Five Ways to Keep Your Clients Happy as a Translator

onApril 2, 2015

There is a lot of difference between fulfilling a translation contract or completing a translation project for a client and making them a happy client. When a client is really satisfied with the sort of translation services you provide they will not only send you more work but recommend you to others. Word of mouth satisfaction based communication can be worth more than any advertising or SEO oriented website. But how do you make a client really happy? Here are five tips from a translator who has done just that.

Tip no 1: Be honest about what you can or cannot do

As a translator you will have strengths and weaknesses, so it is a good idea for you to know what your limits are and be honest about the sort of proofreading services or translation services you can provide. For instance, if legal document translation is not your cup of tea, but you can handle business document translations, then that is what you should be offering. If you have already done a lot of work with a particular client, then the sort of translations you can do well will be already obvious, but any new client will not know you yet. This is the time to build up the client’s trust in your translation quality.

Tip no. 2: Keep communicating with your client

Most clients want their documents translated as quickly as possible, but most are realistic enough to understand that you may have other clients and it does take time to produce a quality product. If you have a particularly large project then make sure you keep your client updated with your progress and if there are any questions about the document(s) you are translating then make sure that you ask them promptly rather than let the whole project drag itself out. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep to your deadlines. If you have given a time frame for delivery then you should stick to it. This is one more factor in getting return work.

Tip no. 3: Providing “added value”

There are a lot of ways that this can be done. It’s all about exceeding the expectations of your client. It could be delivering the translation content a little earlier than your estimated delivery date. It could be pointing out an error or two in the original text that you spotted before it turned into a problem down the track.

Tip no. 4: Ask for feedback from your client

This is the best way to pick up on what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. It is always better to ask for feedback before you get a note to say something you have translated wasn’t up to expectations. Paying attention to what your client thinks is important is much more likely to get you return work.

Tip no. 5: Send in your invoice on time

If you have already established due payment dates, then keep to them by sending out the invoice well in time. There can be nothing worse for a client than to have a bill sent to them months after a small translation job was done and from your financial point of view having a good cash flow through your business is simply good business practice.