Marketing Translations

Speaking the language of those who buy from you...

Marketing and advertising often involve subtle communication. It’s hard enough to get the message right in your own language. In another language, it may get garbled or worse, you could even cause offence.

While it’s one thing just to translate the meaning of words, it’s quite another to persuade someone to buy your product and to “sell” actively to your audience.

Every marketing translation you put out, whether it’s your website, your brochures or press releases, immediately puts your reputation on the line.

Shouldn’t you make sure that your translator knows how to write persuasive copy in your target language?

Apart from avoiding critical mistakes, your company could also be tapping into fresh market opportunities. After all, how many of your competitors translate their websites and marketing into all the languages that your customers speak?

If lots of them do then valuable business is going to them and not to you.

Is your pre and post-sales support every bit as good for your international clients as for your domestic ones? If not, then this is another great opportunity.

Statistics suggest that well over half of internet browsers and buyers are NOT native English speakers. And most people like to buy in their own language. See the following article for further information: http://www.getfluentfast.com/BusinessCaseforTranslatingWebsites.pdf

What types of marketing material should you translate?

Press releases

It is absolutely essential to translate your press releases. You not only need editors to read them, you must also capture their imagination. How could you hope to do this if it’s not in their native tongue?

It is also key to ensure the message is relevant to the audience in their country. The “hot issues” may differ markedly from what you may have assumed.

When you have already had a news article published, why not trumpet it as loud as possible? Make sure that your clippings are translated to reap maximum benefit from them.

The following article digs deeper into this issue: http://www.getfluentfast.com/PRCampaignsinForeignFields.pdf

Advertising

There are numerous examples of companies that have wasted millions on mistranslated advertising campaigns. We’ve highlighted some cases here: http://www.getfluentfast.com/GreatCrossCulturalAdvertisingBlunders.pdf

It is amazing how easily such mistakes can be made and how even relatively small details can make the difference between success and failure.

Market research

For qualitative research like focus groups, there’s often a large volume of material to translate. Discussion guides need to elicit response based on a clear and consistent understanding of your objectives: wording can be critical. Never assume that a purely literal translation will do.

For quantitative customer surveys the translation needs to be spot-on to ensure that your research results are internationally comparable. Get them checked by a translator who understands market research and is familiar with terminology.

See our short article about successfully translating market research for further insights: http://www.getfluentfast.com/MarketResearchinNewMarkets.pdf

Product brochures and catalogues

Would you buy a product if you didn’t know exactly what its benefits were? Your overseas customers may grasp 90% of the meaning but will this be enough to make the sale? Not always.

That’s why it’s a no-brainer to translate your brochures and catalogues into every language that your customers use.

When the translation is finished it needs to be impeccable. What, after all, is the point of glossy brochures and high-quality products if your presentation is unprofessional?

One spelling mistake can mean a lost sale and it’s simply not worth cutting corners. Contact us today for a free quote at info@pplimited.com.

Promotions

You may know what works to generate sales in your home market, but are you making the right offer in the new country? Is the wording too aggressive or is it not clear enough?

Special offers need to fit tightly around the needs of your target audience in each country. In international business, one size definitely doesn’t fit all. See our article on great advertising blunders:

http://www.getfluentfast.com/GreatCrossCulturalAdvertisingBlunders.pdf

...and you’ll see exactly what we mean.

Business to business presentations

You may have a meeting with a new distributor and it could be vital to make a good first impression. Are you prepared?

Won’t those glossy slides make their eyes glaze over if they can’t follow you? How can you hope to win business if your competitors translate their pitch and you don’t?

Even if you believe they speak and understand your own language, you can “pre-close” the deal by sending details before the meeting, in their own tongue. It simply shows commitment and attention to detail.

Indeed, we have witnessed several cross-cultural presentations where the goodwill and empathy gained by a high-quality, professional translation has made all the difference.

Websites

Think of how much care you’ve vested in your company’s reputation. Think too of how quickly you judge others by the quality of their webpage. So why would you NOT employ specialists to make it as meticulous in a foreign language as it is in yours?

Amateur or cheap translations just make your company look amateur. Use a professional service through which the website will be rewritten or “transcreated” to sell in your target language.

With your competitors only being a click away, what choice do you have?

Tourism and restaurants

Does your business depend on tourism and if so, are you attracting and serving customers who don’t speak your native tongue?

Investing in the translation of a restaurant menu will only usually cost a modest amount, which you’ll doubtless recoup many times over by attracting a more international customer base.

By translating not only the food items, but also the history, the passion and the skills that go into your offering, you’ll be enticing tourists through the door.

Tour guides and tourism companies also need to make sure that they are keeping their websites bang up-to-date in the world’s most “surfed” languages (see list above). Please ensure that these translations show you in the best possible light.

Finally, in any service business the prerequisite of good service is communication. If your customers can’t understand you properly, will they really see the best of your offering?

Get all your materials professionally translated and it’s likely that the good word about your business will spread internationally, in all tongues.

Get in touch for a free quote by emailing us at info@pplimited.com.

CVs

Selling yourself can be the toughest and most important sale you make in your life. Are you doing full justice to your talents, skills and experience?

There is a special art to translating a CV well, taking into account the following factors:

Is the CV properly formatted for the target audience? Only by using a translator who is up-to-date with local business customs can you make sure you avoid any obvious “faux pas”.
If it’s to be translated into English, should it be given an American or British flavour?
Does the translator understand your job and its specific terminology? If so, this will help to ensure that you show off the full depth of your professional experience in the target language.
Does the CV really “sell” your qualities, skills and assets adequately in the target language?

To make sure that you tick all the above boxes, or as many as possible, you need to have your CV professionally translated by specialists.

It’s potentially an investment that will be a tiny fraction of the extra amount you could be earning.

Contact us for translations that help you market and sell. You can reach us at info@pplimited.com.

Why gamble with your brand name and your reputation?

By employing us you’ll be using specialist marketing translators to ensure you get exactly the right message across, not merely a passive translation.

We have experience of managing successful marketing campaigns in countries as diverse as the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, India and Russia to name a few.

We only use marketing-specialist translators who are skilled copywriters in their own language. Through our international network we can source almost any language combination. Please contact us for several blue-chip testimonials.

Our professional marketing translation service will help you to speed up the buying process and improve your levels of customer service, for all your clients.

We’ll help you to ensure your customers and partners know exactly what you offer and the benefits of doing business with you.

In short, we’ll deliver meticulous marketing translations time after time.