Canadian Small Business Women

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Start the New Year off Write

Does grammar matter? You bet it does! Start your new year off on the write foot. Did you catch the mistake in the title and first sentence? Think that most people won’t? Well they do. Multiple studies have shown that your potential customer is a discerning consumer and will notice spelling and grammatical errors on your website, blogs or in your promotional materials.  More importantly, for many, that error could be the deciding factor in whether they choose your services over those of another. It turns out your Grade 10 English teacher was correct. Grammar matters and accuracy counts.

We’ve talked before about the importance of precision and clarity when it comes to language use.  We’ve also addressed how much of a challenge that can be. English is an oft times confusing shambles of a language with many words (say root and route for example) sounding exactly the same but having different meanings. These are called homonyms.  Still others, called synonyms, offer a plethora of choice to portray pretty much the exact same thing. A great example might be the variety of words used to describe being “tired” including: weary, exhausted, fatigued and lethargic. With all this to consider, plus spelling and sentence structure rules, it can be overwhelming.

  • To provide perspective, numerous studies have found that on average, better than 60% of your customers will notice if you have a spelling or grammatical error on your website.
  • Of those that notice errors, an almost equal number, 59%, state they would not use that company because of the errors.
  • Over 70% of potential customers report that spelling and grammar errors demonstrate “an obvious lack of care” meaning consumers consider the company to be “unprofessional.”

As I report in seminars I offer on Communications Strategies for Entrepreneurs, industry averages suggest varyingly that people spend a total of between 10 and 30 seconds on a webpage. Jacob Nielsen states: “unless your writing is extraordinarily clear and focused, little of what you say on your website will get through to customers.” As a business, you need to consider that if that 30 seconds was spent noticing spelling errors or the improper use of grammar you will be memorable but for all the wrong reasons!

Start your new year on the right note. Book some time to review all of your promotional materials, your website and blogs. Have someone else do it for you. A second set of eyes often catches what you might have missed. Always be sure to run your words through spell-check. It’s amazing how many don’t and yet, this simple step alone would save many a poor speller from the future expense of having to re-edit website content or reprint promotional materials. Running a business is expensive enough. Doing the same thing twice because of a spelling or grammatical error is a costly error that can be avoided easily. Write it right – because grammar matters.

 

*”www.realbusiness.ca.uk”

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

“B2B” Communications: It’s About Time!

Sheralyn

 

Funerals that offer “creamation” services and companies that say their products or services are “Quiality” – what is your first thought? It they don’t show this much attention to detail on services they are trying to sell us via the internet, I guess we shouldn’t expect too much in terms of their service overall. You might have thought from the title that this would be a blog about “Business to Business” Communications and in a roundabout way it is. But that’s the problem with abbreviations – not everyone has the same understanding of their meaning and a breakdown in communication is the result. What I really want to address today is more about a “Back to Basics” approach to communications. Concepts like “yes, grammar matters” and the lost art of conversation. If we are open to learning how to do these things well, it’s possible our “business to business” communications will improve too.

Spelling matters. Grammar matters. Most of us can’t parse a sentence and don’t know a dangling participle when we see one but we sure as heck know (or should know) the difference between “its” and “it’s.” If you don’t (and this is not shameless self promotion by any means) you had better hire someone who does! Your business might depend on it. Utilizing technology, we tweeted a query not too long ago asking for your input – does it matter to you if spelling isn’t accurate on a website. Would it deter you from buying a product or service if the website contained language inaccuracies? The response suggested overwhelmingly that consumers would indeed bypass a poorly written website, choosing instead someone who took the time to get it right. The perception is clearly that attention to such detail really does matter.

These results are not surprising to me, nor should they be for anyone. You wouldn’t expect your doctor to “sort of” be able to practice medicine and I’m sure you rely on your mechanic to really “get it right” when he is working on your engine. It only makes sense that the same level of care and attention to detail would go into the website that advertises these services yet it always surprises me how often this fails to be the case. Time after time we come across websites like the one offering “Quailty” repairs. The thing is, as much as I advocate a return to the basics, technology can actually help us with these kinds of errors because all anyone has to do is hit “spell check” on their computer! Sure it might not catch the difference between the correct use of “here” vs. “hear” but that’s where the B2B education kicks in.

Communication is so many things. It’s about listening, speaking and writing and it is about the “ability to express or exchange information.” (1) How we interact with one another in every aspect of our lives is governed by effective communications. To do it well takes plenty of practice. It is a skill we should continually improve upon throughout our lives. Entire courses on networking are taught to business professional and really, isn’t this just an opportunity to teach people how to have a conversation? We need such courses because so many of us have now become completely reliant upon technology and all the abbreviations associated with it that we have forgotten how to talk to one another. Indeed, we have forgotten how to look up and into the eyes of people who are sitting right next to us! We are rational (sometimes!) reasoning creatures gifted with the ability to orate and yet it is a vanishing art form.

Therefore, I dare to say this. It’s time we got back to the basics. Put down our tech devices and learn the ability to speak and interact with one another. Bring grammar back into our schools and teach kids that while efficiencies gained from “ttyl” abbreviations work in some situations, they do not work for all. We need to learn how to spell and how to put a sentence together the “good, old-fashioned way.” Technology is a wonderful thing but it is only as smart as the user and what we put into it. “Garbage in, garbage out” as the saying goes so let’s recycle those old school dictionaries and put them to good use. From the perspective of your business, here’s why it is so important. Research shows that 59% of consumers would not use a company that had spelling or grammar errors on their website and that fully 70% of people notice these mistakes and feel it shows “an obvious lack of care.” (2) Further, if the average person only spends between 10 and 30 seconds on your website, being memorable because of your errors is not the right way to get noticed!

In educating ourselves about effective and efficient means of communication without the use of technology we might then be better able to apply that knowledge when we do use it. Building a great, error free website that helps tell the world what you can do is vital. Technology IS important but so is how we use it. Communication skills: good for life – and good for business too!

 

(1)MerriamWebster

(2)realbusiness.ca.uk

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

LinkedIn / Facebook / www.writingrightforyou.weebly.com

What’s in a name?

Jennifer J

We spend countless hours trying to figure out the perfect name for our business. It is important. The right name can help you be the talk of the town. A bad name can fade away and lead to obscurity. So how do you pick the perfect name? Do you name the business after yourself? Do you pick a name that describes your service or product? Or, do you create catchy new words like ‘Google’ or ‘Zappos’?  Determining what to name your business comes down to three things:

–          The industry your business is in;

–          What is the vision you have for your business; and

–          Your long term plan for your business.

If you plan to be the main commodity of your business, e.g. an expert in a particular field, a coach or a speaker, than you should name the business after you. Should you go on to produce books, products and pod casts, the only thing that isn’t changing is you. Naming your business after yourself allows your customer and clients to identify your expertise. You also have the flexibility of creating different products whilst not having to be locked in to just one.

Should your long term plans include selling your business one day, you should consider a name that describes your product or service. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. There are many businesses where the owner became the brand and the business was subsequently sold.  However, remember that if you intend to sell your business, the name is likely trademarked which prevents you from using the name for future ventures. This includes your own name.

When considering the name of your business, it is important to determine what it is you are trying to communicate. This can be determined by using your mission statement as a guide. Once you have this clearly defined, it is important to consider the following when creating a name:

–          Pick something that appeals to your niche and that your niche will identify with;

–          Something that is not too long and confusing;

–          Don’t use plain language that won’t stand out in a crowd;

–          Avoid clichés;

–          Avoid unusual spelling; and

–          Try and adopt a name that gives some information about your business.

Once you have picked a few names make sure to check whether your names have already been trademarked or are in use. You want to ensure you are not infringing on anyone else’s rights.Failure to do this could lead to legal battles down the line and significant money spent when it could have been avoided.

You also want to check if the domain name you’d like to use is still available. There’s nothing worse than coming up with a brilliant name only to find someone else has already purchased the domain.

Happy naming!

Jennifer Jampala is a budding entrepreneur, traveller and yogi. She is passionate about building businesses, relationships and experiences. Follow Jennifer on Twitter @JenniferJampala

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