Summary
You’re interested in language, which is why I find you here.
But to gain a deep understanding of languages, you have to look at the role of the whole industry. In 2019, the global language services sector was valued at around 49.6 billion USD, with growth projected in the next years. It’s certainly lucrative, and, within the language industry is the translation services industry.
You’ve most likely been a customer of the language industry, as a language learner. But when it comes to customer service, are you getting quality?
We often think of users complaining about the quality of the product and service. However, when it comes to translation, people think of translators using pen and paper as they work.
Since the start of the 21st century, the language industry has come a long way and has focused on enhancing its language services through automated processes, specializing their skills, and improving its approach to customer service.
Today, we’ll discuss a couple of professional translation agencies and language service companies selected based on their approach to serving their clients.
Let’s get started!
What Does Customer-First Mean?
It’s crucial that we first define what customer-first is. Based on my research, it means founding an organization that centers itself on ensuring that the customer has a positive experience during the whole process of finding and purchasing the product or services that would encourage them to repurchase from the same brand.
A translation agency is no different from other kinds of business that center on providing a finished product through their services. A bad experience with the language service reflects the performance of the agency, which is why some have decided to create a customer-first strategy to ensure the customer experience the best customer care.
Why is Customer-First Approach Important in the Language Industry?
Besides poor customer service reflecting a translation agency or language service company, the language industry is based on the foundation of connecting and communicating with individuals and businesses from across the globe.
Failing to adequately provide for the customer’s needs, especially regarding the quality of the language service, is problematic because miscommunication can directly affect the goals of any business or private client.
Our Criteria in Selecting the Best Agencies
To give you fewer problems finding the best translation agency, we identified three criteria from which we based our evaluation on their customer-first approach.
1. Specialization
From our perspective, when a business specializes in the types of services that they offer, they tend to do better because they have a more nuanced way of addressing specific problems that an unspecialized one wouldn’t be able to handle.
When it comes to language services, specialization could be in the form of the type of translations for literature, law, marketing, healthcare, business, etc. Because of how broad and versatile the application of translation is, any accredited translation agency specializing in specific fields ensures that the quality of translations is better than those who have a generalized approach.
2. Customer Support System
Another aspect that we considered was the kind of customer support system that any translation agency or language service company should have to better aid and connect with their clients.
We evaluate if they’re accredited for their management systems, how they execute their company’s core values on customer satisfaction, the technology they use to provide customer support quickly, and more.
3. Review Ratings
Lastly, customer reviews and ratings are part of the criteria because it’s the most direct form of criticism from a company’s client. We based on the number of review sites and the consistency of the positive reviews that the professional translation agencies received.
We also looked into how regularly they received reviews and the number of customers that gave their opinions on various sites. From this, we saw how they addressed issues and the actions they took in resolving them to satisfy their customers.
Top 5 Customer-First Approach Agencies in the Language Industry
Since we’ve discussed the criteria for our decision on selecting top professional translation agencies in the sector regarding their customer-centered approach, we have listed below some of the top picks and our reasons for choosing them.
1. Tomedes
Based on what we read on their “About Us” page, Ofer Tirosh, the founder and CEO of Tomedes, created this translation agency due to the gaps he saw in the language industry in 2007.
Since then, this agency has provided language solutions to thousands of small businesses and Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Based on the reviews that we have looked into, they had a consistently high customer satisfaction rate of 98% across various review sites, like TrustPilot and Google Reviews.
Weekly they receive new reviews and are quick to address negative reviews by offering ways to resolve their clients’ issues.
We placed them high on the list due to being an ISO 9001:2015 certified agency, which ensures the quality of their management system in providing their client with the best customer experience. Not only that but they are also ISO 17100:2015 and ISO 18587:2017, meaning all their certified translators and translation technology are up to ISO-level standards.
Besides having the most regular number of reviews and consistent rating across 7 review sites, Tomedes is ranked number one on our list due to their 1-year guarantee in all their translation projects and fast delivery of language solutions.
They have been noted countless times by their clients for their immediate response, especially regarding technical issues. This is vital as their agency also specializes in various types of translations and employs certified translators in their projects, which is why they’re part of this list.
2. Interprefy
You already know from the agency’s name that their primary language service is interpretation. Interprefy is a remote simultaneous interpretation platform that wants to revolutionize how international meetings are conducted.
Because sometimes interpretation involves sensitive information being disclosed through their remote platform, this agency is ISO 2701 certified, ensuring that they are up to international standards for managing and securing information.
On Featured Customers, they rated 4.7 and were generally reviewed as a great platform for managing virtual events. They’re part of this list because of the integrations that come with their language service and the functional aspect of their program.
For example, users of Interprefy can access through their mobile app besides entering their web portal to avail of their services.
But because of how limited they are with their language service and the number of reviews they received from customers, we placed them in second place.
3. Semantix
For this next agency, Semantix is providing multilingual language technology solutions. They offer translations for content for various industries through their multimedia platform.
As a language-based agency they have generally positive ratings across sites like Facebook and Glassdoor that are from 4.3 to 4.5, although lower compared to the previously mentioned agencies.
But because of their multilingual content platform offering optimization and scalability features, and having more reviews than the second agency that commended they’re amiable to work with, we considered placing them in the list.
4. Languagewire
Languagewire is also a multilingual content solutions agency that provides various digital services, like SEO and automated translations. Compared to other professional translation agencies, their translations mainly were technology-based solutions relying on AI and other translation technology for their language services.
There are some drawbacks to having a platform that mainly relies on automated translation and language solutions. Machines can have limited knowledge of “exotic languages and language pairs,” leading to higher chances of mistranslation.
But they still offer a combination of the two in some of their more specialized services, which is why they still have good review ratings of 4.4 out of 5 across different sites and why they’re part of this list.
5. LinguaLinx Language Solutions
LinguaLinx Language Solutions is an agency that offers various language services in different industries, from tourism to business. Like the other professional translation agencies mentioned in this article, they are ISO certified and accredited by international organizations.
They have a 4.8 out of 5.0 rating on Featured Customers but have the lowest number of reviews compared to the others mentioned in this list.
But based on what we researched about their agency, they have robust customer support and provide technological solutions to their clients. Not only that but their accreditations and specialization in specific fields, we considered them part of this list.
Conclusion
If you’re a language learner and want to get the best customer service from your translation agency, I hope you’ve learned something from this blog post today. Language learners often turn to translation services within the language industry to create the best experience possible, with translation making it easier to learn languages.
And for that, you have to have the best customer experience in the language industry. I hope you’ve learned something today in your quest to learn more about languages and place your queries in the hands of competent language professionals. Till next time!
My name is Arslan Hussain and I am co-founder of The Different Languages blog. Have years of experience in digital marketing, My best hobby is blogging and feel awesome to spend time in it.