Expanding Your Business Globally: How Translation Can Help You Succeed

There are many ways to approach the process of global expansion, and one of the first is translating your business. While this may seem like an easy task, it can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing. In this post, we’ll explore how you can expand your business internationally and bring its products or services to new markets.

Know Your Audience

Before you begin translating your business, take some time to understand who your audience is. This will help you determine what languages they speak and what kinds of content they will find useful or interesting. Once you know these things, you can start thinking about how best to engage them with your brand.

Localize

Once you’ve identified where your audience is located, it’s time to localize your content for those markets. Localization involves translating the text into a foreign language so that people in other countries can understand it as well as possible. The goal here is not only to make sure that people understand what you’re saying but also that they feel like they’re getting something unique from their interaction with your brand. This means that if there are any cultural references in your original content (such as slang), these should be changed or removed when you’re localizing it. For example, if you’re writing a blog post about how your new product helps people lose weight, but the word “diet” is considered offensive in some countries, then you should use another word for weight loss instead of dieting—such as “lifestyle change.”

Spend Time Selecting the Right Language Service Provider (LSP)

A good LSP will be able to help you navigate the process of translating all of your materials into another language. They’ll help make sure you choose the right words for your particular target audience, and they’ll assist you in changing any cultural references or business practices that may not translate well from one region to another. Companies should approach the translation of their business with a level of care. Failing to take the time select the right language service provider leads to a greater expense, more errors, and less of an international presence. A company’s bottom line depends on its reputation, and it can’t be fully realized if that reputation doesn’t translate into other languages. Overall, it is clear that you need to be systematic whenever you approach the complicated process of making internationalization a success. One mistake can ruin your business. Taking a phased approach will ensure that your transformation from local to global has a successful outcome.