Before approaching us, Multitrans redefined their brand with BRAND FAMILY and had a new visual identity ready, created by BLOOMFIELD. To complement those, their website needed a not-so-subtle facelift, too.
When we take on a new client at Hook & Tell, we usually start with a workshop, in order to take in the full scope of the client’s business. This helps us understand all about the client, their products/services and their customers.
We didn’t run a full workshop for Multitrans. Their new brand manual told us a great deal about what the brand should evoke and how it should speak to its customers. Instead of a workshop, we had an introductory call with Bohuslav Bulíček, Multitrans’s Managing Director.
„We also asked the sales people at Multitrans to fill out a short questionnaire. They provided very valuable insights – on inquiries from clients, competition, and so on. We decided to incorporate the FAQs into our copy so that website visitors would have their questions answered before even asking.“
Kateřina Kalivodová
— Copywriter, Hook & Tell
About the client: Multitrans specialises in road freight transport — an impressive fleet of their own trucks and lorries delivers goods all around Europe. Their freight forwarding services ensure any goods can be transported by any means, to anywhere in the world (container shipment from China included). Multitrans also rent warehouses in Czechia and stores & distributes goods. They offer fulfillment services for e-commerce businesses.
When contemplating the structure of the new website, our copywriter Katka put together a list of suggested pages. Then she described the main message of each page in a simple document, alongside important content notes and a page-specific call to action (CTA). This set very clear guidelines before we set down to write. A road map, if you will.
„I had the ‘road map’ reviewed and approved by Multitrans — and I really recommend this step. The client reviews the content before you write all the texts, any possible misunderstandings are sorted at the beginning, and it doesn’t get to the point where you have to completely rewrite a page. Effectiveness at its peak!“
Kateřina Kalivodová
— Copywriter, Hook & Tell
We didn’t suggest minor changes for Multitrans’s new website. Their previous web had a separate page for each type of transport (road, sea, plane, rail) and it didn’t make much sense, because Multitrans’s clients are primarily after road freight transport and freight forwarding. Other types of transport are just additional.
To reflect this, we suggested separate pages for road freight transport and freight forwarding — where we mentioned other types of transport. We added new pages for warehousing and fulfillment (the previous web didn’t have these at all) and we also recommended that Multitrans asked their clients for references so that we could use them in testimonials.
„The new and simpler structure was a much-needed refresh. The feedback from our clients has been nothing but positive, people like the new look and the experience they get when browsing the web. And I must point out the fact that our corrections were very minor — Hook & Tell worked very much on their own! We really appreciated that because it allowed us to focus on our core business.“
David Ehlert
— Sales Director, Multitrans
We wrote the copy for the new website in both Czech and English. Multitrans provided us with a Czech keyword analysis; for English texts, we searched for their equivalents in English. To really get the hang of the industry’s vocabulary, we went through websites of other freight transport companies — bearing in mind that most clients of Multitrans are from continental Europe. That is reflected in our choice of vocabulary.
On their previous website, Multitrans used the expression road haulage for transport by trucks. While it’s without a doubt a correct term that anyone in the UK would use, we found out that freight transport companies outside the UK tend to use road freight transport instead. Given that Multitrans’s trucks head to the British islands only occasionally, chances were that the term road freight transport would be more accessible for prospective customers. That‘s why we put road freight transport in the H1 title and road haulage came into play a bit later – in the H2 title.
„Literal translation often kills punchy claims and short texts — or at least significantly reduces their impact. The shorter the sentence, the more difficult the translating job gets. I really like the word transcreation — translation and creation combined. Translating a website is much more about copywriting than translating. The original version of the text sets the direction — it tells me where to go, and then it’s up to me what path I take. Which is, by the way, a skill that AI tools don’t have yet.“
Monika Fiantová
— Copywriter CZ/ENG, Hook & Tell
That said, we did rely on automatic translation for some sections of the Multitrans website. General Terms & Provisions are the perfect example of where automatic translation rules! Literal word-by-word translation is exactly what you need.
„We’re grateful that we didn’t have to devote a lot of time to crafting compelling texts. The copy Hook & Tell delivered works perfectly, it’s to the point and super easy to understand. We’d definitely recommend Hook & Tell!“
David Ehlert
— Sales Director, Multitrans
