Last week , I had the opportunity to work with my counter-part in the UK. Our company recently launched US operations after having much success overseas. We have collaborated over the phone and via email but the chance to work side by side with him proved quite valuable. We were able to work out a few issues and move ahead on a few others. Together, we decided that we needed even better communication from here on out.


One of the ways we would like to do this is to have a database set-up between us, specific to our department. We both did a little research on our own and then came back together to discuss the available options and how we were going to make it work. One particular CRM stood out as a leader among our various choices. We both signed up on the website, thinking it would be good to each speak independently with a representative, then come back together to review the functionalities available.

Sure enough we were both contacted by email, first by an automatic responder and then later by a live rep. Here is how my second email started:

"Dear Rayanne-
I noticed your acidity on our...."

I stopped reading and read again.

"I noticed your acidity on our website and wanted..."

This time, I read it out loud to see if I had read it right and then I realized that the writer had meant to say:

"I noticed your activity on our website..."

But the damage had already been done. I no longer wished to speak with this representative nor anyone else from the company. A simple error, a simple malfunction in spell check and a potential customer had been lost. My "acidity" turned into my disinterest in their product. It's not as if this were a cheap or economical resource for us either, it would have cost about $17,000 the first year alone. One would think that with that type of customer investment, a little re-read of the email before sending would have been called for.

It is imperative that you impress your leads, even on the second or third occasion.  I had reviewed the website several times, read reviews and testimonials, completed a tutorial, and submitted a request for contact. The automated response failed to turn me on and the secondary response turned me off. My colleague and I have already moved on to other options. In a rush, it is easy to misspell a word or hit send before a thorough review. Displaying pride in your product (high price) should spill over into pride in your work; unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way.

© by rayannethorn

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Acidity is a far cry from activity spelling-wise; makes me think maybe there is something cultural going on...?
I couldn't agree more. Little things like spelling errors can be expensive.

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