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The economy is slow and budgets have been cut for everything, including professional translation services. That makes it tough to support international customers who need information in their own languages, especially in those countries where the law requires it. A response is to use  translators with lower rates, but there is a lot at risk when price is the only thing that matters.

Consider these factors which are extremely important to your company:

1) brand image,

2) customer satisfaction,

3) operator safety.

All of these can be adversely affected by focusing solely on cost. Good translators – those who know and understand your product and work to continuously improve their skills and knowledge – are in demand and earn a reasonable wage.

Here are some alternative suggestions for reducing cost while still maintaining the quality which is important for your corporate standards.

• Trim the wording – fewer words = lower cost.

The basic price calculation for translation pricing is the number of words to translate. Eliminate enough of those words and you can reduce a substantial amount. Reducing your words by 20% has a big impact on translation costs, especially where several languages are involved.

• Let technology work for you.

If you’re translating repetitive material, make sure your translator is using translation memory tools. Your price will be discounted by the number of matching sentences that can be retrieved from a database of previous translations.

• Use non-verbal graphics.

Make it general practice to leave words off of any illustrations. If an explanation is required, place it in a caption or legend within the text. This will make the translation process quicker and cost less.

• Keep it simple.

Translating a 164-page catalogue with multiple columns, complex tables and detailed graphics is a costly project. Pare it down and simplify the layout before translating. If it took a long time to create complex visuals, it will take the translation supplier just as long to manipulate the translated text into the same format. Simplify and economize money.

• Use non-verbal graphics.

Make it general practice to leave words off of any illustrations. If an explanation is required, place it in a caption or legend within the text. This will make the translation process quicker.

Use professional translation

What type of return can you expect from your investment into a professional translation? Well-written and clearly worded documentation in your customer’s language will support your brand image and can contribute to more efficient operation, which means customers will come back for more. Customer safety, a huge concern for manufacturers today, will be enhanced by clear communication of all hazards and warnings. Weigh these factors and determine if they are important to your company in the long run. If so, consider finding other ways to economize without sacrificing the quality of your written communications in client’s language. Use professional translation instead of machine translation.