Business Writing With Buzz

When my daughter was about three years old, we were watching an episode of that classic Australian TV drama, Bananas in Pyjamas. B1 and B2 were struggling to persuade a cow to re-enter its barn.

The cow would not budge.

Despite B1's and B2's pushing, pulling, shouting and feet stamping, the cow stood unmoved.

After a short while, Rat in a Hat came along. Rat, of course, asked, "What's going on here?" The Bananas explained.

Rat bent to the cow, whispered in its ear, and the cow happily strolled into the barn.

The Bananas were astonished. "What did you say?" they exclaimed in surprise. 

"I just said the magic word," replied Rat. 

"What's that?" asked B1 and B2.

"Please", said Rat. 

As we all know from when we first start talking (parents take great pride in their toddler's first "ta, ta"), good manners go a long way, and not just when you have to get a cow into a barn.

While I'm sure there have been occasions when I've inadvertently failed to thank a client, business friend or contact for their referral, help or advice - I admit I'm no etiquette expert and nor am I infallible - I do know that after 10 years in business saying thank you builds business relationships. It's good marketing sense.

But you have to mean it.

You don't need a special reason to say thank you. Thanking a potential client for making the time to meet with you is simply a polite way making yourself memorable. I know there are projects I've been invited to work on, partly because I sent my prospective client a handwritten note to thank them for their time.

I have specially designed and printed thank you cards. I'm not pretending to be an innovator here, but quite a few of the recipients over the years have asked me if they can 'borrow' my idea and get their own cards printed for themselves, or for their companies. 

In 10 years, I can only recall receiving one thank you note myself, from a fellow copywriter to whom I gave some advice on starting a new business. I have had phone calls and emails of thanks, of course, which I always appreciate.

So, in the words of Rat in the Hat, remember the magic word (or words). They can make a thankful differerence to you business' development.

What’s the worst typo sin you’ve committed?

You’re not alone...making mistakes comes naturally to humans, so it’s not surprising that websites and marketing materials are littered with typos.

Sadly, typos cost money. Research in the UK shows that typos cost businesses there millions each year. People don’t want to do business with companies that can’t get their name right, or make mistakes in their emails, letters or brochures.

One of the worst culprits are call centres, where operators often take down the wrong details. It’s a blessing we haven’t had to ring the US call centre that had a 35% error rate in orders it took over the phone. Classics were:

The name Whithead typed in as -hithead (I'll leave you to fill in the gap).

The gift greeting With Our Love typed as With Out Love.

And these were the ones that were caught before they were sent to customers. Imagine what was missed!

Our own big companies are just as susceptible. When proofreading an annual report for a major bank, I spotted a mistake on the inside cover of the report. And this was on the day that the cover was going to print. The mistake?

Shareholders were to receive divideds, not dividends. 

It's easy to find others' mistakes, but not our own. This is why I recommend you don't proofread your own work. Here’s some ways you can avoid typo sins.

1. Read each sentence aloud. You’ll hear your mistakes.

2. Look at each word in isolation. If you have time, start at the end of the document and read each word in turn, from the last to the first. This way, you’re more likely to spot typos.

3. Watch out for the old favourites. We often repeat the same mistakes:

Missing narrow letters (e.g. ‘i’ - offical, opportunites, instnctively)
Using extra letters  (e.g. acccountancy, narrrow)
Misspelling long or technical words (e.g. physiothearapy, implenemtation).

4. Spell checkers won’t pick up typos which are correct spellings, or words that sound the same but have different meanings. For example:

causal/casual
form/from
unclear/nuclear
their/there
site/sight.

5. Double check all the headings and page numbers and that indexes match the page numbers. This is where most mistakes are made, especially in long documents such as annual reports, proposals and tenders.

Your business is a singular collective noun.

What do I mean?

I recently edited a marketing document for a thriving business that got its grammatical position as a singular collective noun correct from the first draft.

I admit I was surprised. Why?

Well, it’s very common for writers (both professionals and in-house staff) to describe the company (or organisation) they work for in the plural. This is something I see constantly, and it's incorrect. A business, company or organisation is a single entity. It is a singular collective noun.

For example, we often read, “TWP are the biggest online publishers”. It should say, “TWP is the biggest online publisher”.

Or, “RST have won the biggest government tender”. It should say, “RST has won the biggest government tender".

Remember though, it’s correct to use the plural when writing about your business as “we”. So, it’s fine to say, “At RST, we have the best tender writing team in Australia”.