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The Benefits of Collaboration Between the Client & Translation Partner

The rise of companies expanding globally has resulted in an increased need for localization. These global companies benefit from having their content localized, whether it’s their website, printed marketing collateral, social media posts, etc. to culturally connect with their target audiences. During the translation and localization process, companies must invest adequate time and money to meet goals. In this blog, we will discuss some of the important ways global companies meet their localization goals, budget and timeline by collaborating effectively with their translation partner.

Benefits of Collaboration

Many of the companies who send translation requests don’t often inquire on the ways to save money and time or the best practices for quality. Most requests want a quotation, but don’t initially engage in conversation with the translation partner. However, asking questions beforehand can make a big difference in the translation cycle. Below, we will cover these topics to illustrate how collaboration can help you get the most out of your translation partner.

Quality

Translations need to always be specifically tailored to the clients’ needs and targeted audience(s). This is especially true when translating to or from languages with many dialects, like Arabic and Chinese. It’s very important to let your translation partner know early on which dialects or regions you would like to target so they can assign the correct team of translators to your project.

If you have a language reviewer, it’s beneficial to get your reviewer and the translation team on a call to discuss your content’s style and tone to ensure everyone is on the same page with the expectations of the translation and review process.

Apart from the reviewer call, reference materials, style guides and tools like Translation Memory can help with the consistency and quality of the translated content.

Price

Establishing a relationship with the translation partner you use on a regular basis could result in account-based discounts. Other factors like the use of Translation Memory tools will result in discounted pricing for future projects on previously translated segments of text. If you are using a new translation agency, but have a Translation Memory from past projects, it’s important to discuss that with your new translation team. Translation agencies will always maintain a Translation Memory for leveraging previously translated content to help save on time and money and that database will remain yours to use in future translations.

Time

Collaboration and open communication will help your translation partner understand more about the nature of your business and your goals. This helps them be prepared to ensure a project is delivered as requested, including and reasonable rush project. The more you share about your project timeline expectations early on, the easier it will be for the translation team to meet your request. Please note, it is always recommended to provide adequate time for translations as that helps your partner to follow the necessary best practices before delivering the project.