Why Your Company Needs a Style Guide

A few years ago when I was working as a salesman for a different company I sat across the desk from a customer while he was engrossed by a report.  I was immediately curious about what he was looking at and after he put the document down and we began chatting I tried to discreetly steal glances to find out what he had been reading.  After we chatted for a while we were interrupted by one of his colleagues and he stepped out of his office to discuss an issue that had just occurred.  Alone in his office, I finally got the chance to freely look at the report and I was surprised to find that it was a production report generated by the computer system that I had sold him a few months earlier.  I was shocked that it took me so long to identify something created by the company that I worked for.  Instead of using the logos, fonts and colours consistent with our sales materials our technical team had used the default attributes chosen by their programming tools.

It is so important to build your brand into your business and everything that is associated with it.  Every piece of sales & marketing material should have the same look and feel that is central to your company’s image.  This includes your website and blog, whitepapers and case studies and product specifications.  The same look and feel should extend through your training manuals, installation guides, specification documents and other technical documentation.  On a whole, every piece of written or visual material your customers will see should look and feel the same and a style guide plays a key role in delivering that.

A style guide is a document describing the fonts, colours, style, voice, tone, layout and other attributes of your brand—everything that the various people and departments will need to adhere to so your branding is consistent and uniform.  You want your prospects and customers to know that they are looking at something produced by your company without having to search for whom it was written by.  Written and visual communications that are not consistent can look unprofessional and leave your customers confused.

Below is an infographic covering the basics of what a style guide is, why it is important, who should use it and how to go about creating one if you don’t already have one:

Establishing a style guide can be difficult in the early going—especially if multiple people or departments are involved.  Start the process by appointing someone to champion the process and engage key individuals to invite their input and win their support.

You should also keep in mind how your style guide affects resources outside of your organization like bloggers and content curators—the standards described by the style guide will need to extend through their work, too.

Conclusion

A style guide is a document that defines the appearance, voice, formatting and other aspects of a company’s written and visual materials.  Having a well-defined and consistent look and feel will make your company look professional and customers will feel comfortable doing business with you.  If you need help creating or updating your style guide give us a call, we’d be more than happy to help!

Got something to say? Leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you! Got a question that we can address in our blog? Contact us through our website or email me directly and we’ll put our crack team to work and let you know when we post a reply.

Other Blog Posts

If you liked this blog post, here are some other blog posts that you might also like:

• Don't End Up Like Killface: 5 Grammatical Errors to Avoid
• The Importance ofTone in Business Writing
• How to Write a Great Business Letter

Steve Hartley, Managing Partner
Fering Communications Inc.
Website: www.feringcommunications.com
Email: steve.hartley@feringcommunications.com

Don't End Up Like Killface: 5 Grammatical Errors to Avoid

In the series premiere of Frisky Dingo, Killface wanted to use a direct mailing campaign featuring the following postcard to publicize his plans to annihilate mankind.

Unfortunately, several episodes later he was mocked on national TV because of the grammatical errors on his postcard.  This probably wasn’t the publicity he was looking for.  Luckily, you’ve found Fering Communications to make sure you don’t make similar types of errors that will make you look less than professional.  Here are five common grammatical errors explained so you can avoid the “DOOM!” making them will surely bring.

1. Your vs. You’re – “You’re” is a contraction of “you are” and is used to describe the person you’re talking to, as in:  You’re so wonderful because you’re reading our blog!  A quick way to check if you're using “you’re” correctly is to replace it with “you are” and your sentence should still read correctly.  “Your” is a possessive adjective and is used to describe something that is yours, as in: Your postcard mailer has grammatical errors, Killface.  If you want to get tricky:  You’re probably reading this blog on your computer.  If your not sure what’s wrong with this sentence you should call you’re friends for help.
2. They’re, Their and There – “They’re” is a contraction of “they are”, so you should be able to replace “they’re” with “they are” and your sentence should still make sense.  Remember those kids who jaywalked in front of you today?  They’re going to get themselves hurt!  “Their” is a possessive adjective and is used to refer to something that belongs to them, so you might have thought about telling their parents.  “There” refers to a location (real or abstract), like over here or over there.  “There” is also used with the verb “be” (is, am, are, was, were), as in:  There was a crosswalk a little further down they could have used!
3. Its & It’s – Starting with the easier of the two, “it’s” is a contraction of “it is” or less commonly “it has” or “it was”.  As above, replace “it’s” with its longer forms and see if the sentence makes sense still and if it does you’re (as in “you are”) in good shape.  It’s (as in “It is”) really quite easy!  “Its” is a possessive noun and describes something that belongs to “it”, where “it” is a previously defined object.  Remember that funny video you saw where the dog chased its tail around and around?  The dog is the previously defined object and the tail belonged to the dog.
4. Dangling Participles – No, this has nothing to do with the punch line of a raunchy joke, it’s what happens when you order your sentence in a confusing way.  Try this one actually taken from a newspaper article:  The burglar was about 30 years old, white, 5’10”, with wavy hair weighing about 150 pounds.  That’s some heavy hair!  Maybe they were trying to describe a burglar who was about 30 years old, white, stood 5’10” tall, weighed about 150 pounds and had wavy hair.  Cancel the APB on the white male with incredibly heavy hair.
5. Me and I – If you’re describing what you and someone else will be doing, when do you use “me” and when do you use “I”?  Take the other person out of the sentence and see if it still makes sense.  For example, “Bob or me will call you next week” is wrong because if you take Bob out of the sentence you’re left with “me will call you next week”.  This might have been acceptable tens of thousands of years ago but isn't not today.  Alternately, “Freddy told me and Jim that he’d send the order across tomorrow” still reads properly if you take Jim out of the sentence.

The English language is a cruel and unforgiving language full of weird rules and nuances.  Making grammatical errors in a business environment can confuse your audience, dilute your message and make you and your company look sloppy.  Being able to write and communicate effectively are so important that taking a little time to re-read what you’ve written to ensure that you’re clearly and concisely communicating your message is a worthwhile exercise.  If you find that you’re having difficulty crafting or refining your message then give us a call, we’d be glad to help.

Got something to say? Leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you! Got a question that we can address in our blog? Contact us through our website or email me directly and we’ll put our crack team to work and let you know when we post a reply.

Steve Hartley, Managing Partner
Fering Communications Inc.
Website:www.feringcommunications.com
Email: steve.hartley@feringcommunications.com

P.S.  For something a little more risqué, check out this link.