A Deeper Insight into the Dutch Business Culture

Culture is a very important factor in business. It relates to your ethics, attitudes, etiquettes and values. Business culture and national culture are two different poles, yet connected to each other. Business culture actually has its own dimension. Hence, to communicate with your business counterparts effectively, it is necessary that you understand their attitudes and values. Ignorance of such parameters results into cultural barrier and inhibition of communication process. So, if you have a Dutch client or would be communicating with the one, then make sure that you have complete knowledge about their business etiquette’s and culture, as it determines the success of your activities in Dutch-speaking nations, specifically the Netherlands.

Following factors will help you get closer to the Dutch people:

1. Timekeepers

Dutch people are excellent timekeepers, i.e. they are highly punctual. These people greatly prioritize the value of time. Recently, a globally renowned Multilingual Dutch Translation Agency said that their Dutch clients are very particular about time when it comes to business meetings. Hence, try not to be late. However, they are so friendly that late arrival apologies would be accepted with a smile.

2. Dress Code

In business, the Dutch people tend to dress up very conservatively. However, the dress code varies with industries; jeans and open-neck shirts in the entertainment and IT sectors while a formal dress code in banking sector. Women usually wear trouser suits. For attending a particular business event, it is generally advised to be well-dressed. Uniforms are rarely worn, except at the janitor level.

3. Tradition of Gifts

The Dutch do not like to give or receive any kind of gift, except for reward for the services rendered. Hence, you cannot try to fool them by giving them gifts on the first meeting. In the Netherlands, gift giving is not very common. However, some sort of gesture is always welcome, on events like finalizing a deal etc. on the other hand, if you receive a gift, then immediately open and appreciate it.

[ Must Read: 6 Reasons to Adopt French Translation to Boost Sales Globally ]

4. Meeting over Lunch

If you are conducting a business meeting over lunch or dinner, then make sure that you insist on paying the bill. Casually, Dutch like to split up their bill for a fair share, as a mark of self-dependence. However, if you are in a formal meeting, it is your responsibility to pay the bill. Also, ensure to maintain the table manners.

Dutch Business Culture

Dutch people are quite honest and strictly against corruption practices. The country was ranked at the 9th position (out of 176) in 2012 in the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. So, if you are dealing with a Dutch client, never try to bribe them.

So, you are all set to meet a Dutch person. Complete knowledge about the Dutch business etiquette’s and culture will mesmerize the Dutch client and maybe your proposal works for him. Good luck for the meeting with a Dutch client!!

Is Russian Translation a Challenging Task for Marketing?

Marketing translation is set on fire these days due to its huge demand globally. To target a wider base of audience, most of the companies prefer to translate their marketing collaterals in their native language. But is not that easy, i.e. not everyone can translate the advertisements, brochures etc very authentically. Basically, the main purpose of translating the marketing materials is to convey the human emotions, message and the aura of the particular text. Specifically talking about the Russian marketing content from a linguistic point of view, it is a boundless sea of puns, metaphors, hyperboles, symbolism etc. Thus, Russian translation is definitely challenging in the marketing field.

Further, besides these specifications there are other factors as well that makes the translation challenging for marketing type content:

1. Terminology

Russia is one of the most advanced countries in science and technology. However for some industries, such as tourism or hospitality may be behind the times. Different terminologies are used in different sectors to conduct business. For instance, areas like hospitality industry use certain terms that the Russian-speaking market might not be aware of. Hence, to overcome such challenge, the responsibility is entirely dependent on a professional Russian language translation company with Russian language experts. To localize the documents and websites, such experts could easily research on the terms and implement the same for quality translations.

2. Quality and Regulation

Marketing Translation in Russia is not subject to special regulations. This is the reason that the translation industry in Russia works out their own quality standards. It thus becomes a time and skills consuming task requiring great team work. The client also participates, in order to produce appropriate translations as per the target culture. The Translation Team and the client create guidelines and glossaries required for marketing content translations.

3. Diversity in Translation

Lexically, the Russian language is very rich. Except prepositions and pronouns, almost every word has more than 10 direct synonyms. It is the result of rigorous research and study that the translation team finds a word that suitably conveys the original message correctly. Thus, the translation of marketing content in the Russian language is very challenging because of this linguistic diversity.

[Related Resource: 4 Major Industries Where German Translation Is a Big Hit ]

4. Team for Translation

With the growth of Russian language marketing content, the demand for veteran Russian translators is also increasing. As already mentioned that the language is very rich in vocabulary and terminologies (as per industries), it becomes very difficult to locate an experienced team of translators who can easily translate the said language. Hence, it serves as a big challenge.

Conclusion

The Russian-speaking market is notably large in size. Hence, engaging them in their own language is mandatory for firms who desire to explore the niches and market segments of Russia. Also, they must get their documents or website localized in Russian for unlimited opportunities for their business.

[Must Read: 6 Reasons to Adopt French Translation to Boost Sales Globally ]