So your company has grown to the point where you’re looking to expand internationally, and the U.S. seems like a good fit for your business. Well, whether you want to hire American employees, collaborate with a U.S. company, or try and sell a product in the States, you’ll have a much better shot at success if you make an effort with French-to-English translation.
Why, you may ask, is French-to-English translation so important? While not a strict requirement in the U.S., it will help you in many ways: gaining credibility with Americans, easing bureaucratic and administrative headaches, and attracting more clients or customers. If you make a translation effort, you’ll already have a big edge over your competitors who don’t.
French-to-English translation will help your business in the U.S. gain credibility. More than other people do, Americans prefer to speak, read, write and conduct business in their native language—and are often scornful of those who cannot (or will not) do the same. Few Americans speak a second language other than Spanish, and even those who do still expect business to be conducted in English. If your communications are not in English (or even if they are in imperfect English), that’s a strike against you. If Americans respect you and your business, they’ll choose you over a similar competitor who doesn’t translate business aspects from French to English.
Similarly, the ability to translate business documents, contracts, etc., makes the bureaucratic and administrative aspect of conducting business in the U.S. much easier. American bureaucrats will most almost certainly require official documents related to business permits, work visas and lease agreements, among other things, to be translated. If you make the effort from the beginning before being asked, you’ll have the administrators on your side. This will make it much easier to obtain a business license or work visas for employees. Additionally, even if translation is not required, you will be pleasing American bureaucrats as they won’t have to hire their own translators to translate your French documents.
Finally, no matter what your business goals are for America, you’ll need to appeal to Americans in order to achieve them. Whether they be clients, customers or employees, if you’re conducting business in the U.S., Americans will be your target in one way or another. They will be much more receptive to services as clients, products as customers, or to job postings as potential employees, if you communicate with them in English. As mentioned above, all Americans want is to see that you made the effort to communicate with them in their native language.
So what exactly do you need to translate? Everything: websites, documents, customer service, presentation documents, advertisements, and anything else related to your business. When it all has to get done, and it all has to get done right, only a professional language services provider has the necessary expertise in translation and cultural localization to help you put your best foot forward as you expand into new territory—wherever your growing business takes you.
