Understanding Modern Translation Services in the USA: What Businesses Need to Know

In 2009, HSBC, the international wealth bank, lost around 10 million dollars just to rectify a single mistranslation, from “Assume nothing” to “Do Nothing.” Instead of encouraging people, the slogan was mistranslated into an apathetic message in a lot of countries.

It is as important to understand the importance of professional translation and how it can benefit your business. Understanding modern translation services and how to choose the best one for your company will help avoid any of the issues that could easily cause irreparable damage if you completely ignore the quality of your translation.

Why US Businesses Are Investing in Professional Translation?

There are numerous reasons for using a professional translation service. Whether it is global expansion, saving costs and increasing revenue, or improving your company's reputation and credibility. We will explore those benefits in detail.

Expanding Your Market Globally
A professional translation service will help with any expansion plans for your company. Increasing your customer base to different places and taking advantage of less competitive markets worldwide by optimizing your website, content, and products to their language. According to CSA research, 76% of customers prefer purchasing products with information in their Own Language.

Automated page translation is inaccurate and can often cost you dearly, with no consideration of the different cultures, context, and intention when it comes to translating.

Cost Savings
A certified translation service is almost a necessity for legal, medical, and tech companies. A wrong or inaccurate translation can cost millions in penalties, contract breaches, medical malpractice, errors, or even fatalities.

An example of what a credible translation service can help you save your business is the Occidental v. Ecuador (II) case. In 2006, a deal was made between the Republic of Ecuador and the Texas oil company Occidental Petroleum, aka Oxy. A misinterpretation of the Ecuadorian law led the ICSID to rule in favor of Oxy, $1.769 billion, one of the highest awards in the history of the ICSID.

SEO Optimization Advantages

Optimization of your website, products, and social media can help you increase your visibility and exposure, as well as target the right customer base for your company.

However, according to the Internet World Stats, around 25% of the internet users use English, making your website invisible to whole markets worldwide.

Improving Credibility and Reputation

Automated service or AI translation produces generic and often vague translations, which are often seen as unprofessional. On the other hand, using a translation service usually leads to a consistent brand image associated with higher professionalism and corporate commitment.

Building a good reputation and enhancing your brand image can cost a lot. Invest in your company’s Image.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

There are numerous cases in which inaccurate translation has led brands to pay millions in settlements for product liability claims, procedural issues in litigation, or product recalls. A labeling error for baby formula in Spanish had the company Mead Nutritions recall over 4.6 million, indirectly costing the company around 10 million dollars. The error could’ve led to serious health problems and even death.

What Can Modern Translation Services in the USA Do to Assist Your Company?

As we mentioned, there are a lot of issues that can be avoided by using a translation service to not only translate, but also proofread and audit your content. Here are some of the services that could be of great use to your company.

Certified Document Translation Services
Legal Translation
Technical Translation
Medical Translation
Business Translation Services
Machine Translation Post-Editing Service
Software Localization
Website Translation
Back Translation Services
Spanish to English Translation Services

Spanish to English Translation Services in the USA

When we are talking about the Spanish to English market, we are talking about one of the largest markets worldwide, with over 559 million. Around 13% of the USA population speaks Spanish, forming around 41 million people. Whether your company is only targeting local markets in the USA or going global using a Spanish to English translation service, or vice versa.

Using an official and credible official translation spanish to english can be a detrimental factor in your local and global success.

Technical Translation Services

Technical translation is one of the most important fields that requires highly accurate translation. It is the translation of industry-specific documents in fields like the medical, legal, technological, or engineering fields. Certified companies often go through rigid processes, such as ISO-certified processes, to ensure accuracy and precision of the translation. One mistake can cost people's lives, and it is pivotal for any company or brand to use certified technical translation services.

Contracts, patents, guides, user manuals, clinical trials, and research are part of the documents that need technical translation experts to deal with them.

Back Translation Services

The Back translation service is essential for quality control, often used for high-stakes, sensitive, or regulatory-driven documents. It is a process where an independent linguist translates the text back to the target language and compares the results to double-check the quality of the initial translation.
However, it is often neglected by companies because it is a bit costly and takes time, but in truth, even if it is considered expensive, it won’t be as costly as the mistranslation errors we mentioned

How to Choose the Right Translation Partner

Picking the right translation service can either help your company or not so much. There are key criteria for choosing your translation partner. Here are the most important ones.

Understand your business needs
This would help you choose the right service that can benefit your company. As well as finding the markets that you would expand to, and what your target languages are.

Accreditation and Certifications
Choose a company with a good reputation that has all the required credentials, like ISO 9001:2015 standard, ISO 18587:2017, ISO 9001:2015, and SAE J2450 Translation Quality Metric.

Confidentiality & Security
Make sure your translation partner includes NDAs in the contracts to protect confidential information, trade secrets, and sensitive data from being shared with unauthorized parties.

Technology & Tools
Choose a translation service that is up-to-date when it comes to translation tools and technology; a company’s translation management tech and tools often are more efficient, time-saving, and accurate than other ones.

Quality Assurance (QA) Processes
Most companies have TEP, or what is known as translation, editing, and proofreading. Professional services often have a native expert who can edit and proofread.

Conclusion

Choosing the right service can help you avoid a mountain of issues that can cost you a fortune, whether in marketing like HSBC or more serious issues like the Ecuadorian case. A reputable translation service can make or break your business. When choosing one, choose wisely. In The Translation Gate, we offer all the services mentioned and more. With decades of experience and numerous clients, we are equipped to handle any project your company might need. Get a free quote today