How to choose the best translation and localization company to maximize efficiency?

Our blog often discusses tools that will make your localization accurate and high-quality. Rarely do we mention the second important part of your success — the translation service agencies and localization companies that can deliver outstanding results. It's time to take a closer look at how to find the best translation agencies for your company and how Lingohub allows you to collaborate with them easily.

Why do companies need localization translation companies?

Companies pursuing going global need to take a serious approach to the expertise of the translation/localization teams they work with. Finding the best translation agencies can be time-consuming, as well as assembling a professional in-house localization team, including translators, local experts, marketers who understand the new region perfectly, localization managers, etc.

When do you need a localization service?

1. If you want to enter new markets and be a solid player in them.
2. If you need to extend your influence on the new market.
3. If you're going to strengthen or remarket the brand identity.

The goals above can only be reached by localizing the business' web resources (not just translating), which requires an in-depth knowledge of the market and local expertise.

10 tips on how to choose the translation and localization company?

If you decide to go with a localization agency, you should do meticulous research to be sure you will find the top localization company on the market. We prepared a checklist that help in the decision-making process.

1. Native linguistic expertise.
Localization is a process that requires an understanding of all the language nuances, especially in sensitive industries or when adapting marketing content. Because of this, preference should be given to language service providers who collaborate with local linguists.

2. Language variabilities.
One of the first options you must consider is which languages the localization company supports. Even if your target language is already on the list, it is worth thinking in advance. The reason is that you will collaborate with the agency for a long time, as localization is an ongoing task. In the future, if you need to find a contractor to localize your product for an additional market, it will be easier for you to work with a reliable company than find a new one and handle the processes with two separate agencies.

3. Industry specialization.
High-tech or complex industries require an individual approach. The localization company can only adapt your project perfectly with a corresponding background. The most challenging sectors for localization are:

• Medical, pharmaceuticals and healthcare;
• Legal;
• Tech and engineering;
• Financial and banking;
• Marketing and advertising;
• Gaming;
• E-learning;

If you have a unique area that localization agencies do not represent, prefer a company with vast experience in localizing complex industries more or less related to your product.

4. Quality and quality assurance
The localized version of your products is the first touch point for new users and gives them the first impression of your business. Linguistic and spelling mistakes, outdated or wrong terminology, and incorrect or offensive visual materials will negatively affect users' experience and trust in you. That's why it is essential to understand the following information:

• How does the localization company hire translators? Which expertise do their translators have?
• Do potential translators for your project have appropriate knowledge in the field?
• How does the localization company control the translation quality?
• How does the localization agency manage the released issues if they miss them in the previous stages?

5. Technology usage.
Modern CAT tools allow significant speeding up of localization. Ensure the company you want to collaborate with does its best to optimize the processes and is ready to use your solutions. For example, suppose you are already a Lingohub user. In that case, you can add as many external linguists from the agencies as you need or use the Lingohub XLIFF file format for convenient localization, content exchange and management. Ask if the language service provider is ready to use the tools that are new to them but convenient for you.

6. Consider the type of product
When choosing the localization company, ensure they are familiar with the localization of your product's type. This tip is especially essential for industries like video games as their adaptation differs significantly from standard websites or e-commerce resources.

7. Client references and cases.
Ask for more information about clients' references and testimonials. Moreover, getting testimonials from clients with similar projects is more helpful, as they demonstrate the company's ability to meet specific industry requirements and challenges. Explore case studies in your industry, find possible pain points, and ask how these challenges were decided. A reliable localization company is eager to provide a successful problem-solving story as this is a marker of their expertise.

8. Transparent pricing and timelines
An experienced company comprehensively understands the project's scope of tasks and timelines, so you will never buy the pig in a poke. They are ready to present transparent, detailed pricing structures without hidden fees. Before signing the contract, they can calculate realistic estimates for project timelines, including factors such as the complexity of the content, number of languages, etc.

9. Responsive communication and support
Soft skills are just as crucial as hard skills in a localization setting. Localization agencies' ability to communicate promptly and in a friendly manner plays a crucial role in efficiently sharing feedback and updates and addressing any concerns or issues that may arise during the localization process.

10. Adaptability and flexibility
No matter how professional the localization company is, the business owner always has the last word and final responsibility. Ensure that people on the language service provider's side are ready to hear you and communicate with you regarding adjustments and improvements (not only about translation but the entire process.) These ten points will provide you with the best contractors for your product localization, which is already 50% of the success. The second part of success is the selection of correct tech solutions for localization management.

How does Lingohub TMS help localization and translation companies collaborate?

Translation management software is the best option for keeping abreast of localization. You will see all progress, documentation, and edits and can be involved in adaptation management or fully coordinating it. At Lingohub, we provide comfortable ways to collaborate with external agencies and strengthen their translators with CAT tools. There are a few options.

1. Add the translators to your Lingohub company.

Based on the chosen pricing plan, you can add from 5 to unlimited translators. We also allow you to create a separate (unlimited) number of workspaces and projects to split the project files and translators into an isolated environment for convenient management. Your companies' team members can be managed separately from their individual access to their efforts and work reports. Independent of your chosen pricing plan, they will have access to all the powerful CAT features, such as machine translation, quality check suggestions, term base, style guides, etc.

2. Work with localization agencies with Lingohub XLIFF support.

Of course, the best option for our customers is to add contractors to Lingohub to centralize all the data. However, sometimes this option is impossible as localization agencies cannot use Lingohub because of internal rules, etc. In this case, it will be helpful for you to explore the Lingohub XLIFF file format. Lingohub XLIFF is a platform-independent format for data exchange. Its main advantage is that our customers can import/export data and share it with agencies without affecting the file structure. The best thing is that Lingohub XLIFF is available for any project and can be generated in a few clicks.

What else?

Besides the two options above, we want to focus your attention on the management options that will allow your managers or the external localization manager to have all the data without manual reports' creating:

• Dashboard with the critical data;
• Projects' reports with status bars;
• Work logs;
• Automatically created cost reports;
• Text edits, API, and Audit logs;

Also, you can always enhance the translation team by translating or proofreading orders. For instance, if you need some text translated urgently, you have a few ways:

• Fast rescheduling of your team load;
• Ask your localization company for an additional translator;
• Place the order in the Lingohub app, where it can be quickly taken into work. Moreover, without your involvement, our translators will have the project's related context information, like the style guide and term base.

Conclusion

Perfect localization is a symbiosis of sequential and quality adaptation, which can be reached only by having a professional localization team and management tool that will cover the needs of all team members to speed up and automate the process. These parts will ensure the localized product quality is maintained. At Lingohub, we do our best to help companies work with their in-house translators to the same extent as localization and translation agencies, and we hope this article will help you find the best-fit team for your product. From our side, we will gladly provide more information for you during the short demo call and answer any questions you may have.