The label “Made in Germany” has become synonymous with quality and reliability. Many German “Mittelstand” manufacturers are market leaders whose products are sold and used all over the world, despite being barely known outside their own regions.

But these companies have a problem. As exporters, they need high-quality English texts to market their products and get their message across to stakeholders. But more often than not, their translations and texts fall short.

I’ve seen so many great companies with amazing products be let down by poor English translations. These are often treated as an afterthought, even though they are vital to doing business internationally. As a result, they don’t get the time, attention and budget they deserve, and there’s always the temptation to go for a quick and cheap “solution”.

You could outsource it to a cheap agency. But then, who is actually doing the work? Are they being paid enough to do a good job? Do they really care about quality? Or are your most important texts being rushed out to whoever is available?

Or you could maybe use a machine translation or AI tool. Sure, it’s quick and cheap, but what you get in return are often literal translations and bland, boring, lifeless texts that sound… well… like they were written by a machine that doesn’t really understand anything. And “fixing” them can be more complex and time-consuming than hiring a professional from the start.