For global businesses, translation services are a necessary expense. While there are free options through machine translation applications like Google Translate and Bing Translator, more often than not, you get what you pay for when you receive poorly translated and even incomprehensible text as a result.

While professional translation services such as Morningside may cost more than Google Translate (or that bi-lingual speaker who works in HR), the investment is well worth it in the long run.   In a survey conducted by Common Sense Advisory and later published by Harvard Business Review, 2,430 web consumers in eight countries were studied to determine how language affected their purchasing behaviors. The results found that over 72% of consumers were more likely to buy a product with information in their own language, while over 56% stated that the ability to obtain information in their own language was even more important than price.

In other words, for any business NOT seriously investing in professional translation services, don’t expect your foreign language consumer base to hang around for too long.

But while translation services can get pricey, depending on the amount of content and number of languages, there is no need for translation services to break the bank. Any smart business will do their homework first to determine which languages are necessary to translate, and which may be left on the backburner for the time being.

One approach is to limit the target languages based on the countries with the highest number of internet users. With thousands of different languages spoken around the world, translating all of them is not a realistic task, regardless of the size of your company. By first narrowing the field down to only the most popular language users on the internet, you have a more realistic pool to choose from when picking your target languages.

Once you’ve narrowed down your language list, you can do some internal research to find out the countries in which most of your visitors or customers reside. If research has shown that only a handful of consumers from Brazil, for instance, have ever searched for or used your product, perhaps it would not be worth the investment to translate all of your content into Brazilian Portuguese.  Instead, it might be wiser to focus on the top and mid-level language consumers, and increase sales in an audience that has already proven their interest.

While targeting markets with a low number of consumers may eventually become part of your company’s marketing plan, you can steadily build a long-term and loyal customer base within the initial limited countries without blowing your budget. That way, by the time the secondary marketing plan rolls out, your company will be solidly positioned in multiple language markets to better address the “riskier” expansion.

Resources:

Harvard Business Review

Internet World Stats

Translating an app is a critical tool to driving downloads and growing your business. Global reach means a wider audience, more potential clients and ultimately, far greater revenue potential. Yet making sure that the text and UI of your app is correctly translated is only the first step in helping your company maximize its global potential.

Here are three additional elements you should translate that will translate into better app success.

1. Searchable Terms

From your keywords to metadata, localizing important terms and ensuring that they are properly translated can make a huge difference in expanding your reach. One of the biggest challenges with a great app is making it easily searchable and discoverable in a massive and proliferating market of mobile software. It is worth taking the time to translate and localize your key search terms and metadata to stay ahead of the curve in this critical area. It is important to not just translate the terms, but to also make sure that the implications are the same and that you’re touching upon the necessary local slang and terminology that are commonly searched in your target market.

2. PR

Whether it’s your press release or online media kit, make sure that foreign journalists can easily find and report on your product. App and gaming journalists and bloggers are hugely influential and a strong review or article can lead to a major jump in downloads. The more promotional materials you can translate and/or localize for them, the better.

3. Business Development

Make sure your business can grow in any market by translating financial documents for potential investors and partners. You never know where a key partner that can help your product succeed will come from. Your business and financial materials are obviously different from what you’re saying to potential users and need to be translated accordingly. Taking the time to professionally localize these documents with qualified finance translation services can make a huge difference in developing your app and obtaining the capital you need to grow and succeed.

The Morningside team was excited to attend LegalTech New York this week—our 7^th year exhibiting at this important legal conference. LegalTech is one of the largest annual legal technology conferences, drawing thousands of legal professionals interested in the latest information on improving their law practice through technology. LegalTech panels and presentations covered important topics like eDiscovery, cybersecurity, risk and compliance, cost savings and more.

As a leading provider of legal language solutions, we enjoyed the opportunity to connect with delegates and learn more about their legal translation & litigation support needs. One of our big takeaways from delegates was the increased need for translation services during the eDiscovery process in comparison to previous years, and the emphasis on solutions & tools that help lower costs without compromising quality and accuracy.

To learn more about our legal language services, please click here. Our services include legal translation, transcription, multilingual document review, eDiscovery support, and more. We look forward to attending LegalTech again next year and want to thank everyone who stopped by our booth!

The Société Française des Traducteurs (SFT) is pleased to announce that registration for the 11th edition of its Medical English Seminar (SAM) is open.

The Medical English Seminar (SAM) is the go-to event for professional French/English medical translators of all levels, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro. It is organized by the French Translators Association (SFT) and held every other year at the Faculté de Médecine Lyon Est, in beautiful Lyon, France. This year’s edition will be held from March 14-18, 2016.

SAM is a fantastic and unique opportunity to participate in sessions presented by renowned medical and scientific specialists, test your translation skills against those of your peers, and network with colleagues from around the world.

In addition to the many presentations and translation workshops on hand, this year’s edition features an apéritif d’accueil, a gastronomic dinner at Restaurant Vatel and – in an exciting innovation – a translation slam.

For more information, and to register for SAM 2016, click here. But don’t delay! Early bird registration closes February 5, 2016, and final registration closes February 22, 2016. Special rates are available for members of SFT and its affiliate associations (including ATA).

Also, be sure to follow the Twitter hashtag #SAM2016 to stay up to date with all of the events going on during the seminar.
Whether you are a past participant or a newcomer, we look forward to seeing you at SAM 2016 next March!

The SAM 2016 organizing committee:
Audrey Bernard-Petitjean
Emmanuelle Darut
Iris Heres
Evelyne Santana
Stephen Schwanbeck

Administrative and registration queries:
Lorena Sorel
[email protected]
+33 2 53 74 50 03 (10.00-12.00 and 14.00-16.00 CET)