An instructional manual is a life-saver when you buy a new product that requires a little bit of do-it-yourself on your behalf. And even though DIY projects can be lots of fun, the person that bought a certain product will also rely on an accurate translation of the manual.
You wouldn’t want your customers to struggle with figuring out how to assemble your products or make them work, right? You would be frustrated too if you had to do some extra work in order to figure it all out. In the end, that’s what instructional manuals are all about: Making consumers’ lives easier.
Here are the 5 criteria that your instructional manual needs to meet
1. Safety issues – Instructional or technical manuals often come with products that will require you to handle them with extra care. So if there’s any risk associated with a certain product and the user needs to know what they are, then an instructional manual translation is a must.
2. Clarity – Some people can have a hard time understanding how to use a certain product or get it to work. In order to make their job easier, the instructions need to be clear and the language doesn’t have to be so technical, so that everyone will know what the words mean. If people will have a hard time figuring out what the instructions say, this means bad business for you.
3. Easy process – Translating the manuals of your products may seem like a complicated thing to do, but you can actually make this process easy and simple by working with a translation agency that specializes in these kind of things. If you choose the same agency for multiple projects, then the job is going to get done faster and you will also know that you have someone to rely on whenever you need something translated.
4. Overall look – Even if a basic product that everybody knows how to use has an instructional manual, it still needs to look good, especially when it comes to translations. Consumers can judge the quality of a product based on what their manuals look like and how they’re done. So don’t risk ruining your brand by not having your manuals properly translated.
5. Quality – Last, but certainly not least, the translations have to be pitch-perfect. In order to do that, we suggest that you hire an agency that uses CAT Tools. Those are the kind of tools that help us detect translation inconsistencies, numbering errors or formatting errors. Plus, the final format is going to be as close to the original as possible. Consistency is extremely important in the translation business and CAT Tools help us achieve that.
Do you translate your instructional manuals?
If not, then you should consider doing it, especially if you plan on expanding your business in foreign countries or if you’ve already done it. Translation services are going to help you reach a wider audience, one that is interested in buying your products.
If you want to see what it would be like to work with us, drop us a line to get your free quote.