Norms by which to indentify a viable translation service

This really seems to be the age of the translation service. It seems to me that large and small companies around the world are currently in competition with each other to maximize their share of the global market place. The size of a company rarely matters, and we find companies today trying to reach into markets they would never  have considered five or ten years ago.Now, the obvious result of this global outreach is linguistic problems, where a supplier or company from one country tries to reach into the market of another country where the people might speak a completely different language. This poses all sorts of problems.Firstly, there are negotiations with government officials for various contracts and permits. You need an able oral translator who can bring this important aspect of reaching into another country to a satisfactory conclusion.Then there are the negotiations with various business partners native to that country, or else to representatives of various sales chains and store chains.  These are delicate negotiations and called for both the services of an efficient oral translator, as well as for the services of efficient written translators which might include translators that can actually handle the translation of technical manuals. Not to mention the translation of various legal contracts that might be necessary.You see that reaching into another country is a complex process even if uncomplicated by language, but if it is complicated by language, you’ll need an efficient battery of translators by your side. But we haven’t even finished yet. When you market and package your product for this foreign country, you will need to have the packaging in their language, obviously. This involves translating all the writing on your original packaging into the native language. This again calls for a professional translator, and perhaps for one with some background in marketing.To set up a translation department that could handle all these diverse needs would be all but impossible, and even if you were to do it, would come at an exorbitantly expensive price. It is far better to hire the services of some organization that specializes in translations. These translation services will usually source translators from the destination country, so that you can be assured of native speakers to handle all of your linguistic translation needs.However, translation  services can vary in complexity, and you need to ensure that you need to take on translation services that can handle all your needs. If your translation requirements range from negotiations with the government and the business partners, including oral and written  translations, to the translations of contracts and technical manuals, as well as the translation of the product packaging, then you need to ensure that the translation agency that you take on can handle all these different needs.If they cannot handle all these needs, you need to have a different contract with various different translation services. For example, you might find that one translation service specializes in oral translations.  Well, that’s well and good, because you certainly need oral translations, and if they specialize in oral translations, they will be sure to do a good job.Similarly, there may be another organization that specializes in contractual document translations, as in the translations of legal contracts. A third form may specialize in technical translations, while a fourth may specialize in the translations of packaging.Of course, all these areas may overlap and you may find an efficient translation agency that can provide skills in all these different departments. If you do so, well and good. Just remember to draw up a plan that lists all your goals in the targeted country and works out what translation services you need to  meet, then choose a translation service that will enable you to meet those goals.