Translation—the thing that makes international communication possible is one of the most sought-after services in the global world of today. As the world shrinks to accommodate the myriad of businesses and commercial activities, establishing cross-border communications is not a choice, but a necessity.
This is why translation services are a must if a business has eyes on the global horizon. It is easy to be ambitious when it comes to expanding your business globally, it is seldom easy to achieve that globalization.
The real question is, why are translation services so necessary for business? What are the reasons a business chooses to opt for translation in the first place anyway?
Source: newtoninternationalgroup
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It’s all in the Culture
One thing that has remained constant over the years is the cultural differences between the countries. These cultural differences are the main reason why language translation services are needed for a business. A culture of a country defines the traditions, norms, and values of its people—the expressions they use, the language they use to communicate with each other.
As world population increases and nationalities merge and divide, this intercultural fusion creates a mixture of cultures that is hard to ignore for businesses. A firm cannot stay centered in a single region or country, it has to go out and explore other regions, which is why it should have a sound knowledge of other cultures and the people who are part of these cultures.
Again, a business that has a thorough knowledge of other cultures does not necessarily have all the right tools to make headway into these cultures. The right tools to explore any culture are interaction, collaboration and communication—and these tools make localization of businesses possible if done right.
Without the right knowledge and tools needed to understand the cultures, you can bid farewell to your dream of embracing globalization. That is how important cultural knowledge is. Which is why companies like E-word Budapest have come into existence and are thriving by helping businesses to blend in the local environment.
Source: BeyondWordz
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It’s a Millennial’s world
Yes. That’s right. The present belongs to the millennials, and the future too. It is a common mistake that businesses ignore translation and localization needs and they do so at their own peril. A business that “deliberately” opts not to localize risk losing valuable assets in the long run—assets that are both tangible and intangible in nature. And one of the main things that a business should never make is to ignore the huge millennial population.
According to recent studies, people under the age of 30 comprise more than half of the world’s population. That is half of the population you miss out when you choose not to translate your content into other languages. Imagine living confined into a region without any prospects for regional or global growth—that means a loss in revenues and sales that might otherwise have changed the success chart of a business.
The key is to focus on one generation that is bound to give the desired returns—the Millennials.
The numbers are astounding. Majority of millennials live in China, South America, and Africa and those countries that have a per-capita income of less than $1000 per year. Over half of the users in China are under the age of 25. Mind you, China is one of the top countries to surpass the U.S. in terms of internet users by 2035.
Source: Foreign Translations
If the above statistics are not reasons enough to focus on the millennials, take a look at the big companies that have paved their way to the top of the world by cashing on these millennials. ODesk, one of the largest and fastest-growing online marketplaces of the world connects contractors globally. These 1.5 million contractors are stationed throughout the world and are the main entrepreneurs for information exchange. Guess who is constitute half of these entrepreneurs? The millennials. Being a generation that has embraced the technological shifts with open arms, these millennials are responsible for these entrepreneurial information exchange across borders, enabling oDesk to reach out to the millions of international users worldwide.
The key to striking a chord with the millennials is to speak their language. And the only way a business can speak their language is to translate its services in a way that they relate to these millennials. Finding common ground for interaction with these millennials is what will make businesses competitive in this globalized world.
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The world is Expanding!
Before you decide to overlook the need to translate your business for international expansion, consider the global numbers involved. The world’s population is expanding at astounding rates, with China in the lead as one of the most populous nations of the world.
To keep up with these global population bursts, companies are also going global. LinkedIn, one of the few companies having little presence in China is vying for a top spot in this region, with Facebook and Twitter all fighting for social dominance in the international market. More than ever, companies across the world are seeking to connect with the world on a deeper level these days, with many corporate giants even extending out to less developed nations. To ignore this expansion and population boom would tantamount to missing out on valuable revenue streams and the primary way to forge that connection is to translate your business to suit the needs of the global audience—irrespective of the region.
Source: Adrika
The Last Words:
Globalization comes with its own set of challenges and hurdles, some of which are not easy to overcome by many companies. This does not mean, however, that companies should lay down their arms in this race to secure a place in the global world. Translation and localization are just a few basic tools that can act as a starting point for these companies on their global journey. And if done right, can open doorways to international acclaim and revenues that are not possible for companies confined to one region only.
