Poor spelling cuts sales by half
Sunday, September 4, 2011 @ 11:43 AM
An analysis of website figures by a top online business entrepreneur shows a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half. Charles Duncombe says “Poor spelling is costing the UK millions of pounds in lost revenue.” He goes on to say: “I am shocked at the poor quality of written English.”
He says it is possible to identify the specific impact of a spelling mistake on sales. His company measured the revenue per visitor and found that revenue was twice as high after an error was corrected.
“Spelling is important to the credibility of a website. When there are underlying concerns about fraud and safety, then getting the basics right is essential. Even cutting edge companies depend upon old-fashioned skills because when you sell or communicate on the internet 99% of the time it is done by the written word. Spelling is important to the credibility of the website.”
The problem is far worse in Mediterranean Spain than it is in the United Kingdom. I have been beating my head against a brick wall for years over this basic business error. I estimate that 70 percent of websites lose credibility and business because of poorly written content. Many Spanish-owned websites, aimed at English speakers, do not have English language content.
Depressingly few business owners do anything about it; many cannot see it. Let me give you an example. An estate agent had done me a favour and I was looking for some way I might repay him. Browsing through his company’s website I cringed at the poor grammar; the lack or incorrect use of punctuation; the abysmal lack of marketing flair. In a word it was amateurish. This was my opportunity to repay his kindness: I offered to give the website’s content a free makeover. What was his reaction? “Thanks but no thanks; Eileen (his wife) did it. She thinks it is perfect and wouldn’t take kindly to being corrected.”
I despair. Would a reasonably educated person likely have confidence in a plumber or garage, let alone an estate agent, who cannot spell or string a sentence together?
The latest findings are endorsed by business organisations. James Fothergill the Confederation of British Industry’s head of education and skills, warned that too many employers had to invest in remedial literacy lessons for their staff. The William Dutton Oxford Internet Institute agree: “When a consumer might be wary of spam or phishing efforts, a misspelt word could be a killer issue.”
NOTE:
My website and brochure makeovers do what cosmetics do for plain women; my methods are called word flattery. My fees are modest, especially when set against lost business. To fail to address this problem is the perfect example of spoiling a ship for a ha’porth of tar. Send me your website address for a free and honest analysis. quite_write@yahoo.co.uk