Translators can still help expand your business in troubled times

It may seem premature to talk about expanding your business at a time when much of the world’s economic system has been severely hampered by the spread of Covid-19. Some businesses may never survive. Many have taken a direct hit and others have gone into hibernation. International travel is almost completely at a standstill. International tourism, even domestic travel and tourism is on hold. However, translators can help expand your business during these troubled times.

Post pandemic: there will be new opportunities

Despite the doom and gloom, the fact that the virus is with us for months, possibly years until an effective vaccine is found, Covid-19 certainly won’t be around forever. In a year or two or three, we will forget the virus and life will go on. If you have a business, you will want to take advantage of the new opportunities that will open up.

If there is one thing (amongst many others) that the existence of Covid-19 has taught us, it is just how interconnected the world has become. Sure, the virus has taken advantage of our global togetherness, but global cooperation will defeat it. There will be no going back into national isolation. Businesses that have a global perspective and global strategy will be the ones that will lead the economy out of the recession.

One of the key strategies employed to expand your business is to be aware of just how important it is to use localisation services and professional translation for business when marketing and selling your products outside of your own national boundaries. Even if your business is based in a country where the native language is English, any attempt to expand your business internationally into other English-speaking counties must at least take notice of the often subtle and sometimes not so subtle differences between the languages: British English, American English, Australian and New Zealand English are all variants of the same language. This is where localisation, i.e. adaptation of the language to local colloquialism is so important in any expansion strategy.

IT is largely unaffected by the pandemic

One thing that has hardly been affected by the pandemic is the IT industry. The Internet and the use of online technology have never been so important. When epidemiologists, virologists and health officials communicate they can do so at lightning speed. Business leaders and politicians can communicate via Zoom and video conferencing made possible by the Internet.

The Internet will, of course, be central to working out how to expand your business post-pandemic. Potential clients can contact translators online from anywhere around the world. It is possible to modify and adapt websites to allow language-specific versions without any physical contact.

One of the reasons why translation is so important is that most people around the world are happier browsing websites and online information about new products in their own language. This is the case even if the people who are doing the browsing are multilingual. For example, they may be able to understand English, but if it isn’t their native language, they will turn to web pages in their own language. That’s where translators come in. And it’s not just literal translation that counts, it’s localisation or transcreation.

So, what is localisation and why is it important to help expand your business?

Localisation is a more refined or advanced type of translation, also known as transcreation. It makes use of the fact that consumers relate to the nuances of their own particular culture and dialect. When translators are unfamiliar with local variations of a language, whatever they translate may not resonate with potential consumers. Much of what you need to do to expand your business involves marketing or selling a product. In that case, you will need transcreators who are capable of localising the language used. It might just be an ability to understand why certain colours are unattractive or favoured. What the local sense of humour is, or what seems rude or insensitive. This requires an in-depth understanding and familiarity with the local culture that the market you are trying to reach is a part of.

Continue Reading: A guide on how publishers can provide multilingual content using translation services

About the Author

A Blogger from Aussie Translations, Charlie Bavister has specialized in writing blog posts and have worked with entrepreneurs, executives, industry experts and many other professionals in writing and publishing, blogs, newspaper articles, SEO web content, and more.