Deadline... HELP!: The importance of language in marketing

I’m not a product development manager. I’m not a graphic designer. And I’m certainly not a marketing guru. Yet somehow my activities are very closely linked to theirs. As a translator, proofreader and copywriter, you’re behind the scenes, trying to make their work even better, trying to adapt it to the desired target audience. You feel responsible for launching their products and services, for turning their efforts into a great success.

Unfortunately sometimes things go wrong. Texts are not proofread by reputable translation agencies trying to cut costs. Marketing managers rewrite, rephrase and mutilate the copywriter’s texts without having them checked again. Graphic designers and printers don’t spellcheck ads to save time and money, or for fear of being criticised by their clients.

Companies big and small seem to think it’s more important to invest in form rather than in content. They couldn’t be more wrong. Imagine this scenario: you sell expensive crystal vases. Your aim is to position your business in the top-of-the-range end of the market. You write a 50-word ad yourself, because you refuse to fork out 50 euros for a copywriter to do it for you. But you do hire a professional photographer to shoot stunning photos of your vases. At a cost of a few hundred euros. The result: your ad looks exactly the way you wanted it to look – it exudes the air of luxury and elegance that you were after – but upon closer inspection there’s something not quite right about the actual text. A spelling error. Was it worth saving those 50 euros?

Not everyone will notice, that’s true. And not everyone will care. Maybe you’re not too bothered yourself. However, don’t forget that many – if not most – consumers will rely on your marketing material to forge an opinion on your business. Their (I mean our) reasoning: if they can’t even be bothered to proofread their own ads, what should I expect from their customer service?

In marketing the importance of language is often overlooked. Yet it’s one of the most fundamental aspects of this type of communication. Language bridges the gap between a business and its customers. It illustrates the company’s ability to convey its know-how. By language I mean spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation, the whole lot. No need for nitpicking, but blatant errors should be avoided at all costs. And that’s where we come in!

Have fun trying to figure out what went wrong below!