Naturally, it’s important that your website is communicating in the language of your customers. With rapid growth in international languages on the net, it’s increasingly important you access these non-English speaker a culturally accurate website language translation is the key to clear communication.

The use of international translation services is a prerequisite when it comes to global marketing. In-house translation are expensive and the benefits of outsourcing including the number one benefit of project management and seamless quality management give outsourcing translations the thumbs up over the use of individual freelancers or in-house translations, particularly when it comes to multiple language management.

Outsourcing the management skills

The primary stimulus is that global marketing requires efficient communication, in diverse languages, the management challenge is multiplied, ultimately revealing itself if the quality of the work. It is a given, that it almost impossible to become highly skilled in the art (and science) of translation management and quality control unless the individual in charge of overseeing the development of your project has been involved in numerous successful translation projects.

Translation service can be found through Yellow Pages, Search Engine, Industry contacts or the local business directory.  Though, when opting for the finest translation company that best address the standards you require, few things are to be deliberated upon:

Find the credible and distinguished Translation Companies.

Not all translation companies will pass the ‘test’ phase as they each have their strengths, weakness, capability and niches they serve. Prices tend to be little higher for translation companies that provide industry specific services.

Find the skilled translation service providers.

Utmost knowledge and expertise are required in translation. Therefore, how can you get to the person actually doing the work (the translator) behind the project manager? Commission a test or sample. Service providers must be willing to provide you this (particularly if you are willing to pay for it). Quality of the translated work is imperative – particularly with marketing and technical documentation or communication materials. Unless you are fluent bilingual/multilingual in the source and target language unfortunately, you can’t check the translated work (scroll down further for the solution).

Confidentiality of information given to translation companies is crucial.

It is very important that the confidential information provided to the translation company is not revealed without NDA’s or contracts signed and dated. You should be aware if your translation company has a privacy policy safeguarding the documents submitted to them and make sure that you establish contracts before handing any sensitive documentation.

Prioritizing documentation into:

1. High priority/High sensitivity: Marketing, Legal, Financial, Technical documentation and any frequently viewed and heavily relied upon information or communications should require the attention of experienced translators with experience in your industry.

2. Medium priority/Medium sensitivity: This should make up the bulk of your translation requirements. While no compromise to the quality, readability and accuracy of the translation should be made, it’s important to remember you do not need the services of the ‘best’ translation company in the industry. Only those of a company that passes the translation test below.

3. Low priority/Low sensitivity: Back pages of your website, manuals or materials that are not deemed important or are infrequently viewed.

This will drastically reduce costs (depending on the volume and scope of the project)

Looking At Standards:

With recognition to the vast array of translation services available, along with the companies that represent them, it is important to ‘test’ the quality of the process first. ISO or DIN:EN certification is a quality management system that represents quality, however, translation companies pay a lot for these systems and inefficiencies in their applications exist, these can result in the price of your translation being very high indeed. It’s important to realize that while the translation companies themselves may use these systems, the translators that apply to them do not. These translators work for companies that are and are not ISO certified.

While inefficiencies exist, they are a true measure of quality, but expect to pay more for your translations when you use companies under the umbrella of these certifications.

Measure through tests and verification

Look for a balance between quality and price (who doesn’t) but how do you determine these dynamic variables?

1. Test: Request several samples from the international translation services company.

2. Verify: Have a third party, someone who is not a candidate for the project to verify these samples and provide feedback.

If verification is possible by someone within your company this is best. They understand the company policy, ethos, agenda and objectives; a member of staff should be able to provide honest feedback that moves the project forward.

Second step is to brief the third party on the above mentioned company characteristics and then have the person verifying the work provide honest feedback.

3. Select the best sample(s) and move forward and provide these to the company. Now you can move forward with confidence.

Through careful selection of translation services, you can link to international market. This activity is also equally important in company’s home country. The US for example, has had rapid increases in the Spanish, Chinese and Asian-language speaking populace over the last decade and that looks to continue for the next decade. Thus US companies must firstly admit to the realities at hand, then adjust and find way to communicate clearly within these non-English communities. Hence, using an international translation service is not simply about communicating words but specifically conveying messages based on cultural needs, preferences and desires of a diverse and dynamic multilingual target audience.

Reflect on the tips below when opting for an international translation services in going to help create some additional framework to your project:

Ask for readability not accuracy (think local). It might not be understandable to other people in other countries. But cultural differences play a huge role in how translations are ultimately worded. Technical/Industry related terms should always be accurate. Make sure that your international translation services company provides samples, utilizes quality processes, delivery dates and project management services. Provide a glossary list to the translation company associated with the framework of your site or project. So that the translators will recognize the subject matter, background and quality of the project/site’s content. Make certain that English site (or the ‘source’ language) makes use of plain, apparent, and proper sentences and phrases. Your translated site will thrive if you keep away from unreasonably multifaceted expression. Abbreviations and complicated punctuation marks must also be avoided. Verify if your original text has the correct grammar and spelling for it may result with inaccuracy in translation. Websites: When translation is completed, execute testing and evaluate if the site appeals and if it works properly. Makes can be made when content is in ‘transit’. Examine all pages to confirm if it was uploaded and translated properly, if linkages are working and if translated text is accurate. You can look for help of a linguist or someone who is well-versed to do the checking for you.

In China, as in other markets, packaging design does not only have the function of protecting the product and explaining its attributes and benefits, but it also has the role of appealing to consumers. Studies show that buyers generally decide what to buy at the point of sale . In order to successfully help sell the product, the package needs to differentiate and characterize the product and ultimately to become part of the product experience.

But how can the packaging help the brand engage and attract Chinese consumers? What are the factors to take into consideration to design a truly distinctive packaging for the Chinese market?

In this article Labbrand looks at the impact packaging design has on the businesses operating in China and, in particular, at the issues product brand managers need to consider before falling in the “cultural trap” and developing a package that overlooks at the differences between China and Western markets.
We will look at the components of packaging design in the order a customer may perceive them: colour; label and typeface; images, patterns and shapes; and material.

Selecting the right colour palette for the packaging has a great deal to do with the ultimate success or failure of a product brand. In fact, colour plays an important role in a consumer’s purchase decision . People use a little more than a minute to make up their minds about a product they see for the first time, and a big part of this judgment is based on colours alone. So, clever use of colours in packaging design can contribute not only to differentiate the product from competitors, but also to influence moods and feelings and ultimately attitudes towards a certain product .

“All of us have involuntary physiological and psychological responses to the colours we see,” according to the Chicago-based Institute for Colour Research, a group that collects information on the human response to colour and then sells it to industry. “Colour…impacts our appetite, sexual behaviour, business life and leisure time,” says Eric Johnson, the institute’s head of research studies.

In fact, the same colour may be perceived very differently in different cultures. For example, green enjoys no popularity in Japan, France, or Belgium, while it can be frequently seen on the packaging designed for Turkish and Austrian consumers. People from Islamic cultures react negatively to yellow because it symbolizes death but like green as this is believed to help fight off diseases and evil. Europeans associate black with mourning and tend to prefer red, grey, green and blue. In the Netherlands, orange is the national colour and therefore can be used to arouse nationalistic feelings .

Colours have a strong significance in Chinese culture as well. Yellow, as the colour that was only for the emperor to wear, and red, as symbol for happiness and good luck, are both very powerful colours for designing product packaging for this country market. However, this does not apply to every product category: Chinese consumers generally find appealing these bright and shiny colours for food products but tend to prefer white and pastel colours for personal care and household items.

For instance, General Mills adapts the colours used on own product packages in the Chinese market by using bright and flashy colours.

Kleenex, instead, features brightly colour and slightly abstract flowers on the packages sold in the US but it designs Chinese packaging with pastel colours and small, delicate and realistic flowers.

2. Label and Typeface

Label and typeface are critical to attract consumers for they are a prominent visual element on any packages.
Different countries have different regulations about the information product labels should or should not contain, therefore size and layout of information on the label may need to change in order for the product to enter a certain country.
Besides country specific regulation on labels, key to market the brand to local consumers is the typeface used on the package. This is especially true in China where foreign brands adopt Chinese brand names, and consequently Chinese typeface, to better communicate to the market.

Coca Cola, to cite a brand that truly masters the art of packaging localization, gives as much importance to the Chinese written brand name as the original English one. The Chinese typeface, therefore, becomes integral part of the brand identity in China and shapes the packaging in an unmistakable way.

So much so that the Chinese side of the packaging is the one that is shown on Coke’s visual communications and ads in the country.

3. Images, Patterns, and Shapes

Researchers estimate that more than 70 percent of purchase decisions are made at point of sale . Here the consumer takes in rapidly all the products displayed – and likewise hastily looks for clues that help him make a decision.
Products brands that are successful on the Chinese market clearly take into consideration how images and patterns printed on the packaging influence consumers decisions towards own products.

For instance Mirinda, in order to effectively reach the younger segment of the Chinese market, not only uses brighter colours but also features locally beloved cartoon characters on the packaging.

Pepsi, instead, taps into the local culture, people, icons, and activities as inspiration to capture and engage Chinese teens. Pepsi tin reprocess all these elements and uses them to dress itself of a locally relevant package.

Nivea offers a line of lip balm packaged in smaller solutions than the ones sold in the west. That is because Chinese consumers tend to prefer packages of smaller size. This is particularly true for food products, as domestic apartments have relatively smaller storage space and refrigerators than in the US or Europe .

4. Material

The material used to produce the package it is also extremely important in order to gain the preference of target consumers. For instance, a growing segment of the population worldwide and in China dislikes products using too much waste material for the packaging directly due to environmental concerns.

Price conscious consumers, instead, are less concerned by the quality or recyclability of packaging and are generally more likely to consider other, more function-oriented factors when purchasing a product. However, these factors often depend on priorities that change according to the category of goods, the specific product, and the available budget of the buyer .

In other words, the material used to package a product reflects how much the company understands its market.

Colgate, for instance, chose to differentiate its products in China by using a packaging material that was scarcely used by competitors when the company entered the Chinese market in 1992. Back then, the majority of domestic toothpaste manufacturers used aluminium tubes. Colgate, instead, adopted the plastic tube that is now commonly used by almost all toothpaste brands as this is more convenient, durable, and safe for the user. The new packaging material helped Colgate seize about one third of the market share over the years.

On the contrary, Alpenlibe, the candy manufacturer, uses the same size, design and colours on the packages sold both in the West and China but, in the latter case, it wraps own brand candies with two thick layers of papers as strong packaging is generally associated in China with higher quality products .

Packaging has an incredible power over what people buy. The same way people express themselves through the clothes they wear they also make statements about who they are through the products they buy. Indeed, we buy products not just for their functional attributes but also – and maybe even more importantly – because these products promise to fulfil desires and longings. The package that enfolds the product carries a big part of that promise.

The challenge when trying to build a locally consistent “promise” is to interpret the global brand identity and creative concept in a meaningful way for the Chinese market. The package design needs to attract attention, stimulate curiosity, build a connection and ultimately lead the buyer to think the product is the best one offered. China is a country with a long history and a rich culture, creating codes in the minds of consumers that must be considered during package design. In order to be successful in China, foreign brands need to reinterpret their identity through the eyes of Chinese consumers to truly understand how colours, patterns, images, typeface and material choices can contribute build a meaningful product experience.

China has emerged as a key player in the 21st century. It has professional ties with the US, UK and other leading western nations. The labour force of China is immense and is highly talented. Couple these with the fact that labour in China is much cheaper than in most of the western nations and you get a great reason for outsourcing work to China.

China is the top player amongst nations making huge profits from the work outsourced to them. However, communication lacunas always exist between the Chinese workforce and the western nations. Chinese translation is now very much in demand due to this reason. Chinese translation is no walk in the park especially since the Chinese language is a highly complex language. Chinese translation can only be done by a person having a thorough knowledge of the important dialects and also having an immense amount of patience.

The complicated structure of the language makes Chinese translation a daunting task. It has as many as 56000 characters of which the knowledge of at least 3000 is imperative to read Modern Chinese. Apart from these hurdles in Chinese translation, some standards which need to be followed for both reading and writing Chinese make the process of Chinese translation even more tedious.

Written Chinese is of two types – one is the simplified mandarin and the other is traditional mandarin. China and Singapore use the first kind in their Chinese translations while Hong Kong and Taiwan use the second type of Mandarin in their Chinese translations. These nuances have to be taken care of by all Chinese translators.

Another way of bridging the gap between China and the other nations is to learn Chinese.

One needs to be highly dedicated in order to learn Chinese. Chinese is a fairly difficult language to learn if you are not born and brought up in China. There are several Chinese schools which have been opened in the western nations and have helped immensely the people who want to learn Chinese. Chinese schools make the process of learning Chinese a fun exercise. They have some excellent textbooks which make learning Chinese a fairly easy process. One might not be able to learn Chinese the way a true Chinese person can but we can surely make an effort and learn Chinese to the best of our capabilities.

Chinese schools also help the Chinese immigrants to keep in touch with their mother land. They help these Chinese immigrant children to learn Chinese, thereby retaining a part of their culture and traditions.

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