Paid Research - Membership Required - Industry Providers
What Translation Suppliers Need to Know about Pricing
 
Keywords
translation pricing, LSP, freelancer, localization pricing, machine translation 

Abstract
This report answers the questions that organizations selling language services ask us most frequently about prices and related issues of procurement. It references Common Sense Advisory’s “Translation and Localization Pricing” report. That report contains detailed pricing data for 156 language pairs, plus analysis of market trends and common practices. This survey drew responses from 651 language service providers and freelancers in 75 countries.
 

Benefits
In General: In the course of our interactions with LSPs and freelancers in briefings, at conferences, and in our surveys, we have collected a lot of questions that come up all the time. For our most recent survey, which we describe in detail in “Translation and Localization Pricing” (Jul10), we heard from 651 LSPs and freelancers from 75 countries about what concerned them the most. In this report, we answer many of those questions. This report should prove useful to language service providers (LSPs), freelance translators, and companies with in-house translation and localization staff.

Physical Details
Authors: Donald A. DePalma and Belinda Whittaker
Date: 31 July 2010
ISBN: 978-1-933555-85-0
Pages: 20
Availability: Industry Providers

Table of Contents  

Topic

Research Methodology

Frequently Asked Questions

Big Bang Questions: Why Are Prices What They Are?

What Do My Competitors Charge?

Why Are Prices So Low?

Why Do Buyers Get to Set the Pricing Agenda?

Why Isn’t There a Standard Price for Translation?

What Is the Fair Market Value of Translation?

Given Inflation, Why Can’t I Charge More for Translation?

How Can Competitors Make Money at Online Auctions?

Will Auctions Ever Go Away?

Why Can’t We Block Low-Cost Competitors?

Will Low-Cost Competitors Kill the Language Industry?

The Translation Marketplace: What Drives Prices?

Do My Bigger (or Smaller) Competitors Charge Less?

How Much Do Prices Vary by Geography?

Does the Buyer’s Location Matter?

Do LSPs Give Better Prices to Other LSPs?

Marketing: How Can We Separate Ourselves from the Pack?

Does Marketing Matter?

Do Specialty Services Matter?

How Does Quality Factor into the Pricing Equation?

Does Value-Based Pricing Work?

How Can I Displace a Competitor?

Packaging Services: What’s in the Standard Box?

What Exactly Does Translation Pricing Include?

What Should I Invoice?

Does the Price Include Editing, Reviewing, or Proofreading?

Do Prices Include Work by Qualified Native Professionals?

What Is the Unit of Translation Measurement?

Should You Charge Less for Better Source?

Technology: Does More Software Buy Me Anything?

What Effect Does Technology Have on Translation Pricing?

Should We Buy, Rent, or Develop Language Technology?

Is Machine Translation an Alternative to Human Translation?

How Should We Price Post-Edited Machine Translation?

Why Doesn’t Anybody Buy, Pay, or Care about Terminology?

Negotiations: How Should We Price for Special Situations?

Do Trial or Discount Prices Guarantee Future Business?

Should Clients at the Same Company Pay the Same Price?

Should Clients Have a Say in How They Pay?

Should We Charge Marquee Prospects Less?

Should Sales Reps Be Allowed to Set Prices?

Should We Offer Distinctly Tiered Levels of Service?

What Should We Do about Community Translation?

Practicalities: How Should I Run My Language Business?

How Many Employees Should an LSP Have?

How Should We Think about Service Level Agreements?

How Can We Increase Our Margins?

How Can We Get Business In Other Countries?

What Effect Does Currency Have on Translation Pricing?

How Can I Educate Clients about Value beyond Price?