The US Hispanic “Pitch”

It may be baseball season, but you might have a more important ‘pitch’ on your mind. You know that the Hispanic consumer group is the fastest growing market in the United States. In 2011 US Hispanics numbered 52 million (up from 50.5 million in 2010).  It is the fastest growing segment of the consumer market and has increased 3.1% since 2010. So, you’ve made the excellent business decision to market directly to this community by translating your marketing materials into Spanish. But how do you begin?

Glad you asked, because this is where we can help you!  There are some very practical guidelines to keep in mind when hiring a translation company:

• Do your homework – you need a translation company with staff that understands the culture as well as the language – remember, over 20 different countries are considered Hispanic; who are you trying to reach? Be careful not to lump all Hispanics together, there are cultural differences that affect buying habits.
• Understand the motivation of this customer; don’t assume it is the same as your English-speaking customer! For instance, family is the nexus of Hispanic culture, and this directly impacts the what, how, when, and why of their purchasing.
• Take into consideration the demographics: age, education, income, gender, even ancestry play a part in defining the Latin consumer.
• Hire a translator that knows the phrasing Hispanics know, the words that are already familiar to this community.  The ones that ring clear as a bell and hit home.

Check out this great article, it really speaks to the points I am emphasizing (and probably articulates them much better than I do!). The article cites some significant statistics from the 2010 Census:

• Sixty-six percent of Hispanics in the U.S. are of Mexican descent.
• The median age of Hispanics is 27.4, compared to the U.S. average age of 36.8.
• Hispanics have an average of four children per household, while non-Hispanic households have an average of two.
• Hispanics made up 16 percent of the U.S. population in 2010. By 2050, it is projected that 30 percent of the population will be Hispanic.

My reliable teams at Galindo Publicidad are literally “hand picked”. They are qualified specialists and experts in the language translation business. We make it our business to stay current with the cultural milieu of the Hispanic consumer, from wherever they may come. We know that it only takes one wrong word to throw off an entire marketing campaign. Conversely, we understand the correct and best phrasing to get your message out in a clean, clear, and dynamic way.

We want to be your translation company for the years to come, we really do. But, if you do have a great relationship with another Language Services Provider, nurture it, ask the right questions, and make sure they keep delivering and ‘get’ the important things I mentioned above.

As ever,

Martha

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Keeping Up with Translation and some Technology!

We have some great announcements!

We care about our clients and always try to stay informed about what’s happening with your target audiences. I felt so honored to be among the 150 Hispanic leaders at The White House this September for a briefing on Hispanic Affairs. This was in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Among the topics covered were international trade, work, education, health, and immigration reform. I came away with some great ideas on how to better serve you!

Through the enormous power of partnership and alliance, successful communication can change our world. We believe there is, even in a tough economy, an emergence of global thinking and sharing. and we work hard to develop strong strategic partnerships. Partnerships that bid and fulfill projects all over the nation.  The need for translation just keeps growing and there will never be a better time than now to position your organization to a multilingual, global market. I’ll tell you more about some of these projects next time.

There is so much to tell you this time! Many of you have asked for this, and we did it for you—we now have Paypal on our website, making it easy and fast to get your projects going. http://www.translationsandmore.com/quote.html

 And we have added a QR code (those funny-looking black and white squares you’ve seen popping up lately) to our blog. It’s very cool—you can scan information about us and how we can serve you—by saving it to your smart phone you can read it at your leisure!

We can help you get started with your translation needs so you can compete in an ever-growing multilingual world. Call us, click to us, or leave us a message and see how translating your materials can be one of the smartest decisions you could ever make.

PS—Come to the Galindo Publicidad quote page to get an estimate for your project. Oh, and in case you have not downloaded it yet, there is a free app that scans QR codes; you can get it here: http://www.appbrain.com/app/barcode-scanner/com.google.zxing.client.android

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Position Your Company in a Global Way

Hello Friends!

We now have a Facebook Page! Our page is named, of course, Galindo Publicidad Inc. Check it out and you can ‘like’ us, almost as much as we like you!

So here we are, in the 8^th month of the fiscal year. Are you using your marketing and communications budgets to the best potential? It’s interesting (to me, anyway), Galindo Publicidad is a translation-service company, and we have a marketing budget just like everyone else. Part of that budget is earmarked for getting our own message out!

We are experts in helping you maximize your growth potential through multi-cultural marketing.  In any language. As global services are becoming more the norm than the exception, marketing your product or services to consumers or businesses who speak languages other than English is critical.

Vice-president of the International Federation of Translators, Jiri Stejskal, tells a story about a “Please Do Not Disturb” sign that hung on the door of a hotel room where he stayed some years ago. The flip side of the sign read: Please Disturb. Oops! Not exactly what the hotelier had mind! A perfect example of how a translation company can eliminate confusion and embarrassment.  It was Mr. Stejskal’s first visit to China, and he remembered taking many photos of the “funny English” he found in Beijing and other cities.

Since then he has traveled to China several more times and has noticed the “funny English” decreasing. “The changes are really enormous,” he says, “Translation in China now has a much better standing in the world.”

Most of us  have traveled and seen plenty of “funny language” examples.

Let us help you position your company in a global way. Contact us (you can use our new Facebook page!) for advice and estimates on translation or narration services. These services are our Bread and Butter. Questions are handled quickly and personally and we take pride of our customized service.  Why not use every penny of this year’s budget! Get firm estimates and build translation services in to next year’s budget and you won’t be left out of some of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world.

Tapping into multilingual and global markets can be a very, very profitable thing.  Do not miss it.

Always the best,

Martha

PS—Our Facebook page has interesting snippets, links, and some great cartoons!

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Sign Up Now…and speak Spanish by this fall!

More exciting news—we have just partnered up with one of the best Spanish language schools, don Quijote! This is a fabulous school that offers the very finest in-country Spanish courses, both in Spain and Latin America. In-country language courses immerse you in not just in the language, but the culture, too, giving you a true experience of the roots and heritage of the language you want to learn. And total immersion (you can decide how long) is also the fastest way to learn a new language.  It’s not like me to be ‘sales-pitchy,’ but really, sign up now, because the summer courses fill up the fastest.

Why Spanish? Well, let me ask you this, do you know what this sentence:   Nos interesa adquirir 100 piezas del modelo…. says? If you don’t, you may be losing business, because this customer just asked you for 100 pieces of your product! Spanish is spoken by nearly 500 million people, it is second only to English in international communication, and is the third most-spoken language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese and English. Moreover, since Hispanic consumers are the fastest-growing market segment in North America—see my previous Blog  “Is Hispanic Purchasing Power Showing You the Money?” for some stats—learning Spanish translates to good business thinking.

• Spanish is an official language of the UN and its organizations.
• Spanish is the mother tongue of approximately 388 million people in 21 countries.
• Hispanic population in the USA has grown by 60% in just one decade and their buying power is expected to exceed $1.3 trillion by 2015 according to Hispanintelligence®.

If these aren’t reasons enough to learn or refresh your Spanish as soon as you can, think about this: some  may even want to translate Lady Gaga lyrics for practice. I write this as a joke, but there is something to be said for keeping up with what younger generations are interested in. After all, their purchasing power is no small thing, either!

We have been planning to affiliate with language schools for some time and we took the time to search out the schools we feel good about recommending to you. don Quijote measures up to our standards and I am pleased and excited to announce our affiliation. Spanish is just the beginning. Watch my blog for more languages as we continue to form key partnerships with educators in some of the most beautiful parts of the world.

So check out don Quijote (their site gives many more reasons, culturally and economically, to learn Spanish) and when you are ready, we will help you get going. Whether you go alone,  or with colleagues, classmates, family or friends, you’ll be saying “Let’s do this!” in Spanish very soon.

Yours in every language,

Martha

PS— Yes, don Quijote does offer online courses, as well.

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One Step, Two Steps

We’re so excited to be all moved and settled in to our new location! All the better to serve you.  If you already use our translation services, then you know that you never need to physically step foot in our door—well maybe a virtual step!—to be one of our valued clients.

Not doing business in foreign languages yet? Don’t let your competition leave you in the dust!

Here are four great reasons to get started now:

•  No matter what the size of your business—from a one-person start up to a company that employs thousands—Galindo Publicidad makes it so easy to expand your market. With the simple step (there’s that step again!) of translating your marketing, customer service, legal, technical specifications materials, et cetera, into one, or many, languages.

 

• You can start with this hemisphere, this continent or beyond; we translate to, and from, almost any language in the world.  And if we can’t, we’ll refer you to appropriate sources for help.

 

• You can approach foreign speaking communities and markets with confidence. You wonder how to respond to inquiries about your business in other languages? No problem! Following up with your customers after you make a sale, providing technical support or instructions—any written documentation you need to support your business—we can translate it for you. And of course that includes multimedia and social networking platforms, too.

 

• We want you successful and happy. We want you writing us letters like the one we received from a dear client a few days ago that just made my day:

 “Galindo’s on-time delivery was key in the meeting the aggressive deadlines induced by global time zone differences. Once again, Galindo comes through with on-time quality translations.” M. Rivera, Florida, USA

Take the next step for your business. Take it up a notch, get out there in foreign markets where opportunities are ripe for plucking and do the ‘happy dance!’ We’ll take good care of you and make it easy, easy, easy.  This is one step that translates to more business for you.

From your Translation partner,

Martha E. Galindo

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Is Hispanic Purchasing Power Showing You the Money?

Is  Hispanic Purchasing Power Showing You the Money?

If you aren’t already marketing your business to the Hispanic people in the United States, you might be missing a huge opportunity for a powerful source of new revenue. Everyone knows that the Hispanic population in the U.S. is growing, and rapidly, but do you know the stats?

In the 2000 Census, there were 35,300,000 Spanish-speaking people living in the U.S. That number was estimated in 2007 to be around 45,000,000. Though the numbers from the 2010 Census just taken are not in yet, it is a fact that the exploding Hispanic population is the fastest growing minority in the U.S., expected to surpass 50,000,000 by the year 2025.  I have to stop myself sometimes and think ‘Wait, was that 50 million?’

It is. And that’s a lot of people, people who want what you have to sell. Hispanic buying power is, in fact,  growing faster than non-Hispanics. The estimated purchasing power of this ethnic group is $600,000,000,000. Yes, that number is in the billions. Wow! You don’t want to miss this growing niche; translating your marketing tools into Spanish just makes sound business sense.

We at Galindo Publicidad specialize in translating your marketing materials into… well, any language you wish, but here we are talking about Spanish and the amazing marketing opportunity that smart companies are starting to tap. Consumer behavior/spending studies tell us that in terms of discretionary income, 17% of the Hispanic population are young, probably under the age of 20. Another 5% of that population are older than 50, which means that the remaining percentage are those working for a living, striving to support their families, carve out a career, and make a good life. In other words:  consumers  tend to be loyal.

As you know, all Spanish-speaking U.S. residents do not hail from Mexico. Many come from other Central and South American countries, as well as Puerto Rico and Cuba, naming just a few. And let’s face it: no matter where our citizens come from, we are all part of the consumer-driven society that is America. And, since the bilingual skills and preferences differ in most households, addressing the group in both, Spanish and English, may always get you covered. Yes, the economic fortunes of the estimated 47 million U.S. Hispanics are growing and businesses are paying attention. Are you?

·  data source www.america.gov

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Translating or Interpreting? What is the difference?

People have asked me so often about the difference between “Translation” and “Interpretation” that I thought I would dedicate my first blog of the new year to practically briefly explaining how they differ for you, my lovely readers.

A dictionary definition of “Translating” is: an act, process, or instance of translating, (a rendering from one language into another in writing).

Anu Garg’s definition of translation, in part, as “Internationalization” – making a product suitable for use around the globe is a practical definition that fits Galindo Publicidad to a T. We take the words you use to market your product or service and translate them in perfect tempo for consumption in almost any language(s) you choose.

“Interpreting,” refers to the act of orally transmitting the message from one language to another.  So, you have consecutive or simultaneous interpreters in court, depositions, business meetings, conferences, etc.

To really translate or interpret, the professional must be fluent not only in the language in which the work is written or being spoken, but must also possess an understanding of the culture from which that body of work came. Interpreting allows for a more subjective perspective which gives a creative license and a challenge on the spot. Yes, less time to check terminology, more room for errors.  We have all heard many stories of advertising catastrophes also where just one wrong word changes the entire meaning of an ad, making it offensive or just plain insensitive, and the campaign becomes a disaster.

You know we are very proud of our work at Galindo. Your marketing campaigns and  international documentation pieces are safe in the hands of our experienced, native, multi-linguist translators. Keep in mind that  teams for translation and interpreting are not the same. Each has a level of expertise and a set of skills. A few can function in both niches well. Once we know and understand the markets you want to reach, we guarantee our work to be “disaster proof!”

As an aside, I have always been fascinated with how much our internal radar relies on visual language, or symbols used in place of words, to navigate our way through life. A culture of symbols predating or aiding the spoken language from so many social and cultural perspectives can be found in every part of the world. From colors to textures to flavors, accents and tones… Oh, a topic for another time!

Until then,

Martha

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Captioning: Are You Reading This?

 

 

For some time you, our clients, friends, and supporters, have read our blogs about translation, and how much the simple practice of translating your marketing materials into other languages can help grow your business. But there is yet another way to add value to your marketing dollars, both in your native language and the niche language of your potential new customers. And that is Captioning.

Every now and then, a fresh and exciting way to do the business of selling our business comes up, and  captioning fits that description for me. Businesses are already learning that captioning opens a whole new arena of ways to reach audiences of any economic strata. Using captioning is the vanguard of marketing to come; marketing that is inclusive of everyone.  And that, in any language, spells out success!

Imagine the added numbers of consumers you could reach simply by close captioning your native-tongue and already-translated pieces. Many people are unaware of just how significant the market, and the current push for, closed captioning has become. There are people all over the world, who speak too many languages to list, that are advocating for more extensive and expansive closed captioning. It is a very interesting, on trend topic.

How can captioning in any language  be used to help your marketing efforts? Do you use commercials? Infomercials, webinars, Youtube?

A few examples include: captioning on all TV shows; even if there are no hearing impaired in a household, captioning can offer the option for one person to watch a program without disturbing another. And of course if there are hearing-impaired in the household, and you advertise on TV, then your message, through closed captioning, is reaching so much further!

Closed captioned TV commercials also help the hearing public learn more about products and services on the market by allowing those words absorption through sight in addition to sound.

Here is an article for further reading that gives some very persuasive reasons for why closed captioning is so in vogue on Youtube: http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-closed-captions-seo/

As I write this, the FCC is receiving more requests every day, advocating for broader legislation requiring captioning on more venues. Soon captioning may just be the law. Why not jump over your competition now? Reach out. Contact us for more information about how easy it is to caption or subtitle  your infomercials and commercials, webinars and Youtubes, in any and many languages!

Happy Holidays to You All,

Martha

Tell us, have you had an experience when closed captioning where you didn’t expect to find it made your experience a richer one? We love hearing your thoughts, comments, and experiences.

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“Happy Holidays” is Easy to Translate

 

Here comes the holiday season again, and it seems to me I just put away my straw hat and beach towels. Is time moving faster and faster? Or does it only seem that way because, in our ever-more connected world, messages from our loved ones, friends, acquaintances, even the messages we find every day in the media, are zipping around the world faster and faster.

This makes me wonder: how do we prepare for a world that moves faster than we can say “multilingual translation?”

When I first started Galindo Publicidad, Inc., this is the question that drove us and became the core of our mission: help our clients create business communication that pushes the limits, bursts through old paradigms, and joins the exciting multilingual domestic communities and the international business world.

Global trade, international business—they depend on communication. Communication depends on effective and accurate TRANSLATION. The business that cannot successfully market its goods and services globally will soon be the business that falls behind. Companies that forge ahead use effective translation to connect with their customers in the modern business milieu across the globe.

Galindo Publicidad, Inc. offers translation services to help our clients carefully script commercials and infomercials, webinars, you-tube, and more. We target the niche you want to reach with advertisements, collateral, manuscripts, directions, and instructions that stay true to your content,  so the father in Brazil can piece together a tricycle from the U.S. on Christmas Eve, or a wife in Hungary can unveil an import motorcycle for her husband during Hanukah!

Translation is the edge that international business rides as our world interacts. As the holidays approach, the happy faces around us can say “Happy Holidays” without any words. We are thankful to promise our clients that through the holidays and beyond, we celebrate your successes. All through the year, at Galindo Publicidad, Inc. we can share our expertise and offer this most vital business tool: multilingual translations for a more connected world.

Happy Holidays to You!

Martha

We love to hear from you! Please tell us how translation has helped grow your business, or share with us your thoughts about our interconnected world; we always respond, and we encourage all our readers to comment, too!

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The Buffet of Words

In the middle of recent developments and opportunities,  I came across something I wrote a while ago regarding the great impact a trip to Hanover, Germany had on me.

A visit to the world’s largest exhibit of new technology awaited me. In my eyes, it seemed a museum of the future, full of interesting gadgets and instruments, all designed by top scientists who gave us the endless possibilities and potential to communicate and work together. For a brief moment, I felt like an information-starved child, given a grand buffet of words, experiences, and seemingly impossible devices of knowledge, for no apparent reason; it seemed that this knowledge banquet was a playground, full of toys designed, assembled, and brought together from places throughout the world, to specifically ‘feed’ the famished stomachs of all the ‘information-starved professionals’ such as you and me.

The overwhelming truth is that the event almost made me want to yell for the entire world to hear, “What an inspiration! What an invitation to open our eyes with awe and perceive the globe and the new process of trust building in this century!”

 

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Is your company open and ready to fuel its growth under this new set of principles?

Are you ready to navigate in this new multilingual era of social media options, Tryvertising and globally-assembled products and knowledge?

This is not meant to sound  like a broken record, but the synergies of this flattening world start with language. The road to form a partnership with a nation other than our own is not without its fair share of bumps and curves. To communicate or not to communicate? That is NOT the question. The question is, “Are you ready for the overwhelming amounts of doors opening in your favor once you step over the thin border that divides humankind’s diverse language and culture?”  

More and more it becomes obvious the need of communicating and understanding foreign languages for the success of many organizations. of today.

Did you know that 2005 was declared by Congress, the Year of Languages www.yearoflanguages.org?

So, the faster we fasten our seatbelts, the better off we will be in this journey of this International Super Highway through the flattened world, with an open 24-hour buffet of delicacies, which fills us  with enlightenment and that is available  around every twist and turn. Ohhh, and do not forget to caption your videos, your commercials, your web seminars, in the language of your choice… without captioning, you are not translating for the hard of hearing and hearing impaired. Learn about the need for such type of translation by visiting www.ccacaptioning.org and www.coataccess.org

From Egypt to Germany, from Mexico to Ohio, from India to Italy, our flexibility and expertise allows us to jump on this bullet train, compelling us with its self-service dining room, throughout the ride.

Sit back and relax, as your conductor, Galindo Publicidad Inc, guides you through the intricate weavings of civilization’s languages.

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