ebc10e ch06-instructor ppt-final (2)

6

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. ©denphumi/ThinkStock

Instructor PowerPoint

1

Learning Objective

1

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Ch. 6 / Slide 2

Understand the channels through

which typical positive messages

travel in the digital era—

e-mails, memos, and business

letters— and explain how

business letters should be

formatted.


Positive Messages –Characteristics

Positive messages share the following traits:

1 Are routine and straightforward 2

Help workers conduct everyday business

3Make up the bulk of workplace communication

4 Require solid writing skills

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. © mostafa fawzy/Fotolia, © Marina Zlochin/Fotolia, © Dark Vectorangel/Fotolia, denis_pc/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 4

Channels Used for Positive Messages

E-mails Memos Letters

Social media networks

Blogs IM and text messages

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. © Marina Zlochin/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 5

Understanding Business Letters

• Are still the preferred channel for externalcommunication in certain situations

• Go to suppliers, government agencies, vendors, and customers

• Encourage feedback

• Project a favorable image of the organization

• Promote future business

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. © Marina Zlochin/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 6

Understanding Business Letters

Provide a permanent

record

Are confidential and formal

Accompanycontracts

Explain terms Share ideas

Negotiate agreements

Answer vendor

questions

Maintain customer relations

Learning Objective

2


Compose direct messages that

make requests, respond to

inquiries online and offline,

and deliver step-by-step

instructions.

Opening

• Ask the most important question first or express a polite command (Please answer the following questions).

• Avoid long explanations preceding the main idea.

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. © helen cingisiz/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 8

Writing Plan for Direct Requests

Body• Explain the request logically and

courteously.

• List questions in numbered or bulleted form.

• Use open-ended questions (What steps are necessary…) instead of yes-or-no questions (Will she complete her contractual obligation…).

• Suggest reader benefits, if possible.


Ch. 6 / Slide 9


Closing

• State specifically, and courteously, what action is to be taken.

• Mention an end date, if necessary. Provide logical reasoning for the end date.

• Make it easy for the receiver to respond.


Ch. 6 / Slide 10



Before Version of a Request E-Mail

To: Caitlin RobertsFrom: Patrick Banerjee

Subject: New Policy

This e-mail is to inform you that I continue to receive disturbing reports about the misuse of e-mail by employees. In the course of the past three months, I have heard of facebooking, tweeting, and gaming. Excessive use of e-mail including downloads of videos is sapping our bandwidth and slowing down the entire system.

In view of the foregoing, I am herewith instructing your office that an e-mail policy to the staff is needed. By October 1 a rough draft of a policy should be forthcoming. At the very minimum it should inform each and every employee that e-mail is for business only.

Employees must be told that we reserve the right to monitor all messages. No videos should be in the e-mail system without a valid reason. And we should not be using company Internet access for facebooking, tweeting, and gaming. No way!

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call.


After Version of a Request E-Mail

To: Caitlin RobertsFrom: Patrick Banerjee

Subject: Please Draft Employee E-mail Policy

Please draft a policy outlining appropriate e-mail use to employees.

We need a company e-mail policy because I have received reports of misuse including facebooking, tweeting, gaming, and video downloads. This misuse is sapping our bandwidth and slowing the system. Here are a few points that the policy should cover:

• E-mail is for business only. • Internet access should not be used for facebooking, tweeting,

shopping, and gaming.• Videos may be downloaded only for valid work-related purposes. • E-mail messages may be monitored.

Please submit a draft to me by October 1 because we hope to have a final policy completed by November 5. Call if you have questions.

Subject Line

• Summarize the main information from your reply. (A subject line is optional in letters.)

• Use abbreviated style omitting articles (a, an, the).

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. helen cingisiz/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 13

Writing Plan for E-Mail, Memo, and Letter Replies

Opening

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.helen cingisiz/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 14


• Start directly by responding to the request with a summary statement.

• Deliver the information that the reader wants.

• When announcing good news, do so promptly.

Body



• Explain the subject logically.

• Use lists, tables, headings, bold, or italics to add emphasis and improve readability.

• Promote your products and your organization to customers.


Closing

Ch. 6 / Slide 16


• Offer a concluding thought, perhaps referring to the information or action requested.

• Avoid cliché endings (If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to call).

• Be cordial.

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. © raven/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 17

Responding to Customers Online

• Vocal individuals can start a firestorm of criticism or become powerful brand ambassadorschampioning certain products they love.

• Companies must adopt strategies that help them decide when and in what ways to respond.

• Decision trees and diagrams guide employees in responding to online posts.

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. © raven/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 18

Responding to Customers Online

Be positive

Be transparent

Be honest

Be timely

Be helpful

Subject Line

• Summarize the content of the message.

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.© helen cingisiz/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 19

Writing Plan for Instruction Messages

Opening

• Expand the subject line by stating the main idea concisely in a full sentence.

Body


Ch. 6 / Slide 20


• Present the instructions in orderly steps.

• Arrange the items vertically with numbers.

• Begin each step with an action verb using the imperative mood (Sign and return the enclosed document).

Closing


Ch. 6 / Slide 21


• Request a specific action, summarize the message, or present a closing thought.

• Include a deadline and a reason, if appropriate.


Instruction Message

To: Staff MembersFrom: [email protected]

Subject: New Procedure for Submitting Travel Expenses

Effective immediately, please follow this procedure for submitting your travel expenses:

1. Retain detailed itemized receipts for expenses of $25 or more.2. Download the new Employee Expense Report form from our intranet.3. Prepare the report within 30 days of your trip. 4. Submit to your manager.

By following this streamlined reporting procedure, you should receive your reimbursement within 60 days of submission.

Karen WarnerHuman [email protected]

Learning Objective

3


Prepare contemporary

messages that make direct

claims and voice complaints,

including those posted

online.

• Describe clearly the desired action.

• State the remedy briefly when it is obvious (Please credit my Visa account).

• Request an explanation when the remedy is not obvious (Please explain your policy . . .).

Opening

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Iadam/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 24

Writing Plan for a Direct Claim

• Explain your claim.

• Tell why it is justified.

• Provide details describing the desired action.

Body


Ch. 6 / Slide 25


Closing


Ch. 6 / Slide 26


• End pleasantly with a goodwill statement.

• Include an end date and action request, if appropriate.

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. © denis_pc/Fotolia

Ch. 6 / Slide 27

Guidelines for Writing OnlineReviews and Complaints

Establish your credibility.

Check posting rules.

Provide balanced reviews.

Consider the Web’s permanence.

Embrace transparency.

Accept offers for help.

Refuse payment for favorable critiques.

Learning Objective

4


Create adjustment messages

that salvage customers’ trust

and promote further business.


Three Goals in Adjustment Messages

1

Rectifying the

wrong, if one

exists

2

Regaining the

confidence of

the customer

3

Promoting

further

business

Definition: When a company receives a

claim and decides to respond favorably, the

message is called an adjustment.

Subject Line (optional)


Ch. 6 / Slide 30

Writing Plan for Adjustment Messages

• Identify the previous correspondence and refer to the main topic.

• Grant the request or announce the adjustment immediately.

• Avoid sounding grudging or reluctant.

Opening

Body


Ch. 6 / Slide 31


• Provide details about how you are complying with the request.

• Try to regain the customer’s confidence.

• Explain how diligently your organization works to avoid disappointing customers.

• Apologize, if appropriate, but don’t admit negligence.

Body


Ch. 6 / Slide 32


• Don’t use negative words (trouble, regret, misunderstanding, fault, error).

• Avoid blaming customers–even when they may be at fault

• Don’t blame individuals or departments within your organization

• Avoid making unrealistic promises; you can’t guarantee that the situation will never recur.

Closing


Ch. 6 / Slide 33


• Express appreciation that the customer wrote.

• End positively with a forward-looking thought perhaps suggesting future business relations.

• Avoid referring to unpleasantness by mentioning again what went wrong.

Learning Objective

5


Write special messages

that convey kindness

and goodwill.


The Five Ss of Goodwill Messages

Bespontan-

eous

Keep itshort

Beselfless

Bespecific

Besincere


Ch. 6 / Slide 36

Saying Thank You

• Written notes expressing thanks are appreciated by their receivers.

• Thank-you notes are typically short messages written on notepaper.

• Businesspeople build goodwill by thanking others graciously.


Ch. 6 / Slide 37

Replying to Goodwill Messages

• Send a brief note expressing your appreciation.

• Tell how good the message made you feel.

• Accept praise graciously. Don’t make belittling statements. (I’m not really deserving of that).


Ch. 6 / Slide 38

Is E-mail Appropriate for Goodwill Messages?

• Depending on your relationship with the receiver, sending a goodwill message by e-mail is acceptable.

• An e-mail may precede a phone call or a handwritten message.

• Handwritten notes are most impressive because they remain and can be savored. E-mail is quickly forgotten.

ebc10e ch06-instructor ppt-final (2)

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