We offer you a few tips to help you make the most of your relationship with the translation agency and get a quality service within the set budget.
Above all, you have to be convinced that quality translation will add value to your entire project. Quite often a project budget is distributed for marketing, advertising, graphic design, etc., and translations are either left with a small amount or assigned to an employee who is not qualified to perform them.
Never forget that a bad translation could wreck the whole project!
Such cases are no exception, do not forget that. Therefore, allocate enough of your budget to hire a quality translation agency to make sure that the translation will be correct and professionally localized. We do hope there is no need to remind you of the proverb “We’re not rich enough to buy cheap things”.
You need to make sure that the source text is well written before you hand it over for translation.
You should send the final version, naturally. Any consequent corrections would slow the process down and, worse even, weigh down your budget. The translation will be as good as the original is.
Do not leave the translation work for the last minute. Express translation services are more expensive; besides, the translator will not have enough time. This could affect quality, despite the higher price of the service. Not really sensible, is it?
Carefully determine what really needs to be translated, especially if your budget is less. For example, if you want to have your entire website translated, but have a limited budget, consider preparing only one page of the essentials about your business or your project.
If you’re going to translate documents, you could simply summarise them.
Talk to the translation agency; they will help you choose the option that best fits your needs.
Fold the translator into your team. Explain all the details about your project to them in advance. Translation is much more than separate words. When the translator is aware of the goals and specifics of your project, the work they produce will be a lot more relevant. However, if they are not well informed, there is always the risk of further additions and corrections. And that will cost you more money than planned and worries.
Appoint a contact person from your team to liaise with the translation agency. The qualified translator will have questions, and they should be answered by someone who is aware of the details. Here are some of the possible questions: “Do you have a set written style?” “What are the specific terms, abbreviations, etc. that you use?” Your contact person has to be familiar enough with the specifics of your business and, at the same time, they must be able to explain the corporate communication culture, if that becomes necessary. Those aspects are often underestimated at the expense of quality.
And remember! Just like with every other professional service, there is a huge difference between cheap translation and the kind of translation that adds value to your project, service or company representation. And that difference is surely something the user of the translated text will be able to notice.
This will tip the scales in favour of your company. You can be sure of it!
If you need translation services, do not hesitate to contact us. Send us an enquiry now!