Going Global: The Importance of Flawless Business Translations

After reading this article, you will understand why you should never use the word “Caliente” to explain your feelings. 

You need to speak global languages when you’re looking to see your business grow globally. 

You need a translation service that understands business translations, including both financial translations and corporate translations. Keep reading to learn why business translations matter. 

Why Do I Need a Translation Service? 

If you want to see your business grow globally, you need translation services for business.

Why is translation important?

You cannot rely on Google Translate to pick up on the nuances of dialects for different languages and cultures. Plus, Britain’s biggest importers are not all native English speakers. 

Here are the biggest British importers of 2022: 

  1. United States: US$63.4 billion (12% of total UK exports)
  2. Netherlands: $43 billion (8.2%)
  3. Germany: $41.2 billion (7.8%)
  4. Ireland: $36.1 billion (6.9%)
  5. Switzerland: $34.4 billion (6.5%)
  6. China: $34.4 billion (6.5%)
  7. France: $30.2 billion (5.7%)
  8. Hong Kong: $23.3 billion (4.4%)
  9. Belgium: $21.9 billion (4.2%)
  10. United Arab Emirates: $12.1 billion (2.3%)
  11. Spain: $11.9 billion (2.3%)
  12. Italy: $11.3 billion (2.2%)
  13. India: $9.7 billion (1.8%)
  14. Turkey: $7.9 billion (1.5%)
  15. Singapore: $7.8 billion (1.5%)

You may have taken French in high school and college and have a decent command of the language. If you want to compete with all of the major importers in Britain, you need an experienced translation service with human translators

Find New Markets with Business Translations

With the growth of businesses nationally, you will see the most growth in your business if you begin to reach across the Channel and the oceans to tap into the international market.

Globalisation, in general, makes selling goods overseas possible. To go global means you need to have content your customers can relate to. If your primary markets are in the UK and the USA, you can get by using English as your primary language of communication. 

Expanding to Spain, France, and any of the top 15 importer countries means communicating in that country’s native language. 

To effectively speak to a particular market, you need to contextualise the language for the culture you’re speaking to. You need a translation service to make sure you’re speaking to the market you’re attempting to tap into. 

In the process of analysing different cultures, you discover new markets altogether and not just new customers. Perhaps you didn’t realise the need for your product in a different country until you began the market research. Business translations will help you see those new markets since the translator will understand the culture and the culture’s need for whatever you’re selling.

Reach New Customers in Other Countries with Business Translations

Business translations help you reach new customers. You could attempt to use a simple translation service, something even free, like Google Translate, but Google does not understand the nuances of culture like a human translator would. 

Take the word “Caliente” for example. A basic translation tells you this Spanish word means “hot.” However, according to the Urban dictionary, if you attempted to tell someone you were warm and used the word “Caliente,” your receiver would hear you saying that you’re sexually attractive. 

This is just one example of why translation is essential. 

Nuances matter. This social example is just one of a thousand faux pas you can make when you attempt to communicate with someone using a basic translator. Imagine how bad things would go for your business if you made the same mistakes. 

A good business translation will show your new clientele that you care about them. They should be able to read your materials easily without even knowing you’re not a native speaker. 

Business Translations and Business Transcreations

The importance of translation lies in transcreation. 

Business transcreations differ from translations. Transcreation is a term used in the marketing and advertising world. It refers to the process of adapting one language to another language instead of translating one word to another. 

Transcreation means the translator knows the culture well enough to pay attention to the language’s intent, style, tone, and context. No single word can capture the meaning of a particular language’s term. 

Language is so nuanced that often multi-language speakers cannot find the best term for a word other than the word they learned for the term first. So if you are a British expatriate who grew up in Germany and learned a term for “hate,” you will think of that term first as the best term to describe “hate.”

Transcreations mean a translator takes a text and then adapts it to the local market and culture. The message of the translation stays the same, but the transcreation makes the message clear and meaningful to the target audience. Plus, the translation must stay consistent with your brand, and a transcreation does just that. 

What About Machine Translations? 

Many tech companies are working hard to create AI to translate languages. Some translations work well with machines. If you have basic translations, a machine can complete the work efficiently. 

However, no machine will replace human translations. To adequately communicate your brand’s message, you need a human who understands culture and context. The human needs an in-depth understanding of language and cultural meanings. 

How Does Business Translation Affect SEO?

Marketing initiatives need quality search engine optimisation. Spending the money on a business translation makes no sense if the market cannot find you online.

You cannot just create a translated list of keywords to increase your SEO in the global market. Instead, you need a company that will transcreate your content to make sure the keywords stay consistent with your brand and target the right customers.

Transcreation is a fairly new business, and it’s one worth investing in if you want to see your business grow globally. When you personalise your message for different markets, your business and brand will begin to dominate the market. Transcreation makes the most impact on your audience. 

What Type of Business Translations Do I Need? 

As you explore business translations, you need to understand your breadth of needs. Think about every piece of communication that needs translation. 

Financial translations and corporate translations all fall under this broad category of business translations. This means you’ll need a translation company able to take care of the following needs: 

  • Offers
  • Presentations
  • Responses to the price inquiry
  • Tender documentation
  • Draft contracts and agreements and comments thereon
  • Ready contracts and agreements
  • Documentation related to compliance with local law requirements for foreign enterprises (also certified translations)
  • Commercial correspondence
  • Translations of company internal documents 
  • Contracts and settlement documents related to the employment of foreigners
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising content 
  • Data sets and business analysis

All of these documents and more will need a translation. Now you can quickly see why Google Translate is inadequate for business translations. 

Think Global to Grow

If you want to change the world, you need to reach the world. Great business translations will turn your business from good to great as you seek new markets and customers. 

For all of your translation needs, contact us. Our translation business experts would love to help your business grow.