There is a habit to have in business that is arguably in the top three of the most important habits to have when communicating in written form. It is imperative that you re-read your notes, memos, letters, emails, proposals, SBA applications, or else anything written, if you don’t already that is. Ideally this should be while you can still edit and before it leaves your control. It is inconceivable that anyone who has spent any time in business will have not written something that they wish they could snatch back and change, or even destroy. But even with a re-read, you need to know what you are looking for.
Lynn Gaertner-Johnston is the founder of Syntax Training in Seattle, Washington. In her blog, Business Writing, she describes five ways an otherwise excellent company can fail due to careless company writing.
- What do you think customers will think when your letter to them has muddled writing? Will they continue to trust you with their business?
- When customers see bad writing in a proposal, they ask, “If they can’t get this right, how will they get what I need right?”
- If you can’t explain things well in the first email, time, effort, money, and patience will be wasted in the follow-up “to clarify” emails,
- Mistakes and bad word choices cost time and money to correct. This can include reprints, apologies, and court costs.
- Think about all of your written attempts to gain new business. Has it been effective? Have there been results? If not, there may be errors that are steering potential customers away.
Business communication is vital. It can be difficult to get that perfect draft made, but all the time and effort is worth it in the beginning stages to ward off future headaches.
