It's funny how social media has changed our perception of language. We communicate much more informally via the emoticons and acronyms that we use in IM programs, Twitter and in-game chat programs. However, when communicating with first time customers, clients and prospects, this abbreivated means of communication strikes me as unacceptable. You're trying to portray yourself as professional, not show how hip you are. Additionally, if you are a customer requesting help, a demonstration, or requesting license information, your sales rep probably won't take you very seriously if you send in a message like the one I received last summer:
"Can u plz help in it?bcoz it is not clear from Demo how to test Web application. Waiting 4 ur reply."
While this person may have been genuinely interested in my company's product, this communication came across as unprofessional. My sales team sent off a canned email response along with links to some recorded demos. If this person had listed their questions in plain English, we definitely would've put a lot more effort into helping them.
I don't intend to come across as snobbish in this post. I use IM-speak a lot myself, and I abbreviate words when I'm on Twitter. But when I'm trying to solve a customer's problem, I'm not out to show what a l33t hax0r I am. And in the same vein, when someone approaches me with a problem to solve, I definitely prefer it to come in clear and concise language.
Am I being too old fashioned here? What do you folks think?
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I'm with you. I cop to having used some abbreviated language in some twitters to beat the 140 character limit, but any further use of 1337 is purely ironic, I assure you!
ReplyDeleteAnd for business correspondence, I believe it to be completely unacceptable. I've passed on a few potential hires specifically for such communications. Maybe I missed out on some great people, but I don't see it that way.