Top Takeaways From 2019

With the end of the year rolling around, we’ve gathered some of our most popular blog posts for 2019 in one easy to navigate guide. In this post, we’ve split up ten of our popular and best-serving posts of the year into three categories: understanding translation services, what you need to know for local business, and going global.

2019: Home and Away

In a year of political debate and seemingly never-ending discussions about Brexit across the pond, it’s important to look at how your business fits into the grand scheme of things. Proper communication is key to survival as the minefield of globalization gets trickier to cross.

Understanding translation services

The first place to get started when examining your options is to understand the behind the scenes work involved in translation agencies. In a post earlier this year, we spell it out clearly for you, to demystify the process and help you make the best decision for you. The blog post includes:

• Differences in different types of agencies
• The workflow involved in translation
• An explanation of different technologies used in translation.

But why should you use an agency? In a follow-up post, we look at the benefits of choosing an agency over a freelancer. The post goes into detail on several important considerations, including:

• Scalability
• Standards in translation services
• Support
• Technology

In short, an agency makes life easier when you need a translator.

As well as explaining the translation process, we also took the time to explain interpretation for buyers. Where translation is concerned with the written word, interpretation is about the spoken word. Our blog includes key explanations about different types of interpretation, so you always understand what’s happening and what you’re asking for.

Translation services at home

On the home front, we looked at a few topics throughout the year. One vital post that has long-term implications on businesses in the US is our exploration of multilingualism in business. While English is the language of choice for business, a multilingual workforce offers many benefits to the company as a whole.

One way of addressing this is to look at the second largest spoken language in the US: Spanish. Our blog post on Hispanic buying power addresses why the Spanish-speaking communities across the country are worth marketing towards, especially in the long-term. Where better to start your focus on multilingualism in your own business than the growing Spanish-speaking community?

While focusing on the spoken word, it’s easy to forget about those who cannot hear. Our post on American sign language takes a look at some of the nuances of ASL interpretation, to help you address the 250,000 to 500,000 ASL users in the US more easily. In a time of global uncertainty, speaking to everyone at home is a good first step to doing good business internationally.

Going global

International business is the way forward when your company is seeking to expand. One of our key blog posts of the year explains the process in 5 easy steps, so you can understand what you’re getting yourself in for, and how to make the journey easier.

Major brands have dominated international markets for decades, because they understood how the process worked. As a follow up to our easy intro above, why not check out our post on how to localize like the big guys. In the post, we examine localization, and provide some examples from well-known brands such as Coca Cola, KFC and Dominos Pizza and how they reached beyond the American border to influence buying decisions for customers worldwide. While their success varies country to country, there’s no arguing with the fact that all three are recognizable in countries all over the world – with KFC being the dinner of choice for the Japanese on Christmas day!

To help you understand the process of going global, we also took a look at cross cultural communication. Cross cultural communication is the way in which a translator deals with all of the differences between two cultures when translating, and the multiple cultures a single person lives in during their day-to-day life.

One specific example of all of this at work can be seen in our post on App localization. When marketing your app to the wider world, it’s helpful to consider all the variances between languages. Our post is clear and concise, to help you research the next step in your app’s life.

What’s next?

With the start of a new year, now is the time most people reflect on the year that’s gone and decide on the next steps in their personal and professional lives. The same is true for businesses all over the world. Once you’ve completed your reflection on your translation services needs, get in touch. We’d love to help you communicate your message with a wider audience and take that next step with you.