Writing Letters

Writing Letters
Types of Letters
Four common types of business
correspondence:
1. Inquiry letters
2. Special request letters
3. Sales letters
4. Customer relations letters
Inquiry Letters
 Inquiry letters ask for information
about a product, service, publication,
or procedure.
 Be sure to supply appropriate stock
and model numbers, pertinent page
numbers, or exact descriptions.
Inquiry Letters
Vague:
Please send me some information on living accommodations in Roanoke.
My family and I plan on moving there soon.
Does this person want to rent or buy?
What size space is he or she looking for?
By what date will the family need to move in?
How much can he or she afford?
What area of Roanoke?
Exact description:
Please let me know if you have any two-bedroom furnished apartments
available for rent during the months of June, July, and August. I am willing
to pay up to $650 a month plus utilities. If possible, I would like to have an
apartment within two or three miles of Virginia Western Community
College.
Special Request Letters
1. Make sure you address your letter to the right
person.
2. State who you are and why you are writing.
3. Indicate clearly your reason for requesting the
information.
 Mention any individuals who may have referred you
to write for help and information.
4. State precisely and succinctly the questions you
want answered.
 List, number, and separate the questions.
Special Request Letters
(continued)
5. Specify exactly when you need the information
and allow sufficient time.
6. Offer to forward a copy of your report, paper, or
survey in gratitude for the help you were given.
7. If you want to reprint or publish the materials you
asked for, indicate that you will secure whatever
permissions are necessary.
 State that you will keep the information confidential,
if that is appropriate.
8. Thank the reader for helping.
Sales Letters:
Some Preliminary Guidelines
1.
Identify and limit your audience.

Are you writing to one person or a thousand people?

What do you know about your audience?
2.
Use reader psychology (including a strong “you”
attitude).
3.
Don't boast or bore.
4.
Use concrete and specific words that appeal to the
readers’ senses.
5.
Be ethical; honesty is the best way to make a
sale.
The Four A’s of Sales Letters
 A good sales letter gets the reader’s
attention.
 It highlights the product's appeal.
 It shows the customer the product’s
application.
 It ends with a specific request for
action.
Sales Letters:
Getting the Reader’s Attention
1. Ask a question.
2. Use a “how to” statement.
3. Compliment your reader.
4. Offer a gift.
5. Introduce a comparison.
6. Announce a change.
Sales Letters:
Highlighting the Product’s Appeal
 Once you have roused the reader’s
attention, introduce your product or
service.
 Make it so attractive, so necessary,
and so profitable that the reader will
want to buy or use the product or
service. (Appeal to the reader’s
intellect or emotions or both.)
Sales Letters:
Showing the Product’s Application
 Supply the right evidence.
 Descriptions
 Special features
 Testimonials
 Guarantees, warranties, services, or special
considerations
 To mention costs or not mention costs
 You may be obligated to mention costs.
 Postpone them until the reader has been shown
how appealing and valuable your product is.
Sales Letters: Ending with a Specific
Request for Action
 Tell readers exactly what you want them
to do and by when.
 Make it easy for them to
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Send for a brochure
Come into your store or business
Take a test drive
Participate in a meeting
Fill out a pledge card
Respond via the Internet
Sign an order form
Fill out an enclosed stamped envelope
Customer Relations Letters
 These letters deal explicitly with
establishing and maintaining friendly
work relations.
 They may send readers
 Good news
 Bad news
 Acceptances
 Refusals
Planning Your
Customer Relations Letters
 Determine what to say and how to say it.
 Do some preliminary planning.
 Outline for a few minutes to find your ideas.
 In the process of drafting and revising your
letter, consider how your reader will react
to the words you use.
 Your choice of words will determine the success or
failure of your letter.
A Good News Message:
The Direct Approach
 Start your letter with the good news
(the news the reader wants to hear).
 Don’t postpone the opportunity to put
your reader in the right frame of mind.
 After you state the good news,
provide any relevant supporting
details, explanations, or commentary.
A Bad News Message:
The Indirect Approach
 Start your letter with pleasant,
positive words designed to put your
reader in a good frame of mind.
 Attempt to find areas of agreement or
goodwill between you and the reader,
despite the bad news.
 Explain the situation thoroughly.
 Give the bad news.
 End on a positive and upbeat note.
Types of Customer Relations Letters:
Follow-Up Letters
 A follow-up letter is a combination thank
you note and sales letter.
1. Begin with a brief and sincere expression of
gratitude.
2. Discuss the benefits (advantages) already
known to the customer and then transfer the
company’s dedication to the customer from the
product or service to a new or continuing sales
area.
3. End with a specific request for future business.
Types of Customer Relations Letters:
Complaint Letters
 In the world of business, you do not want to
burn bridges by sending a nasty letter.
 The key thing to remember is that you can
disagree without being disagreeable.
 Avoid the following
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Name calling, sarcasm, insults, or threats
Expressions of outright anger
Unflattering clip art
Intimidating type fonts (e.g., all capital letters)
Establishing the Right Tone in
Complaint Letters
 A complaint letter is written because you
want some specific action taken.
 By adopting the right tone, you increase your
chances of getting what you want.
 Register your complaint courteously and
tolerantly.
 The “you attitude” is especially important in
complaint letters to maintain the reader’s goodwill.
 If you maintain goodwill, the reader is more willing
to address your complaint effectively.
Types of Customer Relations Letters:
Adjustment Letters
 Adjustment letters respond to
complaint letters by telling customers
dissatisfied with a product or service
how their claim will be settled.
 An adjustment letter should reconcile the
differences that exist between a customer
and a firm and restore the customer’s
confidence in that firm.
 An effective adjustment letter requires
diplomacy.
Guidelines for
Adjustment Letters
 When you comply with a request:
 Do not use a begrudging tone.
 This attitude will destroy the goodwill that
your refund or replacement would have
created
 Do not overdo an apology by agreeing
that the company is completely at fault.
 If you make your company look too bad, you
risk losing the customer completely.
Adjustment Letters:
Writing a “Yes” Letter
1. Admit immediately that the
customer’s complaint is justified and
apologize.
2. State precisely what you are going to
do to correct the problem.
3. Tell customers exactly what
happened.
4. End on a friendly—and positive—note.
Adjustment Letters:
Writing a “No” Letter
 Of course, saying no is more difficult
than saying yes.
 You must convince the reader that
your position is fair, logical, and
consistent.
 What NOT to say:
 Don’t accuse or argue.
 Avoid remarks that blame, scold, or
remind customers of wrongdoing.
Adjustment Letters:
How to Say “No” Diplomatically
1. Thank customers for writing.
 Do NOT begin with the refusal.
2. State the problem so the customer
realizes that you understand the
complaint.
 It is important to demonstrate that you
are not trying to distort or misrepresent
the customer’s story.
Adjustment Letters:
How to Say “No” Diplomatically
3. Explain what happened with the
product or service before you give the
customer a decision.
 Provide a factual explanation to show the
customer that he or she is being treated
fairly.
Adjustment Letters:
How to Say “No” Diplomatically
4. Give your decision without hedging.

Indecision will infuriate customers.

Don’t apologize for your decision. You
should demonstrate in your letter how
the decision is valid and logical.
5. Do what you can to leave the door
open for better and continued
business.
Sending Letter-Quality Messages:
Final Advice to Seal Your Success
 Identify your reader.
 Determine your purpose for writing.
 Determine reader’s reason for writing.
 Organize information.
 Include essential information.
 Use the right style and tone.
 Test your overall goal.