Communication technology has made it easier than ever to do business with people from around the world. Regardless of your industry, everything from HR documents to marketing materials may need to be translated at some point if you have any international employees or customers, or ambitions to expand beyond your borders. That’s why it’s important for business owners to work with a professional translation firm.

Although high-quality translations are essential in a wide range of fields, they’re particularly important in the following fields:

International Litigation

Successful attorneys understand the importance of written language. Even when they’re not working on international cases, they know that paying attention to the “legalese” of a document is key to winning a case.

International litigation requires even greater attention to textual detail. Documents must not only be translated properly, but also everyone involved in the process must be aware of the fact that regulatory and procedural differences can have a major impact on the outcome of a case. Because regulations are susceptible to change, litigators must coordinate with translation firms that are subject matter experts (SMEs) in legal work.

Accurate legal translations are highly important in the following circumstances:

• When cases are held in multiple courts, in different nations
• When the staff members of a law firm are not fluent in the languages of everyone participating in the case
• When a law this is being referenced or applies to the case exists in another language

Law codes are extremely specific. Thus, any translator working on these types of cases must be ISO-certified.

Marketing & E-Commerce

An effective marketing strategy disseminates information about a product or service while also striking an emotional chord with an audience. Simply translating your marketing materials to another language is only one step in the process of reaching international customers. You also need to make sure your translated marketing materials align with the cultural values of your target audience through localization.

Only 26% of internet users list English as their native language. Hire professional translators to reach as many customers as possible with an effective, localized marketing strategy.

Clinical Trials

Translations are very important particularly in the medical industry. For example, a pharmaceutical company trying to get a new drug approved may conduct international clinical trials. If so, they’ll need to submit consent forms to those participating in the trials, case forms for administering staff, and clinical outcome assessments for doctors.

All of these medical documents and materials must be translated with the utmost accuracy. When the participants, administering staff, and doctors send the forms back, they’ll need to translate them once again. Even a seemingly minor error could affect the outcome of the trial and slow down the approval process.

Patent Filing

Applying for and obtaining a patent is already a complicated process. It only becomes even more complicated when applying for a patent in another language. Every single word in a patent is chosen carefully to accurately represent what a product does.

If a mistranslation is spotted, application fees and related costs go up. If a patent is mistakenly approved in spite of a mistranslation, a competitor could theoretically release their own version of the product, citing the patent language if anyone attempted to take legal action. Using a patent translation agency ensures the utmost accuracy of language and protection of your product or property rights.

These are merely some of the industries in which translations play a major role. If you plan on expanding your business internationally, hire a professional language service provider from the start. They’ll help you save you money and time in the long run, and help you avoid potentially disastrous situations that result from mistranslations or miscommunications.