Business Communication Chapter 6

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Business CommunicationChapter 6

• Delivering Good and Neutral Messages

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Good and Neutral NewsWritten, Electronic or
Verbal

• Direct (deductive) approach
• Opening states main idea
• Body provides detailed explanation
• Closing summarizes and includes a
  future-oriented thought
• Advantages
• emphasizes main idea with position
• easy to grasp quickly
• saves time

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Good Example

• To All Employees
• From J. Olson, Human Resources Manager
  
• Date May 20, 2008
• Subject Casual Dress Policy_______________
• A casual dress policy will take effect June 1.
  Because we deal with customers, business casual
  attire must be dressy casual. Consequently, in
  order to maintain our professional image, please
  follow these guidelines

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• Men Women
• Collared sport or Pant suit
• polo shirt Sweater or blouse
• Khakis or corduroys with pants or skirt
• Loafers with socks Low heels with
• with hosiery
• Loafers with socks

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• Not Appropriate Tennis shoes, open-toed shoes,
  sandals, jogging suits, shorts, jeans,
  sweatpants, sweatshirts, collarless T-shirts
• Please wear formal business attire to any
  meeting with customers outside the office.
• Visit the Human Resources website for the
  complete casual attire policy and additional
  examples.
• If you have questions, please call me on
  extension 243.

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Thank-you Notes

• Make it brief, specific, and thoughtful.
• Example
• I was pleasantly surprised to receive a
  certificate to your online music site in return
  for conducting your strategic planning seminar.
  Downloading music added some jazz to my day
  while giving me more insight into your business
  model. Thanks for your kindness and the useful
  gift.

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Appreciation/Congratulation Messages

• Send it in a timely manner.
• Avoid exaggerated language be honest and
  sincere.
• Refer to specific performance.
• This past week, I found myself applying the
  principles you discussed in your speech to the
  Lincoln Jaycees. When I completed the time
  analysis you suggested, I easily identified areas
  requiring more management focus. Prioritizing my
  daily activities will be a challenge, but now I
  see the need for it. Thanks for an informative
  and useful seminar.

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Routine Claims

• A routine claim for replacement, refund, exchange
  or monetary reimbursement where responsibility is
  obvious does not require a forceful or accusatory
  tone.
• Our company recently purchased your Audit
  Partner 7.0 software. The 6.2 version served us
  well and we were interested in the additional
  features offered by the upgrade. Unfortunately,
  the new edition does not work.
• Our computer technology group discovered several
  bugs, especially in the reporting modules. As
  the attached error logs show and your technical
  staff agrees these problems are inherent in the
  software.
• Please refund our money or provide a corrected
  program that we can distribute to our audit
  staff.
• Thank you.

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Favorable Response to Claim

• Reputable businesses build a reputation for
  standing behind their products by responding
  positively to legitimate customer claims.
• Your November 3d letter was referred to me for
  reply. Thank you for calling our attention to
  the problems you have encountered with Audit
  Partner 7.0. We have studied your error logs and
  agree that the software includes coding errors.
  We dont yet know how they slipped through our
  rigorous quality control procedures, but we will
  find out.
• Meanwhile, please accept our apology and a
  service pack to correct them. Please let us know
  if you encounter any other problems. We
  appreciate your prompt feedback. Thanks again
  for letting us know of this problem.
• Note this could provide the basis for a form
  letter with customized opening and closing
  personalized form letters can be useful in
  high-frequency situations

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Extending Credit

• Be careful of legal considerations under the
  Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).
• Applicant must be notified of decision within
  30 days of receipt of the application
• If granted, the credit terms (address for
  sending payments, due dates, interest rate,
  etc.) must be described.
• If credit extension is to underwrite an order,
  close with a genuine expression of desire to
  build a strong business relationship.

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Credit

• Most companies receive so many requests for
  credit, that form replies are the only recourse.
• Dear (Title) (last name)
• Worldwide Industries is pleased to extend credit
  privileges to you. Initially, you may purchase
  up to (credit limit) worth of merchandise. Our
  credit terms are (terms). We welcome you as a
  credit customer and look forward to serving your
  needs in the future.
• Customize them with personalized phrases to make
  them less obviously canned.

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Writing Instructions

• Use a separate line for each step.
• Number each step if order is important if not,
  use bullets.
• Begin each step with an action verb and use
  active not passive voice.
• If complex, include a flow chart visualizing the
  procedure.
• Before distributing, test the procedure by having
  someone carry it out.

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Example

• Requesting Computer Service
• Access http//www.drme.com/it/index and click the
  service option.
• Provide the requested information.
• Check your email for a service confirmation
  (typically within 24 hours).
• Complete normal shut-down procedures when you
  leave technicians will use their personal login
  procedure to complete service after normal
  business hours.
• Check your email for a service completion notice.
• Email us if the service was not completed to your
  satisfaction.
• Revised 3/21/08