How Companies Avoid Problematic Translation Across Different Regions of the Same Country

Companies that flourish in international business know all too well that quality translation of marketing messages, product descriptions, company websites, and other content is invaluable to the success of international business efforts.

Many organizations new to the international market are surprised to learn that consumer-facing content in one country may require translation into multiple dialects.

As a company preparing to dive into international business, you may ask yourself – How do successful companies avoid problematic translation across regions of the same country? How can I do the same for my organization?

Protecting the Brand

Your company’s brand ties together a culmination of characteristics including company values, public image, customer experiences, company mission, employees, differentiators, and so much more.

For many reasons the brand completely and uniquely represents a message that resonates with your specific consumers – growing the company to where it is today.

Companies that successfully penetrate international markets do so by partnering with experienced language services providers that provide professional and customized translation services.

Only language services providers that utilize language professionals who are native to the country/region will be successful in identifying, translating, and adapting to dialects in a target region.

Buying translation from inexperienced language services providers puts companies at high risk of mistranslation – leading to expensive corrections and possible legal fees. Ford is one example of a company who experienced mistranslation that damaged their brand in a new market.

Ford’s attempt to penetrate the Belgium market failed miserably when an advertisement for the Ford Pinto included a major mistranslation. The advertisement was supposed to convey the message “Every car has a high-quality body”. To Ford’s dismay, this message was mistranslated into “Every car has a high-quality corpse”. Ouch, what a way to lose customers – and credibility!

Research Your Target Customer

Business basics tells us that before you even think about entering a new market, you must know to whom you are selling.

Researching consumer demographics in the new market is essential to adapting marketing messages for maximum impact. This includes age, income level, gender, education level, employment status, and other factors, depending on your product or service.

It also includes discovering what regions of the country have different dialects for you to consider catering to. Again, thriving companies partner with language services providers to successfully research the target region’s translation needs.

When doing business abroad, market research is essential. Besides conducting your own initial research, the Office of the United States Trade Representative provides many tools to research foreign markets.

Services include export assistance, economic profiles of different countries, lists of U.S. Government Trade Agencies, and helpful information on trade data, laws, and important links. Take advantage of these tools to gain a complete understanding of the country and culture with which your company wants to do business.