Translation is Expensive! Really?

Many manufacturers believe that translation costs are a miscellaneous expense. An afterthought when a buyer or distributor actually needs to understand the products functionality. The realities of translation costs finally set it when they receive a quote from a translation company and then they wonder why it cost so much? Why is is so expensive to translate something when it could be figured out by looking at the diagrams. There are exceptions when translation is required, or when it's a matter of choice. For instance Canada requires both French and English content on manuals and packaging that are marketed and sold there. The EU requires that languages spoken in the member countries appear on products and accompanying literature. I know, most of you reading this entry know this little secret about globalization, but my point boils down to a matter of needing or wanting translation.

Yes, you will need to translate materials if you want to sell it in Europe and Canada, you don't want to, but you will need to do it. Therefore, should you dole out thousands of dollars to have it translated correctly? or just use the cheapest possible means as long as it's translated, and what appears to be German or Italian appears on your labels. Who cares if: "Warning: Acid is harmful" reads "Warning: Acid is possibly harmful" in German. On the other hand, if you were not required to translate your materials, but you wanted to make it easier to market and sell your products overseas, then maybe you are more inclined to spend the money getting it done right. If you're a company who is beginning to take a step into the big bad world of international markets, maybe it's not such a bad idea to spend a little extra at the beginning. Have your materials translated correctly, and have your products marketed successfully without anything being "lost in translation" (Jeff from sales loves to use this line). When your profits grow from international sales, and you have tons of material that needs translation, you can consolidate and lock in some better prices with your translation vendor, and of course you are also building a memory that ensures consistency and re-use of content. This will save you tons of money in the long run. Translation is a long term investment like your retirement plan, or that condo in South Beach. It will pay off in the end.