Why Grammar Matters in Business
By Shane Downey
www.angelbluemarketing.com
If you’re one of those people who can’t stand when someone messes up to or two or too, or your, you’re and yore or then your just like every single professional copywriter on the planet. ;) [*you’re]
As a copywriter, I see so many mistakes with grammar and spelling in business related articles, social media posts and it drives me mental. Surely you could have spent a few dollars to get someone to write that for you, or find that spelling and grammar check function on your outdated version of Microsoft Word 97. (Honestly, you’ve had 20 years to find it…start LOOKING!)
Sure, the English language is a hard one to grasp, but this leads me to the most important thing about business that you should understand as a business owner. First impressions are EVERYTHING!!!!!!
When a potential customer or client sees your presence in print, or online, if the spelling and grammar are inadequate, it could make you lose business. Everything you put into the public is a reflection of your business, and that absolutely includes grammar.
The biggest problem here, is that you tried to portray an image of your business to get more business, but in messing up the grammar, you are spending more than you are making.
How can you prevent this from happening again?
Hire a copywriter to write your copy. Simple, right? If you’re a builder, you would hire a plumber to paint the building when it’s done, you would get a painter, most likely an experienced one to so the job, because it’s a reflection on your business. So why would you hire a builder (you) to write your marketing material copy?
Irrespective of the business you run, you still probably rely on the written word to get your message across. Your written documents include marketing materials, customer inquiry responses, company emails, reports and more, so you need to ensure that your written material is grammatically correct.
Customers will trust a company that communicates clearly and correctly. The use of proper grammar will help maintain your credibility and reputation.
Incorrect spelling or punctuation errors can create confusion. Spelling and grammatical errors may also change the meaning of your message, which can result in misinformation.
Portland-based company Oakhurst Dairy had to pay their milk truck drivers a substantial amount of money (upwards of $10 million dollars) because of a missing comma in a legal clause. The case hinged on the missing comma after "packing for shipment" in the following clause of Maine state law, which lists exemptions from overtime:
The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of:
- Agricultural produce
- Meat and fish products; and
- Perishable foods
Without the comma, the drivers argued, the law referred only to the act of packing, for the purpose of either shipping or distributing.
As you can see from this article (sourced from http://www.abc.net.au ), grammatically incorrect documents can bear misinformation, leaving your business open to costly legal action, on the basis that the information provided was false or misleading – maybe simply because of a typo.
Don’t take the risk, hire a professional.
Angel Blue Marketing can create copy for your business from as little as $25AUD. Contact us today for more information.
If you think after reading this that your business can benefit from some marketing help, contact us to discuss the options for building your empire. If you want to know more about how copywriters can increase your business, call Angel Blue Marketing today on 0431 475510.
