We all need and want new clients, right? And unfortunately, clients are one of the only things that are not for sale on Amazon, so we need to find them the old-fashioned way, with traditional marketing. Of course, we use the most up-to-date tools and technology, but in the end, it is words that will draw a client to do business with you—spoken or written. Make sure you get them right!
Back in my father’s era, business communication was much more formal and if I am being honest, confusing. “Thank you for your recent communication. We will be taking it under advisement and will respond in a timely manner.” WTF is that?
Today, the most effective business messages are clear, concise, and easy to comprehend.
Write the way we speak, in Plain English, which most eighth and ninth graders can readily understand.
Here are some tips to keep your messaging clear:
- Use everyday words you and your clients understand. Impress them with clarity, not with words they must look up in the dictionary. I recently received a newsletter (now unsubscribed) that used the words “stridulation” and “psithurism”—I kid you not!
- Ditch some of the old business lingoes. I am guilty of using some of these crutches and am trying to get better. If it seems like it might be too stuffy or formal, it probably is. “This is to inform you” can usually be replaced with “because”.
- Mind the formality though. You want to be professional and not too casual despite the casual nature of the industry. You’d never use “Hey man, ‘sup” as a greeting in a letter or email. But “Hi”, “Hello”, and “Dear” is still preferred—and in that order depending on the recipient. A familiar client might be “Hi Frank.” The new client might be “Hello Frank.” And that Fortune 500 CEO that just called is likely “Dear Frank” or “Dear Mr. Bigshot.”
- Don’t use clichés. Clichés tell your audience that you have no originality and rely on, well clichés to make your point. And if you are dealing with clients or prospects whose first language is not English you may run into a problem. Back in the late 90s when I was looking at an off-shore call center to handle corporate issues, I greeted a man in India with “What’s up?” He looked at me puzzled, then looked skyward. I felt like an ass, but we ended up laughing it off.
- Ditch jargon. No one cares about the PNR—they care about their itinerary. They don’t care what’s in your GDS or CRM—they want to know what it was that your computer spat out! Save the jargon for industry events.
- And finally, proofread. This (along with forgetting the attachment) is my downfall. My mind moves faster than my fingers and I can usually count on a typo. Look it over twice or maybe a third time before hitting send or sending it off to a printer. There is a huge difference between “Let’s eat kids!” and “Let’s eat, kids!” Right, Clarice? Since most everything is now composed online, I recently purchased Grammarly and love it. It is a free extension for most browsers, but I thought the added functionality of the paid version was worth it!
Any other tips? Let me know in a comment!