The translation industry is on the rise. And the reason behind its advent is the need for communication. Though language poses barriers, translation services bridge gaps and remove misconceptions.
In this article, we will try to understand how a translation firm focuses on formulating its marketing strategies. What makes them choose between the marketing concept and the selling concept? And what are the key steps involved in formulating a strategy that works
best for them?
We are going to discuss all of these aspects in detail. So let’s start by differentiating between the marketing concepts and selling concepts.
Marketing Concept In the Translation Sector
The marketing concept states that the customer is always the main priority when creating a product or service. The idea is to fulfill the needs and wants of the target market so that companies can build long-term relationships with the consumers. Moreover, this approach usually starts with conducting full-fledged research on your target consumer. And then customize a product or service that fulfills the requirements of that particular consumer belonging to the target market.
The fundamental concept is radicated upon the notion that if an organization can develop and deliver products or services that satisfy the needs of the consumers better than its competitors, then chances are it is going to be successful.
Example of Marketing Concept For the Translation Industry
A translation company that prioritizes developing products that cater to the needs of the consumers.
For instance, translation firms develop their services with user experience in mind. Their company always invests heavily in research and development so that they can create products that are easy to use, yet have a powerful design.
Selling Concept In Translation Services
When we talk about the selling concept, we are more interested in the selling aspect of products or services. Hence, we observe organizations prioritizing aggressive selling and promotion of their products.
The fundamental concept behind this notion is that consumers will only buy products if sold on a massive scale. Hence, organizations spend a lot of time and money in promoting and advertising their products or services.
Example of Selling Concept For Translation Firms
The selling concept is observed in the works of tourism translation services. It usually involves salespeople who go from one customer to another. And try to sell their services directly to the consumers.
The focus of the salespeople is not to understand what the consumer wants, but rather to showcase their product as something the consumer must have. Hence, they sell it at a low price. But at this particular moment, you will realize that the seller is never interested in building a long-term relationship with the customer. And that is where the shortcoming is.
Now that we have distinguished between the marketing concept and selling concept, the natural progression of this article would be to expound upon the formulation of marketing strategy. So let us do that.
How Translation Firms Formulate Marketing Strategy?
Organizations usually follow these several steps to formulate their marketing strategy.
Understanding The Market
Every firm starts by understanding the market. This mainly involves identifying the needs and wants of their potential customers. Meanwhile, finding out who their possible competitors might be. And once that is done, the firm gets an overall idea of its market trends.
Example;
Let’s say you’re starting a new translation service. First, you need to understand the market by finding out what types of translation services people want. And what type of money they’re willing to pay for it. This research would eventually lead you to look at competitors to see what types of localization services they offer, what translation management systems they use, and what prices they charge.
Moreover, you might survey potential customers to find out what they like or dislike about your fellow competitors. So based on this research, you would decide to offer translation in a specific language that your competitors are not offering. Moreover, pricing your services slightly higher would appeal to customers that want quality. Persian translation services are an example of this step.
Knowing Your Strength And Weakness
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a company can be the deciding factor for your success or failure. In professional terminology, this step is called a SWOT analysis. It’s imperative that we understand it via examples. So let’s do that.
Let’s try to understand it with the help of an example.
Example:
If you are a language service provider conducting a SWOT analysis, then you might consider the following factors;
Strength
- Your strength could be offering translations in multiple languages.
- Moreover, focusing on the quality and accuracy of translations can significantly help you in standing out from the crowd.
- Furthermore, if you incorporate advanced translation technology tools and software in your translation process, it will showcase your strength.
Weaknesses
- On the other hand, it’s equally important to understand your weaknesses. For instance, if you have a limited capacity to handle large volumes of requests, then you should try to start small.
- Moreover, if you have trouble recruiting and retaining skilled and specialized translators, then you should not misguide your consumers by promising premium and quality translated content.
Choose Your Target Customers
The next step is to select who you want to sell your service or product to.
Example:
A translation agency can initiate this process by seeking their potential customers’ segments. For instance, businesses that are operating globally or aim to often need the assistance of language service providers. So it’s an opportunity for you to reach out to them first.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed the steps involved in formulating a marketing strategy. From a translation service’s perspective, the steps mentioned above will surely guide them to understand how they can create a name for themselves. But the important thing is that there should be a plan and strategy involved. Just rushing through things would never work in the long term.
