The world has been drastically altered in the wake of COVID-19. The global pandemic has impacted all of us on a personal level, and businesses on a global scale. Multinational companies can no longer rely on local employees or contractors on the ground, because the majority of the world is living under some kind of lockdown, and life won’t return to normal until perhaps 2021.
But can you afford to wait this long, and what does this means for your sales team?
While it’s not possible to replace your sales team on the ground, you can invest in perfecting your marketing materials so that they present the right image and communicate your core messages.
Digitising your sales collateral
For the foreseeable future, your sales team’s day to day operations will be markedly different. No longer will they be able to pitch in-person directly to would-be clients and potential customers. Instead, digital communication will be the way forward.
So, if your company’s growth targets are largely hinging on written collateral and proposals, now is the right time to digitise your marketing materials, whether they be leaflets, pamphlets or photography. You might also consider employing closed captions during video demonstrations, which will allow your sales team to continue pitching, rather than relying on just the written word to win over new clients.
When digitalising your sales material, you may find you have lots of collateral produced in a tongue that’s not native to the target markets you have identified for overseas expansion. As a result, you will need to find a translations service you can trust.
Bubbles Translation can be your valued partner in this important enterprise. Our language translation services are used by multinational companies around the globe. We’re trusted partners with some of the world’s largest and most iconic brands, including Disney, Coca Cola and Microsoft.
By digitising your sales material, you empower your sales teams.
Big players are revaluating their marketing tactics
Walgreens Boots Alliance have a huge role to play during this difficult time. Being one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical groups, they are an essential healthcare service that millions of people will be relying on to stay healthy.
The group is currently on the search for a new marketing agency and communications partner. The reason for their decision to cut ties with their former agency WPP is explained by a company spokesperson: “This is part of a broader digital transformation that our business is undergoing as consumer behaviour and needs are changing rapidly, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic”.
The key phrase to take away here is digital transformation. With the rise of video conferencing during the pandemic, many companies have relied on Zoom and Google Hangouts for internal meetings and even conferences and sales pitches overseas. The possibilities of doing business digitally and remotely have been shown to be very bright.
Meeting culture seems to have changed rapidly, and it’s more than likely that video conferencing is here to stay. So, with so much staked on digital communication, getting your sales material singing is super important. And when you’re selling overseas, the value of well-crafted translations can’t be overlooked.
We believe in the value of sourcing translation from native speakers on the ground, so to speak. By living in the country you wish to expand into, our translators understand the nuances of how locals speak the language. This means they stay on top of ever-evolving communication trends. As any language geek knows, languages shift and transform quickly, so phrases go in and out of vogue and meanings change almost overnight.
Our translation services for sales teams
We offer translation services tailored for sales managers involved in the nitty-gritty of the sales process and translations for aftersales purposes.
- Contract translation – we translate sales, supply and employment contracts for a wide range of clients, all to help the sales process run as smoothly as possible as you transition into a new market, establish new partnerships, employ new staff and communicate your brand’s vision.
- Technical translation – one of our specialities is translating technical documentation. We have vast experience in translating everything from technical sales literature to detailed installation manuals.
- Instruction translation – if you sell technical products to an overseas market, you’ll need stellar translations so your customers can easily use your products.
Reassessing your sales material
With the world transforming before our very eyes, it might be a good time to evaluate whether your sales material is up to the task it was created for.
Perhaps your current material is not sufficient for your sales agents, franchisees, salespeople, manufacturing partners and outsourced workers to do their job well in these times.
If this is the case, you should consider creating new resources and more comprehensive guides. The best way to ensure a high-quality translation is by involving translators at the earliest possible stage, so don’t leave translation as an afterthought.
The power of translation
With business being hard enough at home, it can be a struggle to envisage marketing your company overseas. But time won’t stand still forever, and your customers are still out there.
Take the opportunity now to ensure your marketing collateral communicates the exact messages you’re trying to send, and you’ll be on the right path to taking advantage of new opportunities as they arise when the world resets.
Get in touch with us today to discuss your needs moving forwards. The case for high-quality translation is perhaps even greater now, with social distancing putting up barriers between neighbours and making overseas markets seem a very long way away.
