There are many different reasons you should make sure your website translation is perfect: language that is difficult to understand can alienate potential customers; poorly translated sites can make your business look unprofessional; bad translations could even misrepresent the product you sell, leading to legal issues. Since you need to look professional in each international market you operate in, you’ll want to source professional translation services. And below we’ll cover in-depth how to handle a website translation so that you can create the best experience possible for your valued customers.
Why a Well-Designed Site Is So Important
Having a well-designed website that works in translation as well as in the original language is imperative. A poorly presented site can be detrimental to your business. In an everyday life scenario, how many of us have happened upon sites that are so difficult to use, outdated or poorly worded that we’ve jumped ship to a site that doesn’t look as much like a scam?
The numbers prove this scenario. According to a report on the state of content by Adobe, 38 percent of people will stop engaging with a poorly laid out website. That’s a massive chunk of potential revenue that a bad website could lose.
What’s more, the report states that the content must be presented in a way that’s also easy to consume. 73 percent of people say content “must display well on the device,” and 66 percent prefer something that is beautifully designed over something that is plain and simple.
All of this might not seem to have much to do with translation, but when ugly or poorly displayed websites stand that much of a chance of alienating potential customers, it shows how your website must have a great translation and be well localized in each market. Simply put, difficult websites chase people away.
As an additional note, be wary of relying on machine translation to handle your website. While it can often be a good starting place, machine translation is still prone to errors. Also, Google Translate can’t tell how smooth a shopping experience is for a human being.
Translation of Full Websites in Native Languages
When you’re focused on the best customer experience, you will need a complete website translation. There are actually several benefits to doing this.
A full website translation that is in a native language can make clients feel like your company understands them and their culture. In turn, clients will get a feeling of trust between your business and themselves.
A full website translation and localization can also make customers feel like they’re in their element. For instance, remembering to translate both the text and additional pieces like currency symbols can reduce confusion on the part of the customer.
In short, customers like to feel that a company is meeting them on their terms, a concept that is played out in the numbers. According to an article regarding global customers by the Harvard Business Review:
- 72.1 percent of consumers spend most or all of their time on websites that are in their native tongue;
- 72.4 percent of consumers are more likely to buy a product that provides them with information in their native language; and
- 56.2 percent of consumers rate the ability to get information on a product in their own language as even more important than price.
So by getting a full translation of your website, you’re actually helping to boost the potential for greater conversion rates.
With a full website translation, you can also work towards ranking on search engines in other countries, thereby boosting your website traffic overseas. Google likes websites that are easy to interact with, that load quickly and that include certain terms in the native language. So you can create a more attractive site for search engines too, by focusing on a whole website overhaul for a new market. And when your customers can find you more easily, they’re more likely to buy.
Using Translation to Engage and Influence Through Social Media
Translating materials for your business doesn’t just stop at the website translation. One key part of connecting with customers in this day and age is interacting with them through social media.
In fact, social media massively influences purchase decisions, especially with millennials. Forbes published an article on the purchasing decisions of millennials and how social media influences it. For instance, 72 percent of millennials surveyed report buying fashion and beauty products based on Instagram posts. Meanwhile, 71 percent of people are more likely to buy something online if that service or product comes recommended by others.
Combine those numbers with the fact that people would rather purchase items online in their native tongue, and you can see why social media translation is so important.
Translation and After-sales Support
In order to create the best customer service experience possible, you will also need to focus on translation for the purpose of after-sales support. After all, how many of us have refused to recommend a service, or even badmouthed it to friends and family, because the support was poor after we purchased the product? Maybe a company didn’t have a good return policy or its customer service team was unknowledgeable while troubleshooting a tech device you were trying to set up. Whatever the situation, poor after-sales support leaves a bad taste.
So when you’re thinking about how to make the customer service experience top-notch in any location, don’t forget to factor translation into after-sales support processes. Of course, the tricky part is that after-sales support has a lot of moving parts. As such, after-sales translation needs can include:
- Documents like return policies;
- Any mailers that get shipped with items or even “thank you for your purchase” emails;
- Live or chat-based customer support;
- Scripts on automated customer service lines; and
- Any support websites, such as forums where people can post questions or issues.
There’s an old axiom in customer service: “Take care of your customers and employees first, and profits will follow.” And there’s no better way to take care of your customers than meeting them on their own terms culturally. That means a quality translation across every part of your customer service plan.
