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Do you desire to expand your company beyond the domestic or international English-speaking markets? Or maybe you have a meeting in the near future with members of the C-suite for an overseas company you’d like to do business with.
Either way, it will be important for you to communicate your message accurately and effectively, with the same precision that you’ve used to convey your company’s message in English.

If B2B translation is on the horizon for your company, consider these questions before working with a translation agency.

Who Is Your Audience?

Decide who will need your product, service, or information the most. When you know who your audience is, you will know how to focus your language for the translation.

• Are you a software company that uses hi-tech jargon, or an investment firm that’s looking to expand into South America? Maybe you are an insurance company addressing the growing US Hispanic population. Well, a translation from each field will require a team of translators with different backgrounds and vocabulary—one for technology, and the other specialized in finance and insurance, for example.

What Is Your Target Market?

Questions for B2BDetermine what part of the globe your company is targeting for two main reasons.

• First, you will be clear on the language(s) your message will need to be translated into.
• Second, it will allow you to determine if you will need to localize.

Knowing your target audience will bring specificity to your marketing message. That concept works in any language.

Which Parts of Your Message Should Be Localized?

You have a commitment, a budget and you’ve defined your target market. Now you can get even more specific and decide which parts of the message, if any, should be localized to particular regions.

• For example, in the American South, the term “y’all” is used, while in the Northern United States, it isn’t. Are there particular regions within your target market where localized text is preferred, and could lead to a stronger connection with your audience?

Have You Considered Translating Your Company’s Website?

As long as domestic or international multilingual communities exist and have a need for your services, it is a good idea to consider translating your website into the language of the markets where your product is also sold.

• Doing so shows an effort on your part to communicate, and people will respond in kind to a company that makes an effort to better communicate with its customers.and no, do not get tempted using automated translation options for your website. It backfires.

The main goal in any language is to communicate clearly. And just as your business has been able to communicate its products, mission, and goals in English, it should do the same in a translated language if the markets and the math make sense. If you see translation in your business’s future, have you started to ask yourself any of these questions?