I can’t help it. I see them everywhere.
I blame my dad, whose liberal use of red ink on anything I did for school when I was a kid shaped my worldview (and frustrated me to no end).
Now, I can’t ignore a grammar or typographical error if I try.
For instance: I recently noticed a new company popped up in my community. When I decided to explore their website, I found that there was a typo on their homepage. This error was a part of my first impression of their business. They are brand new and working to establish their reputation, and something that little is what jumped out at me and stuck with me.
Mistakes happen – no one is perfect, and sometimes little imperfections give your business a bit of humanity. The trouble is when errors are repeated or not corrected, are a part of your company’s first impression, or are frequent, they can leave a negative impression of your business on your customer.
photo credit: PDpics on Pixabay.com
I know, I know… not everyone is as… umm… fastidious about grammar and such as my dad and I are. In fact, I can hear your eyes rolling from here! But before you click the little ‘x’ at the top of your browser, hear me out:
Most of your customers that catch errors in your communications probably don’t really care so much, but they do garner an impression of you, even if subconsciously, unfair, or inaccurate. All of your communications (even social media posts) are a reflection of the care and concern you have for your customer and their experience with your business. Grammatical and typographical errors are so small and so easy to fix – you don’t want them to be a part of the impression you give a potential customer.
If you don’t have a full-time writer/editor on staff (ha!), hopefully you have someone who is able to glance over your smaller communications and proof them for errors. When your bigger publications or marketing materials are at stake, be sure to have someone with the appropriate background proof and edit them. Don’t let something so easily corrected cast a shadow on your customer’s impression of your business.
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Side note: Most graphic design companies put the ball in your court on this; you own any errors that make it through to print. I’m no different – the final version of anything I create is yours to approve – but you can elect to have me proof or edit the content you’ve written, or even write the content for you. I can’t promise perfection, but I can promise I’ll be vigilant about getting it right.
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cover photo credit: user 3844328 on Pixabay.com