Lynda Harris of the WriteMark Plain English Awards on how gobbledygook can cost your business money.
In 2005, The Royal Mail in Britain surveyed the public about the writing they receive from businesses. It found that badly designed and poorly written documents could be costing UK businesses a staggering £41 billion (NZ$106.2 billion) in lost sales each year.
Three-quarters of consumers said they wouldn't trust businesses that used poor writing, and almost a third said they wouldn't buy from them.
Adjusting for population, and assuming conditions are similar here, poor communications could be costing Kiwi businesses about $7 billion a year. In tough economic times, when unhappy customers more readily vote with their feet, communicating clearly could give your business that competitive edge-and could even determine its survival.
It's easy to see how plain language and well-designed documents make good business sense. When customers understand what you're saying, they'll warm to your products, develop a sense of trust, and have fewer questions.
Put simply, good document design and plain language:
• increase sales and raise your business's standing in the marketplace
• reduce confusion, complaints and claims, and improve customer satisfaction
• streamline procedures and paperwork, making it easier to train staff and increase productivity and morale.
A good first step for businesses wanting to improve the way they communicate, or get an idea of how well they're already doing, is to enter the 2009 WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards.
The Awards are free to enter and there is a wide range of categories to suit any business. The top prize of $10,000 will go to the organisation with the best plain English culture. Businesses just starting their plain English journey can nominate a single sentence they've transformed for an award.
The categories cover public, private, and government sector documents and websites, and there is a prize as well as an award in each one. In the People's Choice categories, the public can reward companies by nominating documents or websites they like. But they can also nominate bad writing for 'Brainstrain' awards.
Smart companies understand that communicating clearly is clever marketing, especially in times of recession. By entering the 2009 WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards, you send a clear message to the marketplace about your company's values and its standard of customer care.
If you would like to submit your documents or website for an award, or you'd just like to find out more, see the Plain English Awards website: www.plainenglishawards.org.nz.
The Awards will be judged by a panel of local and international plain English professionals. Winners will be announced on 18 September at a ceremony hosted by Fair Go presenter Kevin Milne.
