Lost in Translation: How to Text in Different Languages and Actually Get a Response

Every day, businesses lose leads—not because the offer isn’t right, but because the message doesn’t land.

If you’re trying to reach multilingual audiences but only texting in English, you’re creating friction. Confusion. Hesitation. And often… silence.

Even if someone can technically understand your message, they’re far more likely to ignore it if it’s not in their native language. Why? Because language is personal. It’s tied to trust, emotion, and how comfortable someone feels replying.

Why knowing how to text in different languages matters for business

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a “nice to have” for international companies. According to CSA Research:

• 76% of consumers prefer buying from companies that communicate in their own language
• 40% won’t buy at all if the information isn’t in their native language

That applies to texting too. Whether you’re in insurance, higher ed, or financial services—where trust and clarity are key—sending a message in the wrong language can mean the conversation ends before it begins.

So how do you text in different languages at scale?

You’ve got a few options. Most aren’t ideal:

1. Hire a team of multilingual reps

This sounds like a great solution—until you try to scale it.

Multilingual reps are rare, and the ones with sales or customer service experience are even rarer. You may end up:

• Overpaying for a limited talent pool
• Struggling to cover all the languages your audience speaks
• Dealing with inconsistent messaging across reps
• And juggling complex scheduling just to cover time zones and regions
  
  

Even if you manage to build a multilingual team, keeping scripts, training, and tone aligned across multiple languages is a major operational challenge.

In short: it’s expensive, it’s hard to manage, and it doesn't scale easily.

2. Use Google Translate (or similar tools)

Tempting, right? Drop your English message into Google Translate, copy-paste the result, and send. But that quick fix creates problems:

• Translations are often literal, awkward, or culturally off
• Tone and intent get lost, especially with informal language
• Some phrases just don’t translate well, leading to confusion or unintentional offense
• You can’t handle dynamic conversations where leads reply and expect a human-like response in their language
  
  

Your message might go from “Let’s get you covered today” to “We protect you now,” which sounds robotic at best—and spammy at worst.

Bottom line: Google Translate wasn’t built for real-time, high-stakes customer communication.

Meera’s translation feature makes it easy to text in any language

With Meera’s new multilingual texting feature, you don’t need translators, scripts in 10 languages, or a team of native speakers.

Instead, Meera automatically detects a lead’s preferred language—and responds in kind. The AI behind Meera doesn’t just translate literally. It adapts tone and context to keep the message natural, clear, and aligned with your brand.

It’s built right into Meera’s AI-powered texting platform, which already helps sales and marketing teams connect faster by replacing phone calls with friendly SMS conversations.

Now, with native-language texting built in, you can reach more people and connect more meaningfully.

Reach leads in their language, not just their inbox

Whether you’re texting Spanish-speaking homeowners in Texas, French-speaking students in Montreal, or any lead more comfortable in a non-English language—Meera helps you meet them where they are, linguistically and emotionally.

The results?

• More replies
• Faster connections
• Higher trust
• And access to markets that were previously out of reach
  
  

Find out more about Meera’s translation feature here.