Insights, updates & translations
By: AK Janjelo - Arabic translator & project manager
Enjoy reading short insightful thoughts, carefully crafted content, and translated articles about the sectors that my clients lead, so that you have what could help you access the Arabic markets. This is my chance to share a little bit of my perspective with you, and for you to get to know my business better. I also use this space to answer any pressing questions you may have and address potential clients’ thoughts.
You can also find me on LinkedIn.
The translation management series
Episode 1: Freelance translators: Keep him or delete him?
In this series, I will share some of the realities related to the translation industry along with some of the unique challenges related to English to Arabic translation management.
Whether you are a freelancer, project manager, decision maker, or even a casual reader who loves translation, this series will briefly educate you so that you can make an informed decision that leads you to the desired results and avoid costly situations.
The early signs
Reviews and testimonials. This is an important indication, in which the determiner is not how many reviews a translator might have across online profiles (Quantity), but rather how the translator is described in those reviews and by who (Quality).
Example: If you are checking the profile of a translator who has 10 reviews that have been given by professionals from different managerial levels and you notice a repeated use of words such as: “no missed deadlines”, “always on time”, “never failed to deliver a project in x years”, “consistent high quality”, and “professional attitude and pleasant to work with”, then it would be safer to continue examining the opportunities to work with this translator compared to another with 100 reviews filled with general positive comments made by individuals working at low management levels or one-time service buyers.
In reviews and testimonials, the quality and consistency of facts that help in delivering a successful project overpower the number of comments made by random, satisfied people with the translator.
First contact
After setting your eyes on one or more freelancers, doing some profile checking and gaining a sense that you have found who you were looking for, you will reach the stage of first contact, which is nowadays mainly done through email or direct messaging. Here is where you should pay attention to the following aspects: 1- How fast is the response? 2- How professional is it? 3- How focused are they when it comes to addressing your questions and requirements?
Why? The sum of all of the points here will show strong signs of commitment toward achieving results. A quick response shows that the translator values time, which is a key factor in the success of any project. A professional reply using complete words with proper syntax is an indication that the translator takes pride in his profession and it is not just for making quick money, that is, they will take care of your project. Focused understanding followed by addressing your questions and requirements means that this translator understood the input, processed it in a timely manner, and generated output that will pave the way toward giving you what you are looking for.
Along the way
As the professional cooperation progresses with a freelancer translator, headaches and challenges are bound to happen, especially with Arabic translation projects because this right to left language has its own unique perks and challenges, starting from a very wide choice of vocabulary that could make your Arabic content translation rich or poor based on the use or misuse of such a wide array of words. With that being said, a freelancer with communication and managerial skills could be a great resource to help you understand what the challenge is, how to overcome it, how to maintain costs within budget, and even join a meeting with clients to solve any problems related to translation. Some clients might decide to bring a freelancer into their companies with a contract or even a full time-based offer after seeing tangible results achieved by that translator through the years, which is what happened to me when I helped a client solve Arabic translation problems caused by a previous vendor. On the other hand, some translators will offer empty promises when it comes to helping with future challenges after the completion of the project, or they will simply take too long to get back to you in order to see how they can help. A client cannot foresee all kinds of challenges that might take place after a translation project is finished, but surely they will be more than happy if they knew that the freelancer who helped them with that project is still in their corner and can communicate a fair deal to address any problem that might take place. All of this might seem to be known in the world of translation and translation project management, but it is not a surprise to know how our busy lives could affect our attention to critical or small details, especially with all of this influx in remote working nowadays. For this reason, I trust that this article will benefit some new project managers, a CEO who decided to casually read on, a translator with a sense of excellence, or even a client who just decided to go online and wanted to know whether to keep or delete a freelancer from their contact list.
Episode 2 – Customers: How to be on their white list?
let’s start with the right foot. A customer is not just a person who is your target to get money from and then “kai thanks bai” him. No, a customer is literally the lifeline of your business, no customer = no business = no you (As simple as that). In this article I will share the 3 pillars that I found most important through my career in Arabic translation management to build a long term and trust-based relations with my customers.
- Customer satisfaction: Sam Walton nailed it when he said: “The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best but legendary”. Why? Because prioritizing customer is one of the main reasons that led Walmart to have a solid $ 130.4 Billion in revenues within the 2nd quarter of 2020, an increase of 2% from the 1st This is why I know from my 16 years of experience in the field of English to Arabic translation management that the satisfaction I provide for my customers, whether working during weekends on emergency projects, working during the last 2 weeks of the year when most are busy with other activities, or support big companies in solving problems related to Arabic language with their clients is one of the main reasons that made earn a place on their white list whenever they needed any help with Arabic translation or Arabic translation management.
#Protip: Customer service must be done with an honest heart without over-promising and under-achieving.
- Money matters: Don’t let anyone convince you that money is not a big determiner in maintaining your relations with customers, especially nowadays with the pandemic hitting the world economies and double especially with the massive increase of internet use where people can get answers from different sources with a click of a mouse. This is why the customer need to feel and know you are on his side when it comes to costs.
In order to stay on the customer’s white list, one must always:
- Be smart, transparent & relevant while building prices structure. When it comes to Arabic translation management (A right to left language with many levels of challenges) the professional has the right to earn fairly and proportionally in return for the quality services provided, but he should never present an unrealistic pricing because this will be the last time he will hear from that client (Or anyone linked to him).
- Know your value but don’t prioritize it over customer’s budget. Why? Because nowadays, whether it is an individual or company representative, customers can easily research the prices of services and have an idea on what to expect before choosing a service based on their budget. This is why I always compare the numbers from my end with the prices a customer is putting on the table, not to see how much I will profit, but to see if the deal has the elements that will ensure successful delivery to the customer needs before providing me with a fair profit.
- Never take an advantage of a customer. Whether it was a one-time easy translation project or a long-term project with one of my big customers involving multi-level requests related to Arabic translation & management, I always offered carefully and fairly structured prices in return for my high-quality work without taking advantage of any of them. Why? Because this is simply the heart of a sustainable healthy business relation that was translated into loyalty from their part toward me that has been going on for years coupled with highly appreciated testimonies from them.
#Protip: When it comes to pricing think of the following: Affordable, flexible, explainable.
- Support, support and more support. This is the element that will make your name pop into a customer conversation with others or into his mind every time there is a need for your help and services. Throughout my career, I harvested the results of every hour I invested in providing linguistic and technical support for Arabic translation projects whether they were mine or from other vendors. Why support is important? Because it is the response all customers hope for when they need you after projects has been successfully delivered. Whether answering questions about the content targeting the Arabic market, helping validate questions, survey answers or even complains from non-English speaking buyers, or joining effort with marketing and sales teams to increase the success chances of their campaigns, support is the element that will help your customer achieve his goal and by doing so keep the work flow toward your end.
#Protip: Support isn’t only about solving problems, it’s also about increasing profit and avoiding potential threats.