Everyone speaks English, don’t they? Well, actually, just
over 5% of the world’s population has English as their main language. That
means that around 94% don’t!
So, with English alone you can just about communicate with
17% of the people in the world, meaning you will not be able to do business
with the other 83%. If you’re in retail that’s the equivalent of stopping 4 out
of every 5 shoppers from entering your shop!
Even the 12% that have learned some English are not always
competent or confident enough to use it for correspondence, or especially on
the phone. How many of us are happy using our GCSE French to book a gite for
our holiday over the phone? We are all well aware of the reluctance of the
average English person to ever utter anything more than a self-conscious
“Bonjour” or a hesitating “Dos cervezas, por favor” when on holiday or business
overseas…
What does it say to non-English speakers when we insist on
only using English? Well, their reaction is that it shows arrogance, even
though they fully acknowledge English is the main language globally for
business. British quality, design and general efficiency are valued across the
globe and people want to trade with us. We are actually the ones creating a
language barrier – not them…
On the other hand, having key sections of your website or
product specifications or marketing material translated into the language of
your prospective clients sends a clear message that they are valued and invited
to engage with you and your products or services. You don’t need to translate every
word of your website or communication but what you do translate establishes an
instant rapport with clients and delivers an immediate and effective
competitive advantage.
Some businesses worry, though, that if they attract new
business using translation they will then have to translate every single
communication with their new clients. But this isn’t an issue. Experience shows
that when seeing material in their own language attracts new overseas clients
they do NOT then expect everything else to be translated.
So, for a small additional investment, then, you can make a
big impact. And the investment doesn’t normally need to be ongoing. Although, once
a business sees the effectiveness of using other languages to attract and keep
new business they often see it as an extra feature, along with design, quality
and price that makes them distinctive among other suppliers.
These days it is increasingly hard to come up with a truly
unique product or service – showing some of the 83% of non-English speaking
potential clients that you respect their language and actually want to sell to
them can be the difference between getting lucrative overseas sales – or not.
Graham Webb
June 2015
