When designed well, surveys provide actionable insights that can guide marketing strategies, product development and global expansion.
But what happens when your survey needs to reach respondents who don’t speak your primary business language? To maintain the integrity of your data, the survey must be accurately translated and localized for each target market.
However, the act of translation itself can impact the results of a survey. Poorly translated surveys can result in misleading data, jeopardizing the success of your market research. Whereas, properly translated and localized surveys can deliver accurate, culturally relevant insights that paint a clear picture of consumer preferences.
In this article, the marketing translation experts at Wolfestone Group explain how translation impacts marketing research surveys and the benefits it brings. You will also learn how to implement survey translation into your research while avoiding the pitfalls.
Understanding Translation for Marketing Surveys
Translating surveys is now a necessity in global market research.
Surveys translated into the world’s top 10 languages can potentially engage up to 80% of the global population. This expanded reach provides a more comprehensive picture of consumer opinions, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions that reflect the needs of a truly global audience.
However, businesses often believe that hiring a freelancer or translating with ChatGPT is adequate for marketing surveys. This is a mistake.
Research has found that linguistic differences go far beyond words. Different languages interpret concepts such as time, size and color differently, as well as broader ideas like intentions, gender and accountability.
Without accurate translation, marketing surveys may struggle to convey key points to certain audiences, resulting in missed opportunities to capture their true opinions and preferences.
For example, a 2023 study of a Danish survey involving 500,000 participants found that cultural misinterpretations in survey questions led to more frequent inaccuracies than basic linguistic errors.
Marketing surveys require both translation and localization to accurately convey meaning and convince global respondents to participate.
It’s also essential that respondents across cultures have a consistent understanding of the survey questions. To achieve this, marketers should partner with a marketing translation agency that provides consistent translation, cultural localization, and accuracy controls across all languages
The Benefits of Accurate Survey Translation and Localization
Accurate translation and localization do more than just mitigate risk. It improves your market research efforts.
Here’s why investing in expert translation for marketing surveys makes sense.
- Improved Data Accuracy: When survey questions are clear and culturally relevant, respondents are more likely to provide honest and thoughtful answers. This results in data that reflects genuine consumer opinions and behaviors.
- Expanded Reach and Representation: By translating your surveys into multiple languages, you can reach a broader audience and gather insights from diverse markets. This helps you identify opportunities and challenges that may not be visible in your primary market.
- Higher Response Rates: Surveys that are well-adapted to local languages and cultures are more engaging for respondents. This leads to higher completion rates, giving you a larger and more reliable data set.
- Enhanced Brand Credibility: Localized surveys demonstrate that your business respects and understands the unique needs of different markets. This can strengthen your brand image and build trust with your target audience.
Localized surveys demonstrate that your business respects and understands the unique needs of different markets.
How to Translate and Localize Surveys Effectively
Designing successful multilingual surveys requires careful planning. A major part of this is working with certified, experienced translators.
Here are the steps to getting it right.
1. Research Your Target Cultures and Languages
Work with Wolfestone Group to know everything about your target. Before starting the translation process, clearly outline the goals of your survey and identify your target audience. Understanding the cultural and linguistic background of your respondents will guide your approach to both translation and localization.
2. Incorporate Localization Best Practices
Localization goes beyond word-for-word translation. It involves tailoring the survey to align with local customs and cultural norms. For example, in some cultures, respondents may prefer visual aids over numerical ratings. Some cultures also respond differently to colors. For some, a yellow background may be cheerful, but for others, it may represent death or anxiety.
3. Use a Collaborative Translation Approach
Collaborative models involve multiple translators and reviewers to ensure accuracy and consistency. When you work with Wolfestone Group, a collaborative model is standard.
4. Leverage Technology for Efficiency
Translation tools like Translation Memory (TM) and AI translation can streamline the process and promote consistency across surveys. However, these tools should complement—not replace—human expertise. There should always be an expert human translator overseeing any machine processes.
5. Test the Final Product
Before launching your survey, test it with a small group in each target language and market to ensure everything works as intended. Check for issues like broken links, untranslated text, or unclear questions.
Wolfestone Group: Your Survey Translation Partner
For marketers translating surveys into more than one language, it’s highly recommended to partner with a professional language service provider (LSP) like Wolfestone Group.
Wolfestone Group caters exclusively to the needs of global businesses. We aren’t just dedicated to the accuracy of your survey translations. We are dedicated to helping your marketing department achieve its goals.
Working with us ensures that your surveys are translated accurately and localized for cultural nuances.
Our global network of certified translators and leading AI technology make it possible to streamline your research efforts at scale. And, our in-house team of quality control experts ensures consistency across survey languages.
With over 220 language pairs and a 99.2% customer satisfaction rate, we deliver survey translations that are accurate, culturally relevant and engaging.
Don’t let poor translations compromise your market research. Let us help you gather reliable insights that drive smarter decisions.
Contact Wolfestone Group today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can improve your research methods and outcomes with multilingual surveys.
