3 Tips for Finding the Ideal Translation Company

Many young businesses find themselves asking: “What do I look for in a good translation agency?”. It can’t be a difficult question to answer – there are so many foolhardy pretenders out there and without years of business experience behind you, it can be hard to know where to start the search.

Translation is becoming immeasurably important for start-up companies who have ambitions to grow. Indeed, cross-border operations are coming earlier and earlier for such businesses and they often find themselves in a position of foreign market invasion whilst they are still in their proverbial commercial nappies. Finding a translation company of genuine repute is vital because bad translations can lead to poorly received marketing, plummeting sales, loss of status, unproductive advertising and – in the case of legal, document and certified translation – legal ramifications. With so much at stake it should be clear to any sensible businessman that settling for a second-hand, amateur service just isn’t a viable option. There is simply no reason to suffer the risk of placing a vital outsourced activity in unworthy hands.

Here are 3 top tips to help you find the best translation agency:

1.       Stay British – Translation agencies in London are proving themselves to be amongst the best in the world. Many young companies assume that dealing with foreign languages means that they should outsource their translation needs to appropriate nations abroad. This is both needless and – in fact – damaging, because many foreign services pale in comparison to the British translation industry staple names. 

2.       Impressive Clientele – When you are on the search for a top agency, you need to pay particular attention to the current clientele of any prospective company. Does the agency advertise its clientele proudly on the front page of their website? If they do, then you should take it as a sign of confidence - a sign that this agency doesn’t have anything to hide and has a reputation well earned. If the advertised clients are mainly large multi-nationals – especially from the technology and creative sectors – then you can be sure that this agency is a winner.

3.       Wide-ranging Service and Great Value – Generally speaking, seeking out the best price and seeking out the best quality are two vastly different things. This rule of thumb does not hold true in the translation services industry. The best agencies run their operations in a highly efficient manner and can afford to offer the best rates. Don’t be fooled by companies offering apparent ‘luxury services’ or ‘specialised translations’ at sky-high rates. Another sign of class and quality is a wide-ranging array of services and languages. Good agencies offer everything from marketing and website translation to legal and certified translation. Furthermore, a top agency will gladly provide the common go-to languages such as Arabic, French and Spanish – but there should also be a place for Farsi and Hungarian translation services. Good value and good variety equals good quality.