Companies that get it – Marathon Real Estate

Since I am an English major with both a BA and an MA, people have said to me, as a joke, that when they email me, they’d better get it right. Everyone’s afraid of looking like an English language idiot in front of an English major.

The good news is, unless you’ve asked me for advice or I am your teacher, I’m not going to correct you. Use as many double negatives as you’d like. Add a cliché. Use “affect” and “effect” interchangeably. Say “most importantly. . .” instead of “most important. . .” You have been nice enough to not ask me whether I really meant to wear this dress with these shoes today, so I’ll be kind too and not ask whether you really meant to say that.

I don’t correct, but I definitely notice. What I’m starting to be aware of now are companies that get it, and by “it,” I mean that good writing is important. It creates a brand, which is marketing speak for a unique personality. It also establishes credibility. If they can’t punctuate correctly, how can they take care of my needs as a customer without overlooking details?

For large companies, like Whole Foods, it’s easy to get it. I can imagine a huge staff of well cared for writers. But when smaller companies get it, when I browse a site and I see work that has been written and edited carefully AND an updated press area AND possibly even a nice story of the company’s origins, well that just emanates competence. And in this economy, if I’m giving you some of my money, please be competent. I know I am not the only customer who feels this way, and this is not solely an English major thing or a writer thing.

One example of a smaller company that seems to get it is Marathon Real Estate, located in my home city of Austin, Texas. These ladies must be closet writers–or else they hired a really good writer. The sentence structure, the weaving of the marathon theme, the many press stories–A+ ladies!

I will be posting more as I see other companies that get it. In the meantime, please share links for companies you have seen that get it.