Technical Manual Translation: How To Do It Right, What Is A Technical Manual?

Technical Manual Translation, an essential tool in the world of business. What is a technical manual? And how to do technical manual translation the right way?

Everything needs to have a manual. An excellent product is incomplete without its manual. As a brand, you want your customers to properly use and maintain your products to its full potential. In order to do so, you must provide them a general guide on how to use and maintain the product a.k.a. a manual. However, manuals are not a one-size-fits-all type of resource. Not everyone can understand a universal language. Thus, technical manuals must be translated into multiple languages.

What is a Technical Manual?

Technical manuals are written by experts to help guide those with little to no technical know-how about a certain product. They are written in order to help customers solve the issues themselves, reducing customer service support needs and avoiding misconceptions about the product. 

How Important is Technical Manual Translations?

Technical manual is an essential part that comes with the product. Technical manuals hold all the information the customer needs to properly use a certain product. So, when manuals come in only one language, it does not serve its purpose of informing customers about the specifics of the product. Thus, translating technical manuals is a must especially for companies with a global reach.

How To Do The Translations Right?

Getting the right translations drive more positive results from customers. These customers do not want to undergo the hassle of calling up customer service support for something they know they can resolve through reading a manual. However, an unreadable manual is a useless manual. Thus, translators have a huge role to play in bringing in loyal customers to the company.

Must have the Goldilocks length

First, a manual without all the necessary information is an unappreciated manual. As a customer, when the information they need is not on the manual, then what’s the point of having a manual? However, having a novel-length manual does not help either. Customers hate having to flip through hundreds of pages just to look for the instructions they need. Therefore, your goal as a translator is to create the perfect length for a manual to be useful.

Choose the correct technical terminology

As a translator, you bridge the gap between one native speaker to another. Not only that, it’s your responsibility to connect the company with its target customers. Thus, it is important to be careful about the vocabulary you use as you translate. Make sure that the terminologies match with the company’s brand. In addition, as you are translating the technical manual, you must choose the appropriate terminologies that describe the product value and performance. Your words will and always will be the tool the company uses to lure in more potential customers and keep loyal ones.

Proofread

Avoid mistakes. This must always be a priority. As a translator, you must not do anything that will lower the credibility and quality of the product and your work. Your work will always reflect the company. The goal is to avoid misunderstandings and confusion. Customers who are following the technical manual and unsuccessfully solving their issues on their own will have a tendency not to repurchase the product anymore. The hassle of trying to solve the issue with an undecipherable manual and having to contact customer service for it will generate loss rather than revenue. So, you have to always proofread your work and crosscheck it with the company’s glossary of terms.

Technical Manual Translation Services

CREATIVE CONNECTIONS & COMMONS INC. offers technical manual translation services through our multilingual general and specialized translations. No matter the industry you are from, we can and we will cater you in over 30 languages worldwide. Worry not! Your products are safe with us.