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Support customers in other languages

You do not need a team in every language to help customers who write in one. You do need a clear plan for translation, tone and the cases where a mistake is costly.

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Find out which languages you really get

Tag tickets by language for a month. Often two or three languages make up almost all of the volume.

Use translation for understanding first

Read the customer's message in your language to understand it, and reply in theirs when you are confident the translation is simple.

Keep replies plain

Short sentences and common words translate well. Avoid idioms, jokes and long conditional sentences.

Translate your most important articles

Start with setup, billing and refunds. Machine translation with a quick human check is usually enough for a start.

Know when to stop using translation

For legal, medical, money or safety topics, find a fluent person to review the reply or say clearly what you can and cannot help with.

Tell customers what to expect

If replies may take longer in some languages, say so in the auto-reply so nobody feels ignored.

Questions

Is machine translation good enough?

For simple questions, usually yes. For legal, billing disputes or safety, have a fluent person check.

Should we hire speakers of each language?

Only when a language reaches steady volume. Until then use translation and a short list of trusted reviewers.

Should replies be in the customer's language?

Yes when you can do it well. Otherwise reply in plain, simple wording and offer to continue in the language you handle best.

Written by Flatdesk, a help desk for small support teams at one flat price per agent. Try it free for 14 days, no card.