Don’t just ask for Translation, ask for a Translation Agency

For any global brand, the idea of having a well-rounded translation strategy is not a luxury anymore. It has become the norm rather than an exception in a world where globalization expects brands to communicate and penetrate markets through the language barriers.

Understandably, the market for translation providers has also bloomed in a prolific manner. There are numerous experts, translators and language tools out there to avail of, if translation is a key part of a business’s marketing strategy.

Nevertheless, what one can easily miss is the word ‘services’ in this new pursuit. It is often easy, and can seem like a bargain to opt for a single professional or a small pool of language translators to do the chore at hand. But that nick-of-time fire-fighting won’t do any good when the question is about a vast array of documents and marketing collaterals.

It is not at all advisable to rope in a translation agency that just ticks the translation box. For, that is a feat that even automated tools, machine-aids or individuals can deliver. Any really dependable and worth-pursuing agency would be one that would offer a multitude of services that flank and complement the core translation work.

Without these services a lot of important translation tasks can go awry or be full of errors. If they are not so, then chances are high that they would not meet time-schedules required for a marketer to effectively go about the new set of goals.

Services not only aid translations but they also amplify and strengthen the overall strategy. A well-equipped language translation services agency will provide a regular, well-staffed and timely client interface team so that the brands can draw out expectations clearly and keep a tab on the progress and milestones.

Apart from basic translation and proofreading, a good agency would offer layers of language services like

• Documentation

• Lifecycle management

• Publishing

• Visual design

• Software localization

• Quality control

• Testing

• Legal checks & compliances

A vital ingredient of a services basket would be that of project management. This becomes necessary as too many tasks under too many executives chasing too many translators can run the obvious risk of confronting time or budget creeps, if not errors. A project management practice keeps things in order and in shape for even the trickiest of projects.

Project management becomes a must-have for multinational companies who operate in hundreds of countries requiring translation services to be delivered on an on-demand basis. Every tweak in the source will trigger a massive translation work across the globe to be done in a timely fashion.

This attribute only gets empowered when the agency in question looks and serves beyond the core product of translation. Services can be explained as those wheels that may look insignificant but they are indeed the very parts that propel a translation job towards its destination in time, and with good quality.

Services are also not stand-alone parts that should be looked upon as slices worth negotiation. They should ideally not be compromised upon as they add a lot of high-quality value to the end-goal.

I am an Expert in the medium of translation & language services. I have working knowledge in documents translation, conduct Multilingual media research, and provide Multilingual E-mail Support.