Tolq Blog

Debunking Myths: Not All of Your Consumers Speak English

Posted by Team Tolq on Aug 6, 2019 2:00:09 PM

 

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It’s a common assumption that all consumers speak English. This is especially so if an e-commerce shop or digital online business is based in an English-speaking country like the United States.

 

Many business owners just assume that their content doesn’t need to be updated with translations into different languages because it won’t lead to conversion. However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

 

Let’s take a look at why you should use translation solutions and why settling for English only could be detrimental for your business.

 

 

Myth: All of Your Consumers Speak English

 

Like we mentioned in the intro-- this just simply isn’t true.

 

When you work primarily online, you are providing access to your site to people all over the world. In fact, if you tried using hit tracking software such as a geolocation API or Wordpress plugin, you could find out exactly where all of your viewers (and possibly customers) are coming from. The answer you get may surprise you-- the locations who visit you the most could be non-English speaking countries or cities.

 

Because of this, one should seriously consider using translation services to provide a more accessible customer or reader experience for your non-English speaking viewers. It isn’t even entirely necessary to translate your content into as many languages as possible. Find out where your hits are coming from and focus on providing translated content in that area’s native language.

 

 

Myth: Offering Translations for Your Content is Not Necessary

 

Even if you aren’t getting hits from other countries, consider how many more viewers you could bring in by translating your content into other major languages.

 

Thinks of it this way. Have you ever visited a website and found that it was in a completely foreign language that you couldn’t understand? Even if the navigation and graphics on the site were somewhat helpful in guiding you to where you needed to go, you probably clicked away from the website pretty quickly. Websites are extremely communication-based. If you can’t understand the language, you probably won’t bother with it.

 

This is why featuring a popup screen on your homepage that allows users to select their respective language could completely change the way you do business online. Through translating your website with high-quality translation software or real-life multilingual translator professionals, you’re opening up your shop to a completely new and potentially massive demographic of people. There really isn’t a downside to it, either. It’s just smart business. And there are a ton of translation solutions out there to provide accurate and legible translations for your target demographics.

 

 

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Tolq As a Translation Solution

 

Now that we’ve established that not all of your consumers are 100% English speakers and offering translations for your content could be a great feature to bring in new customers, it’s time to think about how exactly you’re going to do that. Thankfully, Tolq is here to take care of all of your e-commerce and online business translation needs.

 

Tolq is a translation tool with an all-in-one translation solution focussed on e-commerce customers that utilizes real human bilingual and multilingual translators.

 

Translation services will often get the basic job done. They’ll take your work, translate it, and hand it back for a considerable fee. However, efficient e-commerce translations require a large amount of supporting technology to do it right.

 

Tolq provides brands and content managers with the tools they need to set up an accurate, deeply integrated localization and translation program for their brand or business.

 

While brands are busy working on creating and curating content, Tolq is working behind the scenes. The platform is constantly monitoring and supporting its clients’ whole translation process from beginning to end.

 

On top of intensive management, Tolq is always training new translators, monitoring business operations, and improving the linguistic quality of the translation output. Tolq doesn’t stop at simply translating. They focus on service just as much as they focus on quality.

 

Tolq’s carefully cultivated translator network has members all around the world, boasting an impressive 18,000+ member count that is only continuing to grow. All translators are carefully selected and trained by Tolq staff.

 

Do you want to try before you buy Tolq’s translation services? Book a demo today to give Tolq a hands-on try.

 

Have you mistakenly assumed that a majority of your consumers would be English speakers? How important do you think translation services are for businesses? We want to hear your opinions in the comments below!

 

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