Writing

How copy impacts customers

The purpose of our copy, just like that of our design, is to create meaningful, valuable, and frictionless experiences for our customers. Our goal is to help them to complete their goal as easily and quickly as possible, while providing them with great customer service and encouraging them to explore everything we have to offer. Therefore, copy should be succinct, impactful, and consistent across experiences, journeys and channels.

Tone

Simplicity and service

Our written voice should be welcoming, conversational, sincere, and active. Use straightforward, everyday language when explaining something technical or complicated. The less time customers spend deciphering the copy, the more they’ll appreciate us.

After reading any copy across American Express sites and products, the Card Member should continue on their journey saying:

• I know what to do next
• I have more trust in American Express
• American Express puts me and my best interests first
• American Express understands and backs me

Example

Appropriate Tone

Tone is the attitude conveyed in writing and can be influenced by the choice of words or the viewpoint of the writer on a particular subject. Think of your copy as having a voice. The tone of voice should be:

Authentic

• Straightforward and conversational
• Sincere and genuine
• Consistent with American Express brand values
• Write it how you would say it
• Use contractions

Respectful

• Don’t make assumptions about the customer
• Don’t be condescending
• Appropriate for the communication type
• Focus on the customer’s needs, not ours

Culturally Sensitive

• Correct spelling for the market (e.g. “inquiry” for the U.S. vs. enquiry” for the U.K.)
• Use of passive voice and overly apologetic tone as relevant

Appreciation

We value our customers’ loyalty to American Express. Use “thank you” language to voice appreciation for a customer’s patience, understanding, extra effort, or cooperation. In every communication, show appreciation for our busy Card Members simply by using a friendly and concise tone.

While we want to acknowledge the customer’s relationship, don’t start copy with “thank you” phrases or use appreciation as a way to mask bad news. Show appreciation that’s genuine and appropriate to the context.

Trust

Trust is an integral part of our brand. You can convey trust by being honest, factual, and straightforward.

• Use the first person as much as possible: Customers want to feel as if they are communicating with a person, not a corporation. We should refer to ourselves in the first person whenever possible and appropriate. Research shows that using first person pronouns is an indicator of honesty and subconsciously empowers the reader.
• Avoid assumptions and untruths: Don’t make assumptions about what a Card Member may or may not know. Don’t lie or stretch the truth.
• State the facts and avoid generalizations: State the facts in a straightforward and clear manner from the start, and be as specific as possible. Even if it’s a difficult message, be upfront about it. Customers are more likely to trust a company that is honest than one that sweeps unsavory information under the rug.

Empathy

Empathy lets the customers know that we understand their feelings and that they’re not just communicating with a robot. Not only does it create a more human connection, it lets the customers know that they’re not alone in a challenging situation that is beyond our control. Using conditional language – such as realize, may have, understand, recognize – is a key part of communicating empathy. Think of these three P’s when you think of empathy:

• Personal: Is this how I would speak to a friend?
• Patient: What if I were in the customer’s shoes?
• Proactive: Am I anticipating all of the customer’s questions?

Reassurance

You can reassure the customers by properly framing your message and including contact information. Use positive language at all times and avoid accusatory language.

Example

For additional information, please refer to Tone of Voice in Global Brand Guidelines.

Structure

Building Blocks of Good Copy

Building a relationship with the customer is about more than what you say or how you say it: It’s also about composition. Copy that provides customers with the best experience is logically arranged, easy to understand and concise enough for web readability.

Organization

The structure, headings, bullets and white space all affect the reader’s understanding and perception. Subheads and bullets increase readability, and help organize information. Deliver the main message first, followed by supporting evidence. Anticipate the natural progression of a customer’s understanding as they move through a journey by giving prominence to the most important and basic information.

Clarity

Write messages that are clear and understandable to as many people as possible. Remember that we reach customers across the nation and the world.

• Avoid industry jargon
• Avoid uncommon or overly difficult words and phrasing
• Avoid idioms that may be unfamiliar to a general audience
• Provide context if you use an abbreviation or acronym. Unless the abbreviation/acronym is so familiar that it’s used more often than the full form (like FICO), write the words in full on first appearance.

You can use the Microsoft Word readability statistics option to help you determine the reading level of your communication.

EXAMPLE - Clarity

Brand guidelines recommend the following substitutions for these commonly used words and phrases.

Length

People read quickly on the web. Keep content short and concise to improve readability and clarity. Avoid run-on sentences and wordy explanations. Make every word count. Get to the point! Check out these statistics from the US National Library of Medicine:

• The average attention span in 2015: 8.25 seconds
• Percent of words read on web pages with 111 words or less: 49%
• Percent of words read on an average (593 words) web page: 28%

Information Quality

Solve for Simplicity

The information that we communicate to customers can be confusing and misleading if not presented in the right way. Good copy makes sense of complex financial concepts and large amounts of data and provides the Card Member with relevant and accurate information they can use.

Useful Information

When it comes to providing information, you want to be like Goldilocks and get it “just right.”

• Can any of the content be eliminated because it’s unhelpful or not valuable?
• Does the content anticipate and answer the customer’s questions or direct them to a place where they can get answers?
• Is it clear what they need to do next?
• Is it clear how to get more information if they have questions?
• Are you presenting information in a logical way?

Relevancy

Provide timely, necessary information the customer can’t get through other channels. Before you create a new message, ask yourself:

• Does the customer need this information?
• Does the customer need this information right now?
• If you were a customer, would you read this?

If you answered no to any of these questions, consider whether this communication is truly necessary – don’t communicate for the sake of communicating.

Accuracy

Make sure that all information shown to customers is correct, up-to-date, and consistent. Inaccuracy can lead to increased call volume and harm the Brand. If you’re using variable fields, be sure to read all possible scenarios to make sure that the sentences flow smoothly and are grammatically correct. When submitting variable content for approval, use brackets <> to indicate which information is variable.

Guidelines

Technique and Style

Part of writing consistent, readable, engaging copy is following technical guidelines that govern spelling, grammar and voice. To maintain usability and consistency across experiences and journeys, we also offer specific styles and wording to follow for concrete applications such as CTA capitalization or gestures used to navigate journeys on different devices.

Spelling and Grammar

Always review your work. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors will undermine even the most meaningful, engaging communications. Such errors are distracting, indicate unprofessionalism and can negatively impact our reputation and our brand.

• Use spell check
• Don’t rely on grammar check
• Make sure a copywriter reviews your copy

We follow AP Style guidelines unless otherwise indicated by the DLS or Brand.

EXAMPLES - Spelling and Grammar

These frequently used words should be spelled as follows:

• email
• e-statement
• internet
• log in (verb), login (noun) log on to, log into
• newsletter (not e-newsletter)
• online
• username (lowercase)
• website

Active VS. Passive Voice

An active voice conveys that the sentence subject is performing the action. In the passive voice, the action is performed on the sentence subject. By using the active voice, we show that American Express takes responsibility for its actions, and that Card Members are empowered to take actions of their own.

Capitalization

Capitalization is most often used to indicate a proper noun or the beginning of a sentence. However, it can also be used to lend weight or attention to a headline or element, and helps to indicate content hierarchy on a page. In certain instances, its presence or absence can enhance readability.

When to capitalize

A phrase in which each word starts with a capital letter is referred to as being in the title case. A phrase in which only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized is said to be in the sentence case. Some of our elements also use of the all-caps case, in which every letter is capitalized.

Use the following guidelines to determine capitalization:

When not to capitalize

Even within title case, not all words should be capitalized. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions that are four letters or fewer, such as “and”, “to”, “with”, “for”, “as”, “a”, “than”, and “the” are never capitalized in title case except at the beginning of a sentence or if a product name specifically capitalizes it.

Never use all caps in body copy. It reduces the shape contrast for each word and negatively affects legibility. IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE SHOUTING, which is not how a Customer Care Professional would speak to a customer.

examples - capitalization

Gestures

Customers can interact with American Express through different kinds of devices, as well as the responsive web and mobile app. “Select” is the default verb to describe the action of choosing an option or CTA, as it carries across a variety of experiences and is more accessible. If a more specific verb is necessary, use the table below to determine how to refer to gestures.

ABBREVIATIONS AND EMOTICONS

Don’t use abbreviations or emoticons on the site or mobile app. “American Express” should not be abbreviated to “Amex” except on channels with strict character counts or in URLs that would otherwise be too lengthy.