Accurate and effective e-commerce translation can make or break a business when expanding overseas. Translating e-commerce sites requires the services of a professional translation company, as well as a localization expert, for both accuracy and engagement. Otherwise, your site may not make sense to the people trying to use it and your attempt to appeal to a global audience will fail. If you want to enjoy success in international markets, consider using the services of a professional translator, rather than trying to translate your website in-house.
Confusion among Target Audiences
When you write content, it must be clear to your audience and easily understood. This becomes especially difficult when your translations contain errors. Even having one wrong word in a sentence can throw the entire meaning off, leaving your audience wondering what you meant to say, or worse, misunderstanding the product’s use or features. Whether the error involves the product’s name, description or shipping information, you run the risk of confusing your customers and dealing with costly product returns. Customers may be unwilling to order an item if they are not sure how it works or when it will arrive. If the customer does make a purchase but finds that the product could not be used for the expected purpose, you may incur excess warranty claims and product returns.
Potential for Damaged Reputation
A simple typo on a website is bad enough, but what happens when you spot a word or phrase that definitely doesn’t mean what the writer thinks it means? Maybe it’s silly or even downright offensive. Either way, you probably would not feel compelled to buy the product. Customers might question why your company never bothered to proofread the content before publishing it, or why it wasn’t important enough to hire a professional translator. It doesn’t look professional, and that can have a negative effect on your brand. In fact, these days, mistakes in translation are enthusiastically shared on social media, which can lead to widespread embarrassment for your business. This is probably not the preferable way to go viral with your brand.
The Risk of Legal Problems
In some cases, the consequences of incorrect translations are worse than the loss of sales, a high rate of product returns or damage to your brand’s reputation. Depending on the circumstances, your translation could cause safety issues. For example, if you include product instructions online and they are not translated correctly, your customers could incur injury or property damage. This can result in legal action making your translation mistake an expensive one. At the very least, your customers may end up breaking the item and blaming you, which can lead to a lawsuit if you do not respond with a refund quickly enough.
As you can see, the simplest translation mistakes can cost you a lot of money. To avoid these consequences, consult a professional translation and localization service to take care of your translation needs. Contact Verbatim Solutions today for all the help you need with e-commerce translation.
