Custom Translation

If none of our services fit, you probably need a Plus Size suit... worry not, we'll tailor it to a perfect fit!

TheForeignFriend has built a wide range of services to suit all possible customer needs. Sometimes however,  the sheer volume of the material requires it to have a drawer or even  a wardrobe of its own!

Normally we handle such situations by offering custom strategies such as deliver the text in installments, involve internal stakeholders from one’s organization in the process (accounting, terminologists, reviewers, end customer, project coordinator, etc.), formulate a special payment plan, arrange a team of professionals solely dedicated to the project, etc.  We analyze the requirements, propose a custom strategy, submit it to the Customer and revise as needed to fit our mutual needs. The solutions we propose typically include:

• Predefined roadmap: we agree with the customer in advance the procedures by which  materials and orders shall be sent, the staff authorized to place orders, the min-max budget, process flow, quality expectations, lead times, delivery methods, average work volume per month, etc.

• Work process definition: we agree with the customer on the objectives and design the work strategies that can achieve exactly what the customer needs.

• A dedicated team of external professionals: to ensure consistency of the translation style, we assign all work coming from a single customer to the same, dedicated team.

• Customized team selection: customers are free to chose the translators they want to work with (because of style, approach to communications, vocabulary, etc.) by submitting a short sample text.

• Drafting a style guide: we agree with the customer on what - and how - a text should and should not communicate.

• Batch deliveries spaced out over time: “large volume translations” can be split into “small batches” and delivered at specific intervals to streamline the customer's workflow.

• Custom glossary: to preserve the company’s jargon, enhance terms’ SEO functionalities, to avoid using terms exploited by competitors, suit the needs of end customers... We always build one or more glossaries that, once approved by the customer, are consistently used for  all subsequent projects.

• Remote management of terms: a customer can use his favorite browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari) to approve the professionals’ choice of words while they are working on a text. Most customers love this opportunity, since it allows employees in remote sites, end customers in foreign countries, terminologists recruited on an ad hoc basis, etc. to participate in the translation.

• TM Management: often, “large volumes” include several different product lines, each requiring its own translation memory. TFF creates, manages, and updates all the TMs a customer needs!

• Consistency with previous translations: translation memories can save up to 70% of the cost in case of highly homogeneous texts. TFF can create translation memories from the archives of previously translated texts.

• “Home” review for customers: those wishing to do so may finalize the translations from their own premises without wasting time in taking note of the changes and communicating them back to us. Our technology and processes automatically collect these revisions, and stores them in  customer’s translation memory for future use.

Of course, we try to help those customers with large volumes of text from a financial perspective as well, by offering discounts proportionate to the volume of the work.

To know more, contact us and have our customer manager size you up: we will quickly provide a free, non-binding quote!