AAA Translation - We'll Take You Global

AAA Translation and Growing Global HR Partners, LLC announce a strategic partnership between the two St. Louis-based companies, in order to leverage the companies' respective strengths to make it easier for companies who want to successfully expand and hire employees all over the world.

"The world is getting smaller. Businesses who are operating in a global economy often need to hire employees in international markets, yet the pay practices, benefits and other HR-related policies can vary significantly from country to country," said Susanne Evens, founder/CEO of AAA Translation. "We're excited to partner with a trusted resource that can help our clients who need top-notch global HR expertise."

"With more than 20 years of global consulting, translation and interpretation services for clients that range from Anheuser Busch to Meyer & Meyer Sports to Del Monte Foods, we are happy to partner with a service provider with HR experience in a variety of industries."

For more information about Growing Global HR Partners, go to www.globalhrpartners.org.

For more information about AAA Translation, go to www.aaatranslation.com.

The ultimate success (or failure) of a company’s global expansion rests on various factors, from economics to regulation to competition, but the ones that typically trip companies up the most are those related to cultural and language differences. Even large U.S. companies, like Best Buy and Groupon, have fumbled overseas due to a lack of understanding of their new markets.
Despite the challenges, the potential reward for expanding globally is significant. The International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that more than 70 percent of global purchasing power is outside the U.S.

Avoid these mistakes as you expand globally to help ensure your success:

1. Don’t underestimate differences, even in the same language.

Even when you’re expanding to another country that speaks the same language (such as the U.S. to the U.K. or vice versa), it pays to localize your messaging and marketing. Names for common products and services are often different. In the U.K., for example, free shipping is known as "free delivery.” And if you send an email to a U.K. customer telling them to buy some pants for their mom for Mother’s Day, don’t be surprised at your lack of sales (“moms” are mums and “pants” are undergarments in the U.K.). Going the other way across the pond, it’s important to Americanize words as well. The U.K. fashion retailer Karen Millen increased conversion rates in the U.S. by 25%, for example, simply by Americanizing their spelling and removing Anglophone terms such as “autumn.”

With this many differences, even in the same language, imagine how many missteps you can make in a foreign language. Nuances are important, and it’s critical to work with professionals who understand the culture and language of your new market.

2. Steer clear of cheap, automated solutions.

You only get one chance to make a first impression…so make sure that yours is a good one in any new global market. Be prepared to invest in hiring qualified professionals to help with localizing your company's website and marketing materials. It’s better to wait or not expand at all than to do it wrong -- the risk of offending potential new customers with poor, embarrassing and/or insulting translations from cheap, automated solutions is too great.

3) Don’t be insensitive to cultural traditions.

In the U.S., much can be overlooked if you have the right product or service at the right price. This isn’t the case in many other countries, where you can kill deals (depending on the area) by a culture faux pas such as bringing up business too quickly, handling a business card too casually, politely refusing a second drink, using chopsticks incorrectly, crossing your legs the wrong way or shaking someone's hand. Do your research on cultural differences ahead of time.

4. Don't assume that customers are going to be the same.

Beyond language and cultural differences, you must look even deeper at your new market’s consumer psyche. Do not assume that your customers are going to be the same or that your products or services will have the same value proposition. In the U.K., for example, they tend to place smaller orders more frequently, rather than stocking up. In India, consumers spend a larger portion of their income for basic necessities, including food, than Americans do, leaving them with less disposable income to spend on other items. Go into any new overseas market with your eyes wide open to the fact that you'll need to figure out these types of differences and adjust your strategies and tactics accordingly.

Need help as you expand globally? Contact us at toll-free at 844.293.3519 or learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

Multilingual Content Marketing: Don't Be One of the 60% without a Strategy

60% of global marketers have no strategy for multilingual content marketing, according to a 2013 survey by Cloudworks. Rather than plan ahead, most delay thinking about translation and localization until after their content is produced. This approach, unfortunately, can create a painful, slow and expensive process that increases your chances of missing out on opportunities in emerging markets.

For those tasked with a company's content marketing, it's a challenge to produce and deliver all the content required in ONE language...let alone translating blogs, reports, collateral, websites and more into multiple languages. But those who do -- and approach multilingual content marketing with forward thinking and planning -- have a distinct advantage in the global marketplace, which is expected to grow significantly over the next ten years.

By 2025, the number of global consumers in emerging economies is expected to reach 4.2 billion, with consumption reaching $30 trillion (McKinsey & Company). And these consumers will want and need information in their own language that also reflects their culture.

Read Our 6 Tips for Success...

Translating and localizing product manuals, packaging labels, marketing materials and other documents and collateral is often a necessity for a manufacturer when they sell their products in a foreign market. Some manufacturers, especially those who are new to the localization process, lean on their local distributors to translate various documents. It seems like a logical solution – the distributor is already responsible for selling the products, they typically live in the foreign market and it will save the manufacturer time and money. However, what may seem like a simple solution is typically not the best option.

Before handing off your foreign language translation and localization services to a distributor, consider this:

Quality Standards: A distributor is responsible for selling multiple products from multiple manufacturers. Translation is not their business or their top priority. Can you count on quality results? Who is doing the translating? Are they a good writer with excellent grammar even in their own language? Who is proofing their work?

Legal Liability: If the distributor makes a mistake or incorrect translation, what will the manufacturer’s liability be?

Consistency and Branding Standards: Most manufacturers invest time, money and effort to create and maintain their brand identity and product positioning. Maintaining the integrity and consistency of a brand requires a central translation and localization effort. With multiple distributors and multiple markets, relying on distributors for translation efforts makes it virtually impossible to ensure and maintain a consistent brand identity in each market.

Reputation: First impressions count. If your first impression in a new market is clouded with mistakes or, worse yet, a big translation blooper, it will most certainly slow or halt your sales and growth opportunities there.

Rework and Reprinting Costs: If there is a problem, how much will it cost you to do the rework and reprint your materials?

Message Control: We have seen and heard of cases where distributors have edited materials as they translated them, changing the original message in a way that made the product easier for them to sell by exaggerating benefits, changing the wording on warranties, etc.

When you are expanding to foreign markets and need foreign language translation and localization help, we urge you to consider the long-term picture and work with professional translators who can help ensure quality, consistency and that the message delivered to your marketplace is exactly what you intended.

To learn more about how AAA Translation can help manufacturers in foreign markets, give us a call toll-free at 844.293.3519 or learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

Think Twice Before Using Translation Programs My daughter began college exactly 10 years after we moved to America from Germany. When we first moved here, she still spoke fluent German and had a summer to learn English before school started in the fall. Ten years, apparently, was enough time to completely forget almost every bit of German she learned at such an early age. Not realizing just how much of her native tongue no longer knew, I tried to pressure her into taking another language in college so that she could gain valuable knowledge of other cultures and languages. She decided to take German instead of following my advice.  During the second semester of her freshman year, I received a frantic phone call. "Mom"! I need your help! My final paper is due tomorrow for German, and I don't think it's saying what I want it to say. Are you really busy? Can I e-mail it to you to take a look?" Of course I said yes. Five minutes later, her paper was in my inbox ready to be proofread. Little did I realize how much she had forgotten... I called my daughter back, and I asked her one simple question, "Have you forgotten everything of your German?" To my horror (not only as a mother but also as the CEO of a translation company), I hear my daughter say, "I used an online translator for the words I didn't know." I went silent. My own flesh and blood... Read the Full Article... .......................................................................................................... The American Dream: An Interview with Susanne Evens AAA Translation founder and CEO Susanne Evens was interviewed by The American Dream about her story and becoming a dual US-German citizen. Click Here to Read the Interview... New Soccer Book Translation We're excited to announce that we are translating our 5th soccer book for Meyer & Meyer Sport, for which we have translated 40+ books since 2002. Look for "Matchplan Fussball" coming soon. Welcome New Clients! We're excited to announce two of our recent new clients: Blue Line Marketing in Providence, Rhode Island Citizens for Modern Transit in St. Louis, Missouri

Tips for U.S. Companies that Want to Attract Chinese Investors Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from Chinese Investors in U.S. companies has increased significantly over the past several years. However, cultural, regulatory and language barriers can make it difficult for U.S. entrepreneurs who want to tap into this potential funding source. For those who want to attract Chinese investors, we offer several important tips: 1. Make sure you have a Chinese web presence. It's important to not only have your website translated into Chinese, but it should also be a separate version of your site and hosted from Hong Kong. Many U.S. websites are blocked and inaccessible from China. It's critical that your site is translated into Chinese by those who have a firm grasp on the Chinese language, culture and financial terminology. A translation program cannot adequately handle this kind of project. Read More Tips... .......................................................................................................... More Translation Bloopers We received a lot of fun feedback on the translation bloopers in last month's newsletter, so we are sharing more examples for everyone to enjoy:   When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, it was apparently unaware that "no va" means "it won't go." Ford had a similar problem in Brazil when the Pinto flopped. The company found out that Pinto was Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals." Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno mag. In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water. When Puffs tissues tried to introduce its product in Europe, they learned that "Puff" in German is a colloquial term for a whorehouse and in England, it's a highly derogatory term for a non-heterosexual. When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as here in the USA, with the cute baby on the label. Later, they found out that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside since most people can't read. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American ad campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."

"Attacking Soccer" by Meyer & Meyer Sports Germany Congratulations to long-time client Meyer & Meyer Sports Germany, the largest German sports publisher, on its latest book release. We have worked with them for 15 years and have translated over 30 books for them.

World Cup Fun: Meet Brazuca, the Official World Cup Ball Brazuca, the official ball for the 2014 World Cup, introduced itself to the world last December in a very modern kind of way -- with a tweet. This cheeky ball now has over 2.5 million followers. In a fun interview, the tweeting ball answers 9 crucial questions. Read the interview...