Expanding your retail business to global markets is not easy. It isn’t just about shipping your products into the new market; it is also about ensuring that your advertising efforts, brand name, and customer experience are tailored to the specific audiences.
More importantly, your brand message should be translated, both literally and culturally, for your target market. This involves translating not only the text literally, but also localising it and ensuring it is culturally suitable for the target market.
Skipping out on professional and certified translations is like attempting to assemble IKEA furniture without following the instructions. It will be annoying, draining, and, most importantly, it can be a significant reason for your international expansion failure.
Now, where does translation actually begin? Naturally, many would consider that the translation begins when words are being converted from one language into another. However, in reality, professional translation starts even earlier.
For your translation to be accurate and suitable for the target audience, allowing you to prosper in a global market, the process should begin with selecting the right documents to translate in the first place.
To better understand the importance of professional translations, the Trade Media team reached out to TS24, which is widely considered the go-to translation agency for businesses and one of the best online resources for certified translation information and services. With the help of their translation experts, we’ve prepared a list of the five key documents that drive global retail success and explored how professional translation services can make a significant difference.
5 Must-Have Documents for Your Global Business Success
From product descriptions to legalities, how your documents are translated can make a world of difference in international trade and your brand’s success. According to research, over 76% of customers prefer to buy from websites or online platforms that provide information in their native language.
Let’s discuss the five key business-critical documents that should be professionally translated for a successful expansion to a new market.
Product Manuals
Nobody wants to buy a high-tech product and get confused about setting it up or using it. This is why the product manual has to be correctly translated into the language the end user completely understands.
Word-by-word or poorly translated manuals cause confusion, misuse, and safety hazards. Going a step further, they can also cause legal trouble if customers get injured due to your unclear instructions.
The better you translate the product manual, the less likely you’ll have returns and complaints, as buyers will be able to comprehend the material, the product’s assembly, and its usage.
Hence, it is all the more reason to get the document professionally translated. Relying on machine translations for technical documents can also lead to many mistakes with industry-specific terminology, technical jargon, or cultural nuances.
Legal Documents
Now, the one place you can’t risk having translation errors is with legal documents. When you expand internationally, you will deal with different kinds of contracts, warranties, patents, and other compliance-related papers. Even a tiny translation error can lead to huge financial and legal implications for your business. Imagine its effect on your reputation and relationship with key stakeholders, including your business partners and clients.
If you go for word-for-word translations, the whole meaning of the document could be changed. Additionally, with these legal documents, you need to know about the local regulations of the country you are entering. The laws are different everywhere, and a poorly translated document could lead to non-compliance or confusion in negotiations due to the inconsistent use of terminology.
In this case, you need more than professional translation services; you need those with specialised expertise in legal translation.
Product Listings
One of the first customer interactions with your brand is via a product listing. International customers read about your brand through the listing, and this is where you can make or break the deal with them. If they don’t understand the product or the description sounds unnaturally translated, they will quickly switch to the easiest available alternative or competitor.
For instance, if you use Google Translate for product listings, you can end up with awkward-sounding phrases that will make your brand look unprofessional and even confusing. Then, there are specific cultural nuances you need to be mindful of. If something works in the US, it will not have the same meaning or usage in France or Japan.
So, you should use localisation, not just translation. Localisation goes beyond literal translation. It helps adapt your content to fit the culture and preferences of the targeted market. This makes your brand message more relevant to the audience and increases engagement while minimising the chances of cultural misunderstandings.
Website / E-Commerce Platforms
The better your e-commerce website is translated and comprehensible, the better your chances of attracting high traffic. Customers are more likely to buy from you when they feel confident in the information you have provided on the webpage.
Now, what content needs to be explicitly translated on your webpage? First, the product page, which includes the product description, reviews (if any), and specifications, should make sense to the end consumer.
The checkout page, including the payment method, terms and conditions, return policies, FAQs, and customer support sections, also needs to be clear, understandable, and correctly translated.
Marketing and Advertising Materials
Marketing services aren’t just about communicating with your audience. They are also about expressing emotion and psychology and creating a cultural connection with your clients.
This means you may even have to work on your slogans when you enter a different region. We have a history of world-leading brands that have failed when they went for retail globalisation due to the overconfidence of following the same campaign.
For instance, Pepsi went to China with its global slogan, “Come Alive With Pepsi.” The slogan was entirely lost in translation and was, in fact, misinterpreted as “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the grave.”
In China, honouring ancestors is a tradition. It was no wonder that Pepsi’s reputation and finances took a big hit after the campaign. So, to ensure the same doesn’t happen, you should use marketing services to use transcreation where needed and translation where appropriate. Your marketing campaign should adapt to the culture, not offend or threaten it in any way.
The importance of translation services for global business
Today, professional translation and interpretation services play a key role in the international business markets. From translating legal documents and financial papers to localising marketing campaigns, translation agencies enable businesses to fully reach their global potential and ensure that their content is both linguistically and culturally appropriate.
Global expansion comes with its own set of challenges. But language should not be a barrier to your growth plans. You can easily overcome any language barrier and avoid confusion by investing in marketing and professional translation services, particularly for the five key documents highlighted here.
A simple investment will help build your trust with international customers and prevent costly legal and marketing blunders. Not to mention, by making your product accessible in multiple languages, you’ll also boost your sales.
Remember, when you speak your customers’ language, they will open their doors (read: wallets) to you.
