The year ahead: look before you leap

2 Feb 2015

Proper planning prevents poor performance; this old military adage can be applied to most things in life – and your business is no exception.

So here are some top tips to help you define your aims and objectives, and ensure your business succeeds, both in the UK and overseas, in the coming 12 months:

Consult the calendar

Working with international customers means it’s important to be aware of key dates and events in their country. This not only presents marketing opportunities but it demonstrates that you’re in tune with their lives and you don’t miss deadlines because of their public holidays.

Social media strategy

Marketing plans are a must and as part of that, it’s essential to map out your social media activities. With 7/10 people online using social media, it’s an important and low-cost way to reach both existing and potential clients around the world.

But before launching feet first into tweets and posts, do your research and define your audience. Look at the language used by followers/readers and ensure your messaging is always correctly translated and culturally relevant to prevent misinterpretation.

Coherent language strategy

If 2015 could open doors into new international markets or see you increase your share in an existing market, you’ll need to be ready to tackle the language demands that go hand in hand with growth, export and expansion.

Don’t allow poor language skills see you lose out to competition or limit your export potential. Pre-empting these positive developments now means you can get professional translators lined up and ready to help you take your business to the next level.

Do look back

Reflecting on what worked and what didn’t in 2014 will help you to move forward this year. What took your time, energy and money but provided little return? Did you miss out on opportunities with international customers because of language barriers? Use 2014’s failures and successes to equip you for what lies ahead.

This brings us back to our five Ps. Don’t let language requirements be an after-thought or think that your GCSE in Spanish will see you through; bring the professionals on board from the outset.

Consider Intonation as part of your team; our mother tongue translators are here to provide professional translation when you need it throughout 2015, so talk to us today on 0800 0966 825 or email info@intonation.co.uk