Most people form impressions of your organization based on the documents you send them. Many times your documents are the only contact your customers have with you. That's why it's so important to carefully write, design, and structure them so that they meet the needs of the people who use them. In fact, some research shows that “when writers effectively format a document, the readers’ satisfaction increases resulting in increased profit” (Ryan, 1993). 

You might ask: How can a simple document affect your profits so much?

As one example, consider this anecdote:

In a conversation we had with a new car owner, he complained that his owner’s manual sorely needed work and he berated the company that created it.

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Here's what happened:

The Malfunction Indicator Light went on and he pulled out his manual to find out what the problem was with his car. His short-term problem was one of vocabulary and a re-named icon. Since he called the light his Check Engine Light (a term that many people have used and have become familiar with over time), that’s the term he searched for in the index.

When his term was not in the manual, he angrily tossed the book aside and blamed the company for shoddy documentation … and then told several people about the incident, belittling the company and still not knowing what the problem was with his car.

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Does that sound like one of your customers?

If it does, we can help. Contact us.

Can a piece of paper actually cause a company to lose a customer? Repeated evidence says, YES!

Consider this example:

A salesperson who had just retired applied for auto insurance from a company that offered lower rates than he was paying. The application form asked, “How many miles did you drive last year?” He answered, “35,000 miles.”

The firm then said it couldn’t insure him because he drove too many miles. But what they didn’t consider was that because he had retired, he expected to drive only 9,000 miles in the coming year.*

Result: The firm lost a customer.

Reason: The form failed to ask the right question.

Don't let this happen to you.

*Carolyn Boccella Bagin and Andrew Rose, "Worst Forms Unearthed," Modern Maturity, February-March 1991.