An anonymous German businessman is credited with the quote “When I’m selling, I’ll speak your language. When I’m buying, you’ll speak mine.”. Whether or not the source of the quote is true, the accuracy of it is hard to dispute. One of the great ironies of the growth of international trade is that in a world where companies and individuals can often take their pick of goods and services, literally, from across the globe, they often prefer to do business with people they feel understand them. In other words, they want to deal with people who “speak their language” in every sense of the phrase.
Quality language translation services will put at least as much effort into document translation as the creator(s) of the original document did when they put it together. This is why using a certified translation service is more than about compliance with (potential) legal issues. It’s about ensuring that the end document is a sales’ tool, regardless of whether or not that is its main purpose. Rightly or wrongly, first impressions do count for a lot and just as companies would likely hesitate to hire a candidate who fails to present themselves appropriately, so an end customer is likely to have reservations about using a company which fails to present documentation properly.
