Esterlam International Ltd
On November 4th John and Neil Hailey from Esterlam were presented with a special achievement award. The South West Merit Award, was
awarded by the South West Regional Development Agency on behalf
of the South West Languages for Export Awards 2003.
The company have shown a particularly innovative approach in the way they have used language and culture to their advantage to increase the company's overseas markets. The company was awarded £1,000 to spend on language and cultural projects to enable them to continue their good work.
Neil Hailey talks to the RLN SW about how languages have given his company an advantage:-
'Initially we found that not being able to speak the native language was sometimes a major barrier to sales'
Esterlam International is a SME based in the south west of England. We manufacture and supply print machine parts which are used in all areas of the printing, coating and laminating industries. We export over 80% of the goods manufactured. We supply every continent and deal with companies and customers who speak many different languages.
'There are many overseas companies today who do not want to deal with a company which cannot speak the native tongue. This translates to some major potential sales which are lost purely through not being able to speak the language.'
Esterlam have a standard set of questions, terms and phrases used in the various industries we supply which help to identify the correct products for the different customer. We incorporated these into a glossary of terms and also included various greetings and introductions. We have had these translated in to various languages including Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Italian etc.
Now, when ever we send an introductory email or fax to foreign companies, we always use their native language to introduce our company, our products, the benefits they offer and the technical services we offer. Prior to translating the glossary and introductions, if we sent 20-30 emails or faxes introducing our company products in English, if we had 15% reply in a month, I would be pleased.
Now, because we email or fax introductions in the native language, I would expect to have at least 80% of them reply within a few days and normally 50% reply by return. The results are so dramatically different and invariably, because you have made the effort to speak to them in their native language, they will then convert to using English on future correspondence and dialogue. There are many overseas companies today who do not want to deal with a company which cannot speak the native tongue. This translates to some major potential sales which are lost purely through not being able to speak the language.
'You build up a rapport and working relationship with a company, it can often result in them becoming a distributor or agent for your company and products.'
We attend trade shows world wide and always take our laminated translated introduction and question sheets. On many occasions, people have visited the stand who cannot speak English but as a result of showing them the relevant translation sheets, we have managed to get the information we need to generate the sale. It often results in a bit of a laugh at the time as we sort through the relevant questions, but we get the information we need which in turn gets the business. We have also found that in each country, you will find one or two customers who are then willing to translate any information you send them so your glossary of terms and questions will increase and as you use the phrases more often, they become second nature and you find you are actually learning the language. Sometimes, as you build up a rapport and working relationship with a company, it can often result in them becoming a distributor or agent for your company and products.
'Esterlam has generated a lot of business that would have been lost years ago purely by conversing initially in the native language. Learning to deal in one, two or three languages really isn't that difficult but it is definitely something we would recommend to any exporter who wants to increase sales overseas.'
Visit the Esterlam International website on www.esterlam.com
