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3 Attributes of An Ideal Translation Client

June 17, 2014

Customers of translation companies have reasons why they prefer to to do business with one company or another. It may be the skill level of the translators, the quick turnaround schedule, favorable pricing, or numerous other things. Whatever the reasons are, conscious or not, they have them and their preferences affect their buying decisions. In the same way translation […]

Is Translation Consistency Overrated?

June 16, 2014

Ask a group of translation clients whether consistency in style and terminology is important from project to project and many will say yes. Still many translation projects are performed without the benefit of a translation memory or even a simple glossary of key terms. The absence of these resources virtually ensures some variation from project […]

3 Attributes of An Ideal Translation Client

June 17, 2014

Is Translation Consistency Overrated?

June 16, 2014

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3 Attributes of An Ideal Translation Client

June 17, 2014

In the same way translation companies have client preferences, those customers they decide to target in their promotional campaigns and in plans for growth. The following are among the client attributes we value most:

1) Good communication skills:

Clear communication from clients can help set up successful translation projects. For example it might be helpful to know something about the target audience for the translation. Are there specific source language words that should be left untranslated? In general more information is better than less information. Translators can effectively sort out what information is useful and what is not.

2) Basic understanding of translation processes:

Part of our company’s job is to educate translation clients on the services we provide. There are basic things clients should know about such as quality assurance measures related to second translator editing/proofreading. We specify these services in our quotes and in the way we describe our services.

Clients also benefit by knowing that there are often multiple approaches to a particular translation project, and that our translators might not translate to match a given third party’s personal word choice preferences, unless we have those preferences in advance.

3) A non-commodity mindset:

As a reminder, commodities are essentially those goods and services which are differentiated mainly, if not solely, by their price. So wheat, potatoes, “widgets” (whatever those are) are generally considered commodities. Our ideal clients are those who look for something more than just the lowest price. There are numerous ways that our company differentiates its services. The clients who value those differentiators are our most compatible customers.

Is Translation Consistency Overrated?

June 16, 2014

So how important is translation consistency then really? If clients value other factors more, what might those factors be? Here are three that come up for us from time to time:

consistency (1)

Time to project completion

Do you want the project fast or consistent? Sometimes in the real world that’s the choice and fast wins. Locating a TM or taking the time to prepare a glossary even if it results in a translation more consistent with past work is sometimes not worth the delay in project completion.

Opportunity cost trade offs

Client time spent locating or transferring a preexisting TM or even more time intensive preparation of a glossary does not result in sufficient improved quality of a translation to warrant the extra investment of time. Other priorities are of greater importance to them and their organizations.

Low importance

Translation consistency is just not that important for some projects. If different projects have distinct audiences then consistency with past projects might not be critical. When clients are informed they can often make the determination (e.g., no we don’t mind if this project is entirely consistent with other projects).

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

3 Attributes of An Ideal Translation Client

Is Translation Consistency Overrated?

3 Attributes of An Ideal Translation Client

Is Translation Consistency Overrated?

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

3 Attributes of An Ideal Translation Client

Is Translation Consistency Overrated?

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