7 Considerations When Budgeting for Translation Services

This article originally appeared on Rapport International and has been republished with permission.

Before contacting you, your potential customers use the internet to find your business and form an educated opinion about it. That’s why your online footprint (website, social media, blog, and online reviews) is one of your most important sales assets.

Yet it's only effective if it's tailored to your audience. For instance, did you know that providing your website pages and blog content in a person’s native language makes them 72% more apt to buy a product or service? Meanwhile, over 56% of European internet users say they’ll pay MORE for products and services when marketing and customer support are provided in their native language.

This is the power of language. Given these statistics, translating your website and content to attract and engage customers simply makes sound business sense.

Know Your (Translation) Onion

Work with a trusted language services provider (LSP) from the start to guarantee success. An LSP experienced in your industry will work as a true partner, creating and executing a translation management plan (TMP) that aligns with your corporate strategy, from planning through to product launch.

Any trustworthy LSP will also be completely transparent about pricing, which is arguably the most important factor in budgeting for translation. Pricing models can differ depending on the type of project and specific requirements – turnaround time, for example, or considerations such as technical versus medical translation or multiple target languages – so it’s essential to understand the ways in which agencies price their services to maximize the return on your investment.

Many translation agencies provide quotes based on the number of words, yet buyer beware! Not all per-word pricing is created equal – for example, some companies provide a low price-per-word and then tack on project management, quality assurance, and review fees as additional costs; others provide an “all-inclusive” price-per-word but may skip the quality assurance and review steps.

Make sure you know the big picture – exactly which services are included and what qualifications the translator holds – so you’re getting an honest assessment of what your experience will be.

In addition, keep in mind these seven factors:

1 - Quality

What level of quality do you need? This depends on what you need to be translated and what you will do with the translation.

For a simple email exchange with a customer in another country, using a free service like Google Translate might be sufficient. These simple machine translation services provide a “gist” translation that may not be perfect, might sound off grammatically, and will miss any nuances, but you will likely infer enough information to start a simple conversation.

At the other end of the spectrum is a professional human translator fully bilingual in both source and target languages, with experience in your industry. These professionals guarantee 100% linguistic accuracy, culturally adapted to account for idioms, turns-of-phrase, and similar nuances.

There are services between these extremes: agencies that use a combination of machine and human translation, for example – so again, it’s important to know how your agency provides its services. For example, does the agency perform any quality assurance processes, like proofreading or editing? Are these processes included in the base price, or are they add-on services? Make sure to ask questions about how the agency verifies the quality of the translations it provides and what is included in the base price.

And keep in mind that the pricing-quality relationship is largely correlative – in many instances it’s a case of the age-old adage, “you get what you pay for.” Choose the level that fits your needs.

2 - Confidentiality and Ownership

When translating sensitive information like new product details, legal documents, or personal data, it’s important to make sure your LSP keeps that information confidential and that you maintain ownership of the final translation. For example, some companies farm projects and individual documents out to a global network to find the lowest bidder; the first person to accept the project does the translation, regardless of industry experience.

There are several potential issues with this type of model:

• Confidentiality is lost when your documents are offered out to the network
• Ownership and copyrights are compromised
• Quality is variable, and there is little to no control over the qualifications or skills of the translator who accepts the project
• Follow-up can be difficult due to little accessibility for the translator once the project is completed
• Lack of consistency from one project to the next because the translator may be different on every project

Still others are using generative AI for translation with post-editing. To date, AI translations remain rife with inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and even falsehoods (called “hallucinations”) so post-editing requires a super-editor, a specialist in all of source language, target language, and subject matter, many of whom have declared it easier to start from the source text.

If a company provides an unredacted sample translation for another client as an example of their work, it’s a red flag. If they’re willing to share that client’s document, expect them to share your content as well. When it comes to confidentiality and ownership/copyright of materials, it may be worth the extra costs to choose an agency that offers confidentiality, linguistic matchmaking, and a guarantee.

3 - Process

Many agencies, particularly larger ones, follow an internal process, and they want you to conform to their procedures. Smaller LSPs are generally more agile and more likely to work within your framework. Because they conform to your internal processes, you gain time and cost efficiencies, such as reusable content and consistent client/translator pairings.

Keep in mind that seemingly lower prices may come at the expense of flexibility and control over the process. Actual costs may be higher with the internal adjustments you have to make.

4 - Voice, Meaning and Consistency

It’s important, especially in marketing, that a translation retains the same voice and meaning as the original material. Just like a writer has a style and a “voice,” so does a translator. By using the same translator on all your projects, you build a voice in the target language, just like you’ve built in English. 

High-quality LSPs strive to match you with the best translator – one experienced in your industry and with whom you gel – to convey your message in your chosen voice while adhering to your style guidelines, then consistently assign that translator to your projects. We call it “linguistic matchmaking.”

This attention to detail, while not a “billable” service, also creates time and cost efficiencies as translator/client pairings evolve. Translators already familiar with your internal process, sales and marketing style, and style guidelines require far less management, increasing the trust relationship over time. Any high-quality agency will be conscious of the attendant benefits, so be sure to ask your prospective agency how they handle translator assignments on an ongoing basis.

5 - Cultural Adaptation

Culturally adapting your materials goes a step beyond maintaining voice and meaning, requiring precise and culturally attuned attention to details like idioms and slang, pop culture references, visuals, and colors. Stories of translation fails are common, and while companies often recover, the damage to their reputation lingers.

Listen for signs that your prospective LSP values cultural adaptation, especially for customer-facing content. The process should be relatively seamless – translators will sometimes offer more than one option or discuss nuanced content with the client company – and a high-quality agency will have a documented internal process for managing the back and forth. When you want to make the best impression on your potential customers, this attention to detail might be worth the expense.

6 - Additional Services

Some language service providers offer only translation services or interpretation services. Some specialize in a specific niche or industry and have little experience with other industries. Others provide a suite of complementary services to accommodate all your global cultural service needs.

It’s best practice to learn about your prospective agency’s services, specialties, and costs to ensure they’ll grow with you, using real-world experiences to guide and shape your company’s translation management plan as your company grows. Ultimately, expect your LSP to evolve into a true partner over time and to become as invested in your goals as you are.

7 - Guarantee

Finally, what sort of guarantee does the agency offer for their services? And do they have liability insurance in case there are any issues?

A robust guarantee ensures that any issues are resolved to your satisfaction, but knowing how the guarantee works is also valuable information. Look for a company that offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee and works with you to address any concerns — the best way to protect your investment.

So How Much Does a Translation Cost?

The question doesn't have an easy answer, yet working with a reputable LSP means the terms and services are completely transparent. Remember, a lower per-word rate doesn't necessarily mean lower overall costs once all factors are considered. Keeping these seven considerations front of mind when selecting an LSP maximizes the return on your translation investment by factoring in the language services elements most important to your needs.

Consider these factors when deciding who to choose for your translation services. 

Rapport International specializes in multilingual communications, providing language translation and interpretation services that are accurate and culturally appropriate. We use the right voice and correct terminology to avoid liability, customize services to your needs, and deliver on time and within your budget. And with our 100% satisfaction guarantee, you can trust that it’s done right. Contact us today if you would like more information or to get a free quote.

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