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Customer Experience

Hot off the press: our thoughts on what's happening in the world of brand language and business writing. Warning: may contain the occasional rant.

Customer Experience

Better writing equals better customer experience

Clearer writing doesn’t just help you connect. It makes you more efficient, saves you money and sharpens up your processes, which customers will love you for.

Training, Writing, Customer experience

Customer Experience

Microsoft’s writing tool: friend or foe?

Microsoft has announced that Word is getting an injection of Artificial Intelligence. And if the comments on the BBC article are anything to go by, we should all be worried.

Writing, Learning & development

Customer Experience

Do actions speak louder than words?

Most of the time. Maybe. But what if you only do business through words? Words on your website. On your apps. And in the customer service messages you send. Then, the only way anyone can take action is if your words are clear and quick to grasp. That’s why we’ve been saying for years that...

Writing, Brand & marketing

Customer Experience

Good writing sells products: and we’ve got the proof

We’re an opinionated bunch, here at The Writer. If you’ve ever worked with us, you’ll know we’ve got no time for things like buzzwords, or boring, formal writing. But we know we’re in a bubble. We think about words all day, every day...

Writing, Brand & marketing

Customer Experience

Customer experience #FAIL

Last night, I came home after a long day to find this in my mailbox: Those three words stopped me in my tracks. In the moment it took to open the envelope, my brain ricocheted between emotions

Consulting, Customer experience

Customer Experience

BT’s head of brand language, and America’s next president

Jon Hawkins talks about his eight-year mission to transform the language of one of Britain's biggest businesses. And we learn about poetry from The Donald.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Customer Experience

Time to say goodbye

Laura talks about her split from Spotify, and how unsubscribing upped what she thinks of them.

Writing, Customer experience

Customer Experience

Is your ‘Best’ really good enough?

Our Jean thinks it’s time to take a stand in the sign-off wars.

Consulting, Customer experience

Customer Experience

What corporate crisis comms can learn from rock ‘n’ roll

Our Theo has some hard-rocking advice for big business.

Writing, Learning & development

Customer Experience

How not to communicate when things go wrong

Our Anelia’s not impressed with what she hears from the New York subway.

Consulting, Learning & development

Customer Experience

What not to do at a conference

Our Neil’s railing against the things that make some conferences feel like a life sentence.

Consulting, Customer experience

Customer Experience

The Co-op tell it how it is

Our Jan's a fan of the Co-op not sugar-coating their results.

Consulting, Brand & marketing

Customer Experience

The man on the Clapham omnibus

It's time to start trusting our readers to have a bit of common sense, says Lewis. After all, lawyers have been doing it for years.

Consulting, Customer experience

Customer Experience

Making a song and dance about safety

Our Laura loves the jazzy new Virgin America safety video. But they're missing a trick when it comes to the stiff Ts and Cs.

Consulting, Brand & marketing

Customer Experience

Telling tales

Storytelling is everywhere in the business world at the moment. But companies need to take care, says our Alissa. It's not enough just to tell a story – it has to be the right story for you, and it has to be grounded in something real.

Writing, Customer experience

Customer Experience

All change, please.

Last year we surveyed 250 people about what impression the language of London transport would give Olympic visitors of the UK.

Writing, Customer experience

Customer Experience

When jargon really is bad for your health

There can be some pretty serious consequences to using jargon, especially when you step away from corporate buzzwords.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Customer Experience

Don’t let us down, First Direct

When we ask people in workshops which brand they think has the best words, an awful lot of them say First Direct. ‘They sound so friendly and nice and – y’know – direct,’ they say.

Consulting, Brand & marketing

Customer Experience

A makeover takes more than a few comfy cushions

Companies giving themselves a facelift is big business these days. Take Canadian bank the North Shore Credit Union, who’ve decided to rebrand their branches as ‘Financial Spas’ (complete with comfy sofas and aromatherapy candles).

Writing, Brand & marketing

Customer Experience

Formal talk costs souls

You can’t help but earwig on people’s conversations on the train. Especially when they’re happening only a yard or two away. Usually they’re not worth passing on, but I’ll make an exception.

Consulting, Customer experience