As one of the biggest global industries, the electronics manufacturing industry depends heavily on professional language translation and localization services to conduct worldwide business operations and grow revenue globally. Electronic products by definition often come in as printed circuit boards or enclosed components that rely on detailed documentation and usage instructions to install, develop, test, manufacture, operate, repair, and even dispose of. When it comes to distributing electronic products in overseas markets or even in the US market, all relevant content must be accurately translated to ensure the best customer experience as well as local regulatory compliance.
The number of consumers who buy consumer electronics is simply enormous. For example, an estimated 6.6 billion people own smartphones worldwide. The vast majority of these devices are made by foreign manufacturers.
Without consumer electronics translation, the modern world as we know it simply could not function. However, the main focus of this blog is on why language services are so crucial to the businesses that produce and market these goods and to the consumers who use them.
What is consumer electronics translation?
All consumer electronics goods come with extensive booklets on how they should be used, and the more user-friendly these materials are, the better. This extends not only to the clarity of the language but the nuances of the languages themselves.
Translation for consumer electronics involves translating a variety of manuals and other materials for consumer-grade electronics goods. Consumer electronics is one of the most international sectors in retail, driven primarily by mobile phones but also by computers, smart devices, gaming, and a range of audio and visual products.
Since consumers all over the world buy these products, the sales process requires a significant amount of documentation at various stages in the customer cycle. The following are a few of the most frequently translated materials for consumer electronics:
- User manuals
- Safety instructions
- Packaging and labels
- Technical specifications
- Product descriptions
- Manufacturing specifications
- Marketing campaigns and related materials
- Software localization
- Manufacturer and retailer websites
- Contracts and related materials
- Patents, intellectual property rights and other legal documentation
Aside from translation, these documents also need to be adapted to meet individual market requirements. Take crucial safety guidelines for different socket voltages as an example.
Such recommendations must be clearly understood in any language. Having poorly translated documents or not having them translated at all presents a clear danger to consumers and serious liability to manufacturers.
“Check the current rating of the extension lead before plugging appliances into it. Most are rated at 13 A, but some are rated at only 10 A or less – the rating should be clearly marked on the back or underside of the extension lead. If not, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.”
Why else is consumer electronics translation important?
Consumer electronics brands market and sell their products to customers either residing in the USA or worldwide who speak different languages and have different cultural backgrounds. This begins with marketing each product and extends to the buying and post-purchasing processes, including your customer support and your follow-up marketing campaigns to build customer retention and ensure the next purchase.
There are three important roles for consumer electronics translation throughout this cycle.
Providing essential information to everyone
Consumer electronics translation makes sure that every buyer has access to the essential information they need. The priority is always on keeping customers safe because any electronic device can cause serious harm to users, if used incorrectly. This information exchange is essential for protecting product manufacturers against lawsuits.
However, user guides and safety instructions are not just there to safeguard customers. They improve the customer’s experience by assisting them in getting the best out of their products, utilizing them to their fullest potential, personalizing them to their tastes, and resolving any monitor-related problems they may encounter.
Addressing the needs of local consumers
Sellers must be aware that the same product can mean something very different to various audiences when marketing it to a wide range of customers. The average consumer’s perception of the latest iPhone is different in markets with higher average disposable incomes than those with lower average incomes.
Brands like Samsung and LG are perceived differently in their home market of South Korea than in the USA. Even the role of the smartphone in everyday life can vary across different markets and this is true for all major consumer electronics goods. This is why it’s important that companies address these aspects in their respective marketing campaigns.
Consumer electronics translation can assist businesses in developing the best and most focused message for each target audience beyond the user guides and documentation.
Delivering quality customer experiences to everyone
Consumer electronics companies must make sure that users in every market have access to high-quality support when they need it because customer service is a crucial component of the overall user experience.
This should incorporate the translation of globally accessible online documentation for customers. The most popular brands also offer extensive phone support via multilingual call centers, maintain social media accounts in many target languages, and occasionally host user forums where customers can interact with one another.
The best chance for brands to gain and retain more customers in each target market is to offer comprehensive customer support coverage in local languages.
Whether you are a manufacturer of smartphones, music players, personal computers, artificial intelligence, audio and video equipment, TVs, GPS devices, automotive electronics, digital cameras, or games, and in order to satisfy the demands of your local and international customers and to comply with local laws, you probably need to translate your product documentation, legal licenses, your app, and marketing materials between English and Japanese, English and Chinese, English and Arabic, etc.
Here is the sample list of documents we routinely see (and translate) when working with our consumer electronics clients:
- catalogs
- fact sheets
- health and safety information
- installation manuals
- labeling
- maintenance manuals
- marketing collateral
- marketing information
- multimedia audio and visual
- packaging
- point-of-purchase displays
- product registrations
- product specifications sheets
- promotional and marketing materials
- quality control sheets
- quick start guides
- reference guides
- regulatory forms
- safety work sheets
- sales promotion material
- sales sheets
- software and website localization
- technical specifications
- training material
- user manuals
- warranty documentation
- warranty information
- white papers
With quality and speed, Bromberg & Associates has years of experience in translation and localization for the manufacturing industry. Powered by our professional translation specialists, Bromberg oversees all of its clients’ enterprise translation activities online and on demand, providing translations of consumer electronics that are second to none in both linguistic fluency and technical accuracy. We provide over 200 languages to support our clients’ translation needs for marketing campaigns, tradeshow displays, product demonstrations, PowerPoint presentations, video presentations, and technical and regulatory documents.
Do you need any of the above-mentioned documents translated? We are here to assist you. Reach out to our translation experts and get your project done!