The brand identity should:

• Meet the purpose and objectives of the organization.
• Meet the needs of the target market for the brand.
• Define key brand characteristics to be communicated.
• Highlight the benefits of the products or services associated with the brand.

Some organizations start this process by completing a creative brief with details such as the organization’s vision, its target audience, the objectives of the brand identity and its key thought or idea. Some marketers use mood boards in addition to creative briefs. A mood board is a collection of images, materials and text that depict the brand concept. These tools help them define the brand identity and adjust it for new markets, if needed. Find examples of these online.

Want to learn more about how to appeal to the values and preferences of the target market by developing a strong international brand? Check out the FITTskills International Sales & Marketing online course.

Stand out from the crowd with a memorable brand name

The brand name provides potential international customers with information about the service or product and can help them form an immediate impression about the organization. Carefully selected brand names distinguish an organization’s service or product from a competitor’s. Also, it can send out a strong message about the organization’s marketing position or corporate personality.

Ideally, a brand name should be:

• Short and simple
• Easy to spell, pronounce and remember
• Pronounceable in only one way
• Indicative of the benefits of the product or service
• Easy to adapt to packaging and labelling requirements or to any form of advertising
• Non-offensive or negative
• Unlikely to become dated
• Legally available for use

International organizations take a variety of approaches to finding the right brand name. One approach is to simply invent a new word. Take Kodak for instance. Invented by founder George Eastman, the name Kodak (a word without a meaning) was deemed to be easy to pronounce and was non-offensive in the organization’s target markets.

Another strategy is to use a name that can be easily translated into different languages, such as Mr. Clean. Around the world, the iconic Mr. Clean character is known as Maestro Limpio (Mexico), Monsieur Propre (France) and many others.

The stakeholders involved in selecting the international brand name would benefit from the insights and guidance of individuals who are fluent in the international market’s language and culture. Found below is a list of the typical ways to select a brand name.

Similarly, these processes could be used to select an appropriate international logo, slogan, colours, numbers and imagery.

1. Research brand names in use

Determine the brand names currently in use in the target foreign market then evaluate their effectiveness.

2. Identify three to five product or service characteristics

Determine how the product or service should be represented to the target market. Then pinpoint the traits of the product or service that will distinguish it from competitors which will help convince consumers to purchase it over the competition.

3. Identify three to five organizational characteristics

Determine how the organizations represented to the target market. Identify the personality traits of the organization (e.g. efficient, unique and supportive) that would resonate with the target audience.

4. Create buzz words

Create a list of all the words and phrases associated with the characteristic or personality traits from steps two and three. Also, make sure the words and phrases on the list correspond with the offering if you want to incorporate that into the name.

5. Envision the brand name

Consider how the list of words and phrases generated would look if featured on a billboard sign or on the product’s packaging. Include possible graphic images and print typefaces for enhancing the appearance of these phrases. It might help to consider how these names would sound when spoken. Throughout this process, it will become easier to reduce the list of words and phrases down to only the most effective and captivating.

6. Test possible brand names

Once reduced to 10-15 names, test potential customers’ reactions through focus groups or surveys.

7. Check for availability of use

Last but not least, check whether the remaining brand names are available for use via trademark search. For a fee, advertising or marketing firms, or certain attorneys, can conduct this type of research. Another option is to submit a formal request for a trademark or service mark and wait to see whether it is approved.

The post Develop the perfect brand name for your business with these 7 simple steps appeared first on Trade Ready.

Communication is the primary component for conducting any business, especially internationally. With this in mind, the success of any international company depends on how well its message is communicated across borders and languages to its employees, partners, clients, or customers. High-quality translations are therefore of paramount importance.

So how do you define an accurate, high-quality translation, and what steps must you take to ensure that communications written in a foreign language are effective?

From the business point-of-view, achieving high-quality translations means finding professional linguists, translators, subject matter experts, and organizing the translation process itself.

From the linguistics point-of-view, a high-quality translation means achieving a high degree of “equivalence” between the original text and the translated text.

Five levels of translation equivalency

But what is equivalence and how do we measure it? Is it a literal word for word translation of the original message? Is it a translation of the concept behind the original message?

How do we find the proper balance between words, ideas, culture, context, and experience, that will impact the audience of the translated text in the same way as the original?

One widely respected method in Russia was introduced by Professor Vilen Komissarov, a prominent Russian linguist and an authority on translation theory, from the Moscow State Linguistics University.

The following is a summation of his five levels of equivalence between original and translated texts, as proposed in his 1973 book, A Word on Translation.

1. Translating ideas

At the first level, we achieve equivalence only in relation to the purpose of the communication by translating the idea behind the words. Everything we say has a purpose. We use words to describe something, state facts, establish contact, express emotions, prompt action, or a reaction from the recipient, etc.

Sometimes we can translate a sentence word-for-word, and on this level, it will be equivalent to the original. However, it may not achieve the purpose of the communication, and may even seem meaningless to the recipient.

English phrases like, “Perhaps there is simply some bad chemistry between them,” or “She had her nose in the air,” are nonsensical when translated literally into many languages. In such cases, the translator needs to translate the idea behind the message to achieve the equivalence.

2. Translating for cultural context

At the second level, we achieve equivalence both in relation to the purpose of the communication and the extra-linguistic content or situation. Any text contains information about something related to some real or imaginary context. However, this context is often very complex and is usually related to the culture and experiences of the people involved in the communication.

The same situation can be described in many different ways, and sometimes people of a certain culture have a preferred way of describing a particular situation.

For example, “We locked the door to keep thieves out” would sound absurd translated word-for-word into Russian, as in Russian one says, “We locked the door as not to let thieves in.” Or instead of saying “Wet paint,” Russians say, “Be careful! It’s painted.”

Every language also has its realia, or words and expressions so culture-specific they require an explanation to provide the context necessary for achieving the purpose of the communication

3. Translating the concepts, but not the grammar

At the third level, equivalence is achieved in the method used to describe the situation, in addition to the purpose of the communication and extra-linguistic context. In this case, the situation is described using the same attributes and concepts. At this level, however, we still might not achieve the lexical (word-for-word) equivalence of the syntactical (grammatical) equivalence.

For example, we can translate the sentence “Because of scrubbing the floors my mood worsens,” as “Scrubbing the floor makes me cranky.” We change the grammatical structure, we change the word choice, but we leave the cause and effect relationship, and the concepts stay the same.

4. Translating the grammar

At the fourth level, along with the first three components of the content, we also achieve equivalence in the syntactical (grammatical) structure of the original text. The total number of sentences is the same. Correlated sentences are of the same type, have the same location in the text, and order of main and subordinate clauses.

A simple example would be, “Apparently, he was very interested in math,” and the translation, “Seemingly, he was very interested in math.” The sentence structure is the same; the words are slightly different.

5. Achieving the best translation possible

The fifth level of equivalence is characterized by the maximal degree of proximity between original and translation. Finally, added to all above, is the greatest possible achieved equivalence at the lexical (word) level. Individual words, as the main units of language, contain much information, and sometimes it’s not possible to relay all this information with the nearest “equivalent” word of a foreign language.

For example, there is only one word in Russian, which serves as a translation for both butter and oil, so unless we specify we may lose or add meaning and lessen equivalence.

The communication is only effective when the recipient gets the exact same message the speaker intended to send.

Any message is comprised of words having certain cultural meanings, organized in a definite way, describing an established context, and having a precise purpose for communicating it. With these five elements, you’ll have the keys to crafting an effective translation for businesses and winning over new clients, partners or customers in global markets.

The post Ensure nothing gets lost in translation by using the 5 steps of translation equivalency appeared first on Trade Ready.

First, let’s go back to basics: Latin America is a continent of at least 20 countries, but has two main languages: Portuguese and Spanish.

Brazil has over 200 million people, more than double the population of any country in Europe, and Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish. So when you prepare presentations, marketing materials, technical brochures and so on, remember that what you need is Portuguese. It’s also important to note that you need Brazilian Portuguese, which is rather different from the Portuguese spoken in Portugal.

Do not ever assume that Brazilians speak Spanish just because Brazil is in South America and almost all its neighbours speak Spanish.

I am sure that a lot of Brazilians prefer promotional literature in English rather than in Spanish. Accents in Brazil vary enormously too, which is hardly a surprise for a country that size, and so does the degree of formality used when people speak.

As you can imagine, there are also many other languages spoken in Brazil, up to 200-250 according to some statistics.

Time to break out your Spanish dictionary

Apart from Brazil, you can get by in the rest of Latin America with Spanish, due to historical ties with the Spanish Crown rather than the Portuguese Crown. There are native languages too, but Spanish really dominates the scene. This is a huge advantage: you can communicate with 400 million people in just one language.

This is, again, Latin American Spanish and not Spanish from Spain. Pronunciation varies from country to country, as does the grammar. You should translate marketing and promotional materials into some form of broad Latin American Spanish. I know from experience this isn’t an easy task, but is doable, and much better than any mainland Spanish translation. If you have the budget for it, or if your business demands it, it’s also useful to have some localised versions that apply to individual countries.

If you grab a map, you’ll see that Latin America stretches from Mexico down to the south of Chile and Argentina. Note the deserts, rainforests, mountains and all sorts of geographical barriers throughout the region. Now you can start to understand why there are so many variations of Latin American Spanish.

In Latin America, we all understand each other and can all read your brochures (the more technical, the better, in my experience) but for consumer goods in particular, you can’t afford to make mistakes. Variations will be stronger in B2C vocabulary, so make sure that your translations are suitable for the specific market you are targeting.

Don’t let your message get lost in translation

For example, “Manteca” in Uruguay means butter, but in Colombia it means lard. Avocado is “palta” in Chile, but “aguacate” in Colombia. “Cacahuate” is peanut in Mexican Spanish but in Uruguay we call them “maní”.

I remember the first time I went to Colombia and at a restaurant they asked me if I wanted to cancel my dinner, after I had already had it! I realised a bit later on that to “cancel” in Colombian Spanish (“cancelar”), means to pay. In other words, to “cancel the bill”, not to cancel the meal!

Visiting these countries can be a shock to your communication skills, too. I find that Colombians, particularly those from Bogotá, speak very clearly. In Chile, on the other hand, people not only speak very fast (same in Uruguay and Argentina), but they also skip full syllables, which doesn’t help non-native speakers at all. We also have a tendency to speak over each other, all at the same time (and rather loudly), as waiting for turns is really not in our DNA.

Also expect a broad assortment of hand gestures and facial expressions. They say that communication is mainly non-verbal, and Latin Americans are brilliant at non-verbal cues. In some countries like Argentina, Chile or Uruguay, we can be fairly informal and also use humour, irony and sarcasm quite a bit, even in business. I can see why it’s hard for non-native speakers to work it all out.

So if you are not travelling with a native speaker, ask and ask again for clarity.

Apart from Portuguese and Spanish, remember there are a few countries in Latin America that speak French (Haiti and French Guiana, for example). They speak Dutch in Suriname and English in Guyana, but they are not technically part of “Latin” America though they are both part of South America and are often grouped in with the LAC region. This region is comprised of “Latin America and the Caribbean”, which also includes English-speaking countries such as Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica.

When can you use English?

Many business people, particularly from the U.S., seem to think that everyone in Latin America can and will speak English for business. This is truly not the case in Latin America.

Some people will be very fluent, although they might lack enough “native English” to spot irony, sarcasm and some humour. Some will just about get by (they might read a technical brochure and understand it, for example, but not be able to explain things to you or ask you questions) and most will not really speak it at all.

Limiting yourself to English only will really reduce the level of business you can conduct. If there’s a non-English speaker that can add value to your business, see how you can bring them into the conversation. You can also try explaining things with gestures – YouTube can be a huge help. Keep some demos and other videos handy. Alternatively, consider hiring an interpreter or a local consultant, even if it’s just for the odd focus group, negotiation or conversation.

Especially when speaking to the decision maker, you don’t want to leave them out in the cold. They will appreciate the gesture. After all, it’s you who’s trying to do business in their country!

Use language to unlock the potential of the Latin American market

I don’t think you need to be a fluent Spanish or Portuguese speaker to do business in Latin America. But knowing where your limitations are, and how to overcome them, can be critical.

If you navigate a whole continent without reaching your business potential because of language, what would happen if your main competitor hired a perfectly fluent multilingual sales manager? And what would happen if you did? If you have local partners and you don’t really need to deal with clients, are you dealing effectively with those partners and distributors, or is a lack of linguistic and cultural awareness stopping you from making the most of that relationship?

In business, I believe languages are tools. They are not an end in themselves. Use your tool wisely and open up Latin America for your business.

The post How to communicate effectively and grow your business in Latin America appeared first on Trade Ready.

As an exporter, you’re betting the sales and success of your product on whether this translation is quality and truly connects with your target audience.

So for those of you who find this a bit scary, here are some do’s and don’ts designed to keep you out of the dark.

1. DO: Look into the translation company you’re working with.

The surest way to guarantee a project’s success is to choose the right partner before it begins. In Canada, the Association de l’industrie de la langue (AILIA) is the overseeing body, while the American Translators’ Association (ATA) has members in both Canada and the U.S. On an international level, there’s the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA).

If a company isn’t involved in any trade bodies, take caution. This may sound more like advice on how to pick a partner than how to tell if a translation is good, but both AILIA and ATA have standards that members must follow, and if your partner is not a member, your completed project is less likely to conform to those standards.

2. DO: Look at the translated international business document you get back.

Is it longer or shorter than the original? This will help you gauge completeness. When translating from English into French, Spanish or other Romance languages, expect to see around 30 percent growth.

Similarly, from these languages into English will be 30 percent shorter. A well-written German text translated into English expands around 20 percent. But take caution! Subject matter can really influence how much expansion or reduction you see from one language to another. For example, parts lists and material safety data sheets (MSDS) from German into English can expand as much as 40 percent.

A quick Google search will pull up word expansion charts, or your translation provider should be happy to provide this. Regardless, when you don’t speak the language, it’s helpful to know how to quickly surmise whether anything is likely to have been added or taken out.

3. DON’T: Get upset if some names or numbers are in different places.

We once had an American client panic, thinking the date on her contract had been changed from March 2nd to February 3rd. Of course it hadn’t! Americans put the month before the day, and she was unaware that most countries do not. So, the U.S. 3/2 had to be changed to the French 2.3.

A thorough translation takes more into account than words.

Basically anything you give us that has meaning – numbers, symbols, punctuation – has to be looked at and transformed. Two sentences may become one; one sentence may become two.

You’d be surprised what has meaning that you never even thought about! Even commas can mean something entirely different in French than in English.

4. DO: Ask if your translation partner carries errors & omissions insurance.

Note that this is different from liability. While insurance regulations are different for Canada and the U.S., it’s important to note that standard liability often does not cover translation error. In fact, if you work with a U.S.-based provider, most liability policies actually have a clause stating they do not cover translation error!

It may not help that much with knowing whether the translation you got back is good, but knowing your provider has the right kind of insurance in case it isn’t may help you rest easier at night.

In the end, purchasing international business translations isn’t nearly as intimidating as it might seem.

After all, trusting another business to convey your message in a language you don’t understand is a bit like feeling around in the dark—it’s intimidating and if you mess up, you could hit an obstacle that hurts your business.

Very few of us know how to make our own flashlights at home, but we still trust their ability to help us navigate at night. Similarly, you don’t have to speak multiple languages in order to be able to shine a light on your project—you just need a little help.

Have you ever received or seen a badly translated business document? Do you think it affected the success of the project or even the credibility of the business involved?

The post Four do’s and don’ts for getting quality international business translations appeared first on Trade Ready.