaging adheres to local customs and cultural oddities.
Comply with Regulations
Product launches in new markets require updating product labels to comply with local regulations. Many top translation agencies are familiar with these regulations and can advise on how to word and structure export labels to fall in line with local regulations.
Accuracy like this saves considerable time and money, two invaluable factors a good business weighs heavily. Taking a shortcut by using a cheap or freelance translator opens the risk of having products rejected by the local FDA or governing body.
