The multitrillion-dollar mistake you make every day: the cost of poor communication

What if I told you there’s a hidden tax on your business, and it’s costing trillions of dollars a year?

It’s not a government levy; it's the cost of poor communication. 

Grammarly and The Harris Poll put the figure at $1.2 trillion annually. But that number doesn’t show up as a line item on a spreadsheet.

It’s the hours of wasted time, the stalled projects, and the lost customers that compound into a financial black hole.

Companies like FedEx saved $400,000 per year just by rewriting their ground operations manual to be clearer.

The U.S. Navy saved between $25 million and $37 million annually by rewriting memos for clarity.

These aren’t isolated anecdotes.

They’re proof that good writing is a strategic business asset with bonkersly-good ROI.

The domino effect of poor communication

Bad writing isn't just about typos and jargon; it creates a cascade of problems that affect an entire organisation.

Time’s wasted

Josh Bernoff, an author and blogger, estimated that bad writing costs American businesses nearly $400 billion a year.

For individuals who read extensively for work (approximately 25.5 hours a week), they overwhelmingly agree (81%) that poorly written material wastes a significant amount of their time.

Productivity plummets

Teams can lose almost an entire workday a week to poor communication.

Conversely, companies with effective communication strategies are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their competitors.

Projects fail

Poor communication is cited as a major contributing factor to project failures. Ineffective communications cost American businesses $75 million for every $1 billion spent on a project.

Support costs go up

Unclear product documentation, website copy, or instructions mean customers have to get in touch to ask questions or complain, upping operational costs.

GE reportedly saved $375,000 per customer annually by rewriting their software manuals to be clearer, resulting in a significant drop in support calls.

Customers leave

Unclear communication drives customer dissatisfaction and churn, with research suggesting that 66% of customers switch to competitors due to it.

The personal cost 

The cost isn't just financial — it’s personal.

For your career

Writing is a "threshold skill" for employment and promotion, and a lack of proficiency can hinder advancement into leadership roles. In fact, 82% of employers value written communication skills more than problem-solving or teamwork.

For your confidence

Many professionals struggle with a lack of confidence and anxiety when writing. Understandably so. The stakes are high: business writing can impact deals and affect the bottom line. It's no wonder that writing can be a source of stress for people. 

For your time

63% of people believe that wasted time is one of the worst consequences of poor communication.

The good news? 

Good writing is a skill you can learn

For you personally, you can sharpen your skills to:

• save time day-to-day

• make a good impression

• stand out

• progress in your career - get that promotion/raise/new job.

If you’re a manager or a business looking to:

• save time

• save money

• attract and retain employees, customers and clients

• boost your team’s confidence.

  
  

… give your team the writing skills they need. 

We can show you how.

The ROI of good writing report is a good place to start if you want to build a case for training your people to be better writers, and do better by your business.