Why customer care is a key part of business translation services

Delivering a professional translation service that meets customers’ needs is about far more than just translation. Language, of course, plays a key part in the process, which is why Tomedes works hard to maintain a network of highly skilled and experienced translation professional around the world. However, it’s also essential to provide outstanding customer service. 

Why is customer service such an important part of business translation? 

Every business operates to its own rules and culture while facing its own particular challenges. When a company buys in a service, that service needs to fit neatly into the business environment in order for it to work successfully. 

When it comes to business translation, clients need high quality translations delivered in line with their timescales and with minimal interruption to their usual business processes. This is where having a dedicated account manager can help. They can liaise with the company over its translation needs, ensure any relevant background information is gathered and set expectations. 

That last point is key. Many business customers approach their first translation by handing over a document and requesting the translation. While it’s certainly possible to deliver a translation in these circumstances, additional background information can help to ensure a better quality of translation. For example, a translator who understands the company’s goals and ethos can use these as a steer when it comes to word choices. At the same time, understanding who the translation is intended for and why can help with the translation of everything from idioms to straplines. 

Understanding the business translation process

A translation account manager can also help to set the client’s expectations around managing queries. Translators will often raise queries as part of working on a document. Clients who understand this, and who have a knowledgeable account manager on hand to help them respond to queries with the required information, can end up with a better quality translation as a result. Clients who expect their document back without a single communication during the translation process are likely to end up frustrated – hence the value of customer care when it comes to managing expectations! 

Keeping up with changes during the translation 

Of course, there are some translation jobs where the client’s requirements change too. New website projects are particularly prone to this. If the client decides a new page is needed halfway through the site’s translation, that will need to be added to the project. Other pages may also need updating in order to link to the new page. A positive, proactive approach to customer service can ensure that such changes are effected smoothly, without the client – or the translator – becoming frustrated with the process. 

Sometimes, it’s about more than translation 

Another reason that customer care is so important is that clients don’t always appreciate the full extent of what they need. It’s perfectly possible for a translator to get halfway through a job and then realise that the project will also need a localization expert. Good customer care then involves working closely with the client to explain what localization is (if necessary) and to make the required arrangements for it. The result is a superior document for the client. 

Customer care and translation 

Ultimately, while it is possible to provide translation alone, focusing on customer care as a core part of the process can result in happier clients with better quality translations. It’s a situation where everyone wins. 

If you have a translation need and would like to experience excellent customer service (as well as accessing superb language skills), then please contact Tomedes to find out more. Alternatively, you are welcome to share your views on the importance of customer service by leaving a comment below.