MADE IN CHINA: thebigwordGroup BEIJING CUSTOMER ADVISORY BOARD MEETING REVEALS WHAT COMPANIES REALLY WANT From Language Services Providers
Fortune 500 Companies Weigh-In On The Future of The Translation Industry In China
thebigwordGroup, a global translation services company, today announced the results of its Customer Advisory Board meeting that was held in Beijing last month. Coupled with a new office opening in China, the company invited existing clients and leaders from Fortune 500 companies to the company’s first Customer Advisory Board meeting.
The format of the meeting was an open forum for thebigwordGroup’s clients to weigh-in on what they see as their greatest needs in the translation and localization industry in the future with a particular focus on forging relationships with Chinese companies. Attendees included representatives from Nokia, Tibco Software, Royal Carribean Cruise Lines, Litsoft and China Daily.
Takeaways from the meeting that have implications for the entire tranlsation services industry include:
- Customer Support – developing a trusting relationship with vendors is vital to the success of a partnership with a Chinese company.
- Developing Standards – Chinese companies are finding it difficult to integrate multiple translation vendors to take advantage of Translation Memory (TM). Additionally the lack of translation standards is posing a further challenge for many companies. Many are seeking a single source solution which can help them attain a sense of standards and to properly utilize TM.
- Scalability – many Chinese companies are currently using smaller vendors because of price points. Unfortunately, as China grows their businesses on a more global level, they are realizing that their current vendors can no longer handle the increased workload scale. Offering a scalalbe solution is key.
- Price Is Number One – in the U.S. companies most often choose vendor partners based on their ability to add strategic value to the company’s business goals. In China price was cited time and again as the number one decision making tool. The challenge for larger translation companies is going to be working with a potential client to help them understand the value of scalable, integrated solutions that will ultimately help their bottom line.
Vice President of U.S. Sales Greg Rosner comments, “Meeting face to face with our Customer Advisory Board gives us a really interesting way to validate our product and growth strategies. We are adding elements to our technology and service offerings all the time but now we know what our clients in China are really looking for.”
"Instead of just sitting in a conference room looking at each other saying what a great idea something would be to do – or what a bad idea something is, we receive immediate feedback from our customers and learn what they value. After all, it is our clients that will shape the future of the translation industry by demanding products to meet new needs. Our business development team has been able to take this information and already implement it into our new product roll-outs and SLA’s with our new Chinese clients."
In May 2006 thebigword announced the acquisition of one of its suppliers, China's leading translation company, Rainbow. The deal saw an initial investment of over £2 million, establishing operations in Beijing and Shanghai. Over the next three years thebigword Group will invest in the region of a further £10-15 million (GBP).
On March 13th thebigwordGroup opened their sales office in Shanghai, followed on March 15th by the "official" opening of their production office in Beijing. Since the acquisition thebigwordGroup has won several significant contracts establishing strong links with Chinese based clients.
Website: www.thebigword.com
