Increase efficiency – it’s on the top of the list, no matter what industry you’re in, who your customers are or how you want to “change the world.”
But if you’re butting up against outdated technology and a severe dearth of data, you’re going nowhere fast – and that, we would argue, is the definition of inefficiency.This applies to pretty much everything your business wants to conquer, but let’s take a specific look at language support. Is your language services provider helping to shine a continuous beacon of insight on your telephone interpreting, document translation and transcreation activity?
Not sure? Here’s what a big, fat “no” would look like:
- For telephone interpreting, you’re in the dark when it comes to your call data and language mix.
- For translation and transcreation, you’re forced to rely on a motley stream of invoices, document versions and email updates on the statuses of various projects.
… Not good, to say the least.
Fortunately, the more tenacious and savvy providers out there are turning on the lights and making your data “talk.” With customizable dashboards that offer succinct, yet super-informative snapshots into your language operations, you’re well on your way to tracking progress, streamlining processes and making more strategic decisions across your entire business. And that’s what we like to call moving forward, although you may know it simply as efficiency.
So how does all this efficient, forward motion happen?
Here are three simple ways a language services provider can (and should!) use data to make your business more awesome than it already is:
1. Call data that moves you forward: Track telephone interpreting by language.
If the only data you get about your telephone interpreting is a monthly bill with a list of calls and minutes, your provider is not doing their job to help you do yours.
Beyond not knowing where your money is going – which customers and projects are biting off the biggest financial chunks; whether third-party subcontractors are using your service for projects unrelated to your business – you also miss out on opportunities to make strategic, data-driven business decisions.
For example, let’s say you had insight into the total minutes of telephone interpreting you use according to language. With this data, you’re able to identify when it makes most sense (both financially and operationally) to hire in-house, in-language agents.
That’s the kind of data your language services provider should be showing you – on top of the more basic stuff, like a) key performance metrics, e.g., call times, abandoned calls and connect times, b) calls assigned to specific projects/customers and c) costs tracked by department/project.
It’s the specific insight into your language mix that is going to move your business forward.
2. Document data that moves you forward: Track translation and transcreation all in one place.
If you don’t have access to real-time data dashboards for your translation and transcreation activity, you’re struggling. You may not realize it – because you simply haven’t had your eyes opened to the incredible analytical opportunities out there – but you are struggling. And if not “struggling,” per se, certainly not moving forward.
Let’s pretend you no longer have to rely on incessant email updates and inefficient document tracking to make sure your projects are being completed on schedule and with proper version control.
Well, you don’t have to pretend. That is a reality, and it could (it should) be yours.
With a real-time data dashboard, you can check the status of your document translation and transcreation projects instantly, with easy viewing of all updates and versions. The dashboard also allows you to store quotes, RFPs and budgets to ensure the costs don’t exceed the projections.
With your data all in one place, you spend a lot less time searching emails and scouring invoices – and a lot more time moving your business forward.
3. Marketing data that moves you forward: Track insights to tap growth.
The word “efficiency” immediately calls to mind charts with lots of arrows and bars outlining costs and project statuses. And those statistical points are important, but they’re just one chapter of the story your data can tell.
In addition to helping you manage projects and track costs, a real-time language services data dashboard helps you expand your business with valuable marketing insights.
Here's a scenario: You become aware through your (you guessed it) data dashboard that the number of telephone interpreting minutes you use for Japanese-speaking customers has steadily increased for months, and that you consistently required the services of a Japanese translator for document translation. Now that’s data that tells you something tangible – perhaps that tailoring your marketing efforts for Japanese customers and hiring a new sales representative in Tokyo might do wonders for your business growth.
Comprehensive data that tells a more textured story points you toward opportunities for expansion – new markets with untapped potential and old markets with new significance – which moves your business forward.
Let’s chat.
Ready for faster connect times and instant access to language services data through one accessible platform? Contact GLOBO to start the conversation or request your free GLOBO HQ demo.
