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7.1
Chapter 7
Writing Routine,
Good-News, and
Goodwill Messages
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.2
Chapter 7 Objectives
 Apply the three-step writing process to
routine positive messages.
 Illustrate the strategy for writing
effective routine requests.
 Discuss the differences between four
types of routine requests.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.3
Chapter 7 Objectives
continued
 Explain the main differences in
messages granting a claim.
 Understand the implications of writing a
recommendation letter that refers to a
candidate’s shortcomings.
 Clarify the importance of goodwill
messages.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.4
Routine Messages
 Most of a typical employee’s
communications are about routine matters:
 Orders
 Information
 Claims
 Credit
 Employees
 Products
 Operations
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
The Three-Step Writing Process
for Routine Messages
Step 1: Plan messages
Step 2: Write messages
Step 3: Complete messages
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.5
7.6
Step 1. Planning
 Begin planning by analyzing your purpose to
make sure that it
 Is specific
 Should indeed be sent
 Should be written (rather than using an oral
channel)
 Continue planning by investigating to learn
exactly what your audience needs to know:
 Do you have all the relevant information?
 Do you need to take a little time to gather
more?
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.7
Step 1. Planning
 Finish planning by adapting your message
to your readers:
 Select the medium most appropriate for
your readers.
 Establish a good relationship with your
readers.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.8
Step 2. Writing
 Organize routine messages simply:




The main idea is probably already pretty well
defined.
Stick to your main point by limiting the scope
of your messages.
As you cover relevant points, group them in
the most logical fashion.
The direct approach will probably be most
appropriate for routine messages (but be sure
to verify the customs of readers in different
cultures).
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.9
Step 3. Competing
 Complete routine messages by



Revising
Producing
Proofreading
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.10
Making Routine Requests
 You are making a request whenever you
ask for something:
 Information
 Action
 Products
 Adjustments
 References
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.11
Making Routine Requests
 A request is routine when
It’s part of the normal course of business
 You anticipate that your audience will want to
comply
 Routine requests have three parts:
 Opening (where you place your main request)
 Body (where you explain details and justify
your request)
 Close (where you request specific action and
conclude cordially)

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.12
Making Routine Requests
State your request
at the beginning.
Explain and justify
your request.
Courteously
request action.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.13
Routine Messages
 Many routine messages fall into major
categories, such as
 Placing orders
 Requesting information and action
 Making claims and requesting
adjustments
 Requesting recommendations and
references
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.14
Order Letters
 If you need to draft an order letter, follow the
same format as you would on an order blank:
 Open with the general request.
 Include in the body specific information about
the items you want (in column form, doublespaced, with totals at the end).
 Close by specifying your delivery address,
how the merchandise is to be shipped, and
how the amount was calculated.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
Requesting Information or
Action
 When requesting information or action,
follow the direct approach:
 Open with a clear statement of your
reason for writing.
 Provide in the body whatever
explanation is needed to justify your
request.
 Close with a specific account of what
you expect, including a deadline if
appropriate.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.15
7.16
Claims and Adjustments
 A claim is a formal complaint you make
when you’re dissatisfied with a product or
service.
 An adjustment is a claim settlement,
another way of requesting satisfaction.
 Claim letters are better than phone calls or
visits because they document your
dissatisfaction.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.17
Claims and Adjustments
 When making claims and requesting
adjustments, assume that a fair adjustment will
be made (especially in your first letter) and follow
the plan for direct requests:
 Open with a straightforward statement of the
problem.
 In the body, give a complete, specific
explanation of the details, providing any
information an adjuster might need to verify
your complaint.
 In the close, politely request specific action or
convey a sincere desire to find a solution, and
suggest that the business relationship will
continue if the problem is solved satisfactorily.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.18
Claims and Adjustments
 Because companies usually accept the
customer’s explanation of what’s wrong,
it’s important to
 Be entirely honest and ethical when filing
claims
 Back up your claim with any copies of
invoices, sales receipts, canceled
checks, dated correspondence, catalog
descriptions, and any other relevant
documents.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
Recommendations
and References
7.19
 Companies often have a legitimate need
to inquire about people.
 Before you use someone’s name as a
reference, ask that person’s permission.
 Assume that your reader will honor
your request.
 If you haven’t had recent contact, you
may need to talk to the person ahead of
time to refresh the acquaintance.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
Sending Routine Replies and
Positive Messages
 When sending routine replies and positive
messages, you have several goals:
 To communicate the good news
 To answer all questions
 To provide all required details
 To leave your reader with a good
impression of you and your firm
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.20
Sending Routine Replies and
Positive Messages
 Routine replies and positive messages



Have an opening, body, and close
Are generally of interest to readers
Usually use the direct approach
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.21
7.22
Sending Routine Replies
Main idea
Explanation and
relevant details
Courteous close
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.23
Types of Routine Replies
Granting requests for
information and action
Granting claims
and requests for adjustments
Providing recommendations
and references
Announcing good news
Sending goodwill
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.24
Answering Requests
 When you’re answering requests and a
potential sale is involved, your main goals
are to
 Respond to the inquiry and answer all
questions
 Leave your reader with a good
impression of you and your firm
 Encourage the future sale
 Claims and requests for adjustment are
opportunities to build customer loyalty.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.25
Answering a Complaint
 When you receive a complaint,




Assume that it’s an honest statement of
what happened
Investigate the problem to determine
what went wrong and why
Determine whether your company, your
customer, or a third party is at fault
Respond promptly
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.26
Answering a Complaint
 When your company is at fault,







Protect your company’s image
Try to regain the customer’s goodwill
Avoid blaming an individual or department
Avoid lame excuses
Avoid guaranteeing that the problem will never
occur again
Explain your company’s efforts to do a good
job
Imply that the error was an unusual incident
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.27
Answering a Complaint
 When the customer is at fault, you have two
options to choose from:
 Refuse the claim and attempt to justify your
refusal.
 Simply do what the customer asks.
 When the customer is at fault and you decide to
grant the claim,
 Open with the good news
 In the body, tactfully make the customer
understand that the merchandise was
mistreated
 Close on a positive note
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
When a Third
Party is at Fault
 Be sure you communicate to the
reader only what you have authority to
do.
 You have three options:
 Honor the claim
 Honor the claim but explain you
aren’t at fault
 Refer the claimant to the third party
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.28
7.29
Providing Recommendations
You should indicate the following:






Candidate’s full name
Job or benefit being sought
Nature of your relationship with candidate
Whether you’re responding to a request or
taking the initiative
Facts relevant to the position
Overall evaluation of candidate
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.30
Providing Recommendations
 You have an obligation to refer to any
shortcoming that is serious and related to
job performance.
 If you must refer to a shortcoming, avoid
libel by
 Sticking to the facts
 Avoiding value judgments
 Placing your criticism in the context of a
generally favorable recommendation
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.31
Good News
 When writing a letter to announce good
news about company products or
operations,
 Open by announcing the news
 Give details in the body
 Close with some resale information and
a confident prediction of a profitable
business relationship
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.32
Goodwill Messages
 Goodwill messages are friendly,
unexpected notes with no direct business
purpose.
 Back up any compliments with specific
examples to
 Appear sincere
 Appear honest
 Appear interested in the reader rather
than in personal gain
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.33
Goodwill Messages
 Another opportunity for sending a good will
message is to show your appreciation (for a job
well done, for much needed support, and so
forth) by recognizing the contributions of
employees, colleagues, suppliers, and other
associates.
 Your message of appreciation
 Makes the person feel good and encourages
further excellence
 May become an important part of someone’s
personnel file
 Must specifically mention the person or people
you want to praise
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.34
Condolences
 When writing condolences,



Open with a brief statement of sympathy
In the body, mention the loved one’s
good qualities or positive contributions,
or state what the person or business
meant to you
Close by offering your best wishes
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.35
Condolences
 Remember the following general suggestions
when writing condolences:
 Keep reminiscences brief.
 Write in your own words.
 Be tactful.
 Take special care to be accurate, correct, and
prompt.
 Write about special qualities of the deceased.
 Write about special qualities of the bereaved
person.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
Let’s
Discuss
Test Your
Knowledge
 Should you use the direct or indirect
approach for routine messages? Why?
 Where in a routine message should you
state your actual request?
 How does the question of fault affect
what you say in a message granting a
claim?
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
7.36
Let’s
Discuss
Test Your
Knowledge
7.37
continued
 What is the appropriate strategy for
responding to a request for a
recommendation about a job candidate
whose performance was poor?
 When is a request routine?
 What are some of the guidelines for
asking a series of questions in a routine
request?
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
Let’s
Discuss
Test Your
Knowledge
7.38
continued
 What information should be included in
an order request?
 How does a claim differ from an
adjustment?
 How can you avoid sounding insincere
when writing a goodwill message?
 What are some of the guidelines for
writing condolence messages?
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall