ENG201 Final Term Highlighted Handouts

LESSON 19 · WRITING ROUTINE, GOOD-NEWS AND GOODWILL MESSAGES · Outline

Organizing Positive Messages

1. Clear Statement of the Main Idea
2. Necessary Details
3. Courteous Close

•  Writing Positive Replies Acknowledging Orders

1. When a Potential Sale is Involved
2. When No Potential Sale is Involved
3. Approving Credit
4. Credit References

Organizing Positive Messages

Whether written or oral, positive messages begin with a clear statement of the main idea, clarify any necessary details and end with a courteous close.

a. Clear Statement of the Main Idea

Almost all business communication has two basic purposes:

•  To convey information
•  To produce in the audience a favorable (or at least accepting) attitude or response

The main idea is the single most important idea, concisely stated. For example:

b. Necessary Details

Your reason for communicating can usually be expressed in a sentence or two, but you will need more spaces or time to explain your point completely so that your audience will have no confusion or lingering doubt. Necessary details:

•  Satisfy reader's information needs

Write this

You’ve been selected to join our firm as a staff accountant, starting from March 20.

Instead of this

I am pleased to inform you that after deliberating the matter carefully, our personnel committee has recommended you for appointment as a staff accountant.

Reinforce positive tone

1. Courteous Close

Your message is most likely to succeed if your audience is left with the feeling that you have their personal welfare in mind.

Courteous close:

•  Summarizes main point

Writing Positive Replies for Acknowledging Orders

Acknowledgements are appropriate for large orders, first orders, and orders that cannot be filled right away. Acknowledgement letters are sent to a customer confirming the receipt of an order, payment, or inquiry. It is frequently used in response to credit orders to encourage fast payment or to offer an opportunity to increase the order.

To reply requests for information and action, you need to consider that person's opinion of your company, your products, your department, and you yourself will be influenced by how promptly, graciously, and thoroughly the request is handled. There are two types of requests for information and action: a. Requests from potential customers Requests that do not involve a potential sale

a. When a Potential Sale is Involved

While answering requests that involved a potential sale, there are three main goals:

•  To respond to the inquiry and answer all questions
•  To encourage the future sale

To leave your reader with a good impression of you and your firm

1. When No Potential Sale is Involved

There are two essential goals when no sale is involved:

•  Responding to the request
•  Leaving a favorable impression of your company or fostering a good working relationship

You can build customer loyalty by responding favorably to routine claims. Favorable responses to routine claims are known as adjustments. The following sequence is recommended while giving a favorable response to a claim:

•  Reveal the good news in the first sentence of the letter
•  Explain the various circumstances under which the action has been taken
•  Don’t blame an individual or a specific department
•  Avoid lame excuses such as “Nobody’s perfect” or “Mistakes will happen”
•  End the letter on a pleasant note
•  Highlights reader’s benefit
•  Emphasize positive aspects of disappointing news
•  Indicates what should happen next

Handling routine credit requests is important because consumers often carry a wallet full of plastic credit cards, and business of all sizes operates more smoothly because they can pay for their purchases over time. There are two types of positive responses to routine credit requests:

•  Approving Credit
•  Credit References

Approving Credit

Credit approvals mark the beginning of a business relationship with a customer, so the goal is to convey the necessary information while building good will. To approve the credit request use the direct approach:

•  Open with good news that credit has been approved.
•  Explain credit arrangements using a positive tone.
•  Close by emphasizing the benefits of doing business with the firm (resale information and sales promotion).

Credit References

that can provide details about an individual's past track record with credit. Credit references are generally used to determine the credit worthiness of a person or individual. For example, if an applicant's credit history indicates proper, timely payments on all outstanding obligations, a lender may judge it more likely that the applicant will make timely payments on the requested loan. A credit reference is the information, the name of an individual, or the name of an organization