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Have you ever bought a cheap product, because of the low price and ended up paying twice as much, because the thing you purchased broke almost immediately? I have. Several times, actually. Trying to save money, ending up spending more and having my frustration levels rise. I don’t recommend it.

This “let’s save as much as we can” trap happens in business too - especially when it comes to the localization process.

When marketing or product executives want to translate technical documentation or localize website or translate marketing content, the thought of hiring a localization company is not always the first thing on their mind. Why do it, if they have a bilingual employee that could do that for them? Why spend additional amounts of money on collaboration with a language service provider, if the employee speaks the language, knows the content and the company and can easily translate? It’s just translation, how hard can it be? What can go wrong? A lot, actually.

1. What About Your Content Consistency?

Why are the big global companies so easily recognized? Not only because of the logos, but also because of their consistency in branding, in the message and in the content they provide. While your glossary is created by your team and it usually is consistent, are you sure that the people who worked on it are the ones to translate it?

A professional translator, with a background in the language industry and knowledge of your industry, is also not enough. On top of that, they have to possess full knowledge and understanding of the local market you plan to enter, the cultural and legal aspects and the nuances since the language is evolving as we speak.

To make sure your brand message is consistent throughout your content, you need a translation provider that covers the language, the industry, the culture, the laws and regulations. A localization company that will recognize whether your content requires transcreation or technical translation, or maybe both. You need a team of people that can deliver the translation that accurately reflects your company mission and vision and complies with the local market’s requirements. Your customers deserve the best experience and a consistent message makes it possible.

2. What About the Translation Quality?

Yes, it is about the Q-word. There is a reason for ISO regulations in the translation industry. When you read them, you find clear instructions of what a professional translator’s job means, and what such person and company need to represent to comply with these regulations. The quality regulations are there not just for the benefit of your end customers in order to have the perfect experience using your website localized properly. They are also for your safety as a translation industry’s client. You deserve to get the best possible outcome as much as your customers deserve the best possible experience using your product or service.

When you delegate the translation to your internal resources whose linguistic skills are not regulated, because they are not professional translators, you risk poor results in your website localization, your transcreation and technical translations. Or mixed, at best.

This will result in you finally turning to the language service providers for help. It will take more time because the translated content will have errors that need to be addressed, the style, tone and voice of the content might need to be amended and so on. This will generate higher costs and it will mean spending more time on what could have been done faster and better.

Not to mention the customers you will lose, should you release the badly translated content, before turning to professional translation providers.

People like to know what they are buying and the products they purchase need to be user-friendly which is guaranteed by the product or service supporting content in their own languages.

3. What About Your Employees?

Your internal resources have their own tasks, goals and deadlines to meet, right? Having to translate the content, whereas everyone knows that the localization process is complex, will result in them failing to fulfill their duties related to their position. I don’t think I have to mention the stress behind it. Your company’s goals will suffer because of that, this can generate financial loss, and in the end, again, you end up having to spend more money and time for damage control.

Your employees, regardless of being bilingual, probably do not have the skills and the knowledge required for the translation process to go smoothly. And there are tools and processes that can make it happen on time and on spec. The money you save thanks to that makes it all worth your while. And worth your employees’ peace of mind.

4. What About Having Full Control Over Your Multilingual Content?

When you decide to partner up with a localization company, you don’t lose control over your content. It only means you and your employees gain time to meet your own goals and letting someone else take the burden of making your content ready for your company’s international expansion.

You still have control over it all. You can choose the preferred tool for the localization process, you are in control of the terminology used, you are the one that sets the tone of the message. Your language service provider is there to listen and also, if needed, to guide you and help you choose the right path, tool and process. As there is no one path for all translation clients. Your translation provider will be able to understand your company’s needs and address them, making sure you stay in charge of the whole process and that you do not receive mixed results.

You also save money instead of losing it, as your translations add up. Here’s where translation memory comes in. Once translated, certain segments are used again in the next translations which ensures consistency. You do not pay twice for those elements, of course.

You have control over your content at its creation stage and at its translation stage too. Your employees have control over their time, goals and deadlines and no time and money is lost in the process. It’s well spent.

Your employees, however, can take an active part in the translation process. At the client review stage. This is the place where their expertise will come in handy and it also does not have to mean them spending too much time on the task. There are specific things to remember when it comes to client review.

Make sure your employees are able to fully dedicate their efforts to your company’s growth by allowing them to focus on what their job really is. Let the professional localization company take over the localization process, take the burden off your internal resources’ shoulders and keep you in charge of the game. The end result is worth it. You’ll see.