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7 Writing Routine and Positive Messages

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter, you will be able to

1. Outline an effective strategy for writing routine business requests

2. Describe three common types of routine requests

3. Outline an effective strategy for writing routine replies and positive messages

4. Describe six common types of routine replies and positive messages

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Communication Matters . . .

“To succeed, I don’t need to be Shakespeare; I must, though, have a sincere desire to inform.”

—Warren Buffett, legendary investor and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett’s financial acumen has made him and many of his shareholders wealthy, but he is recognized almost as widely for his communication skills. His letters, essays, and annual reports communicate complex financial topics in simple language his readers can easily understand. His approach is simple: Even for a document that will be read by thousands of people, he visualizes a single person (often one of his sisters) as his audience. He treats this audience member as an intelligent human being, but as someone who doesn’t have the same level of experience with the subject matter he has. From there, he proceeds to organize and write his messages in a way that clarifies all the essential information and doesn’t try to impress or obscure with complicated language. 1  Whether you’re posting a status update on a team blog or producing a report for an audience of thousands, Buffett’s approach is a great example to follow.

Warren Buffett often deals with complex financial issues in his line of business, but he has cultivated the ability to express even complicated subjects in clear, simple language that seeks to inform rather than to impress.

Louis Lanzano/Associated Press

Strategy for Routine Requests

Much of your daily business communication will involve routine and positive messages, including routine requests for information or action, replies on routine business matters, and positive messages such as good-news announcements and goodwill messages, from product operation hints and technical support to refunds and ordering glitches. These messages are the focus of this chapter.  Chapter 8  covers messages in which you convey negative information, and  Chapter 9  addresses persuasive messages.

Making requests is a routine part of business. In most cases, your audience will be prepared to comply, as long as you’re not being unreasonable or asking people to do something they would expect you to do yourself. By applying a clear strategy and tailoring your approach to each situation, you’ll be able to generate effective requests quickly.

For routine requests and positive messages,

· State the request or main idea

· Give necessary details

· Close with a cordial request for specific action

Like all other business messages, routine requests have three parts: an opening, a body, and a close. Using the direct approach, open with your main idea, which is a clear statement of your request. Use the body to give details and justify your request, then close by requesting specific action.

Stating Your Request Up Front

Take care that your direct approach doesn’t come across as abrupt or tactless.

With routine requests, you can make your request at the beginning of the message. Of course, getting right to the point should not be interpreted as license to be abrupt or tactless:

· Pay attention to tone. Instead of demanding action (“Send me the latest version of the budget spreadsheet”), show respect by using words such as please and I would appreciate.

· Assume that your audience will comply. Because the request is routine, you can generally assume that your readers will comply when they clearly understand the reason for your request.

· Be specific. State precisely what you want. For example, if you request the latest market data from your research department, be sure to say whether you want a 1-page summary or 100 pages of raw data.

Explaining and Justifying Your Request

If you have multiple requests or questions, start with the most important one.

Use the body of your message to explain your request, as needed. Make the explanation a smooth and logical outgrowth of your opening remarks. If complying with the request could benefit the reader, be sure to mention that. If you have multiple requests or questions, ask the most important questions first and deal with only one topic per question. If you have an unusual or complex request, break it down into specific, individual questions so that the reader can address each one separately. This consideration not only shows respect for your audience’s time but also gets you a more accurate answer in less time.

Requesting Specific Action in a Courteous Close

Close request messages with

· A request for some specific action

· Information about how you can be reached

· An expression of appreciation

Close your message with three important elements: (1) a specific request that includes any relevant deadlines, (2) information about how you can be reached (if it isn’t obvious), and (3) an expression of appreciation or goodwill; for example: “Please send the figures by April 5 so that I can return first-quarter results to you before the April 15 board meeting. I appreciate your help.” Conclude your message with a sincere thanks. However, don’t thank the reader “in advance” for cooperating; many people find that presumptuous.

8 Writing Negative Messages

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter, you will be able to

1. Apply the three-step writing process to negative messages

2. Explain how to use the direct approach effectively when conveying negative news

3. Explain how to use the indirect approach effectively when conveying negative news, and explain how to avoid ethical problems when using this approach

4. Describe successful strategies for sending negative messages on routine business matters

5. Describe successful strategies for sending negative employment-related messages

6. List the important points to consider when conveying negative organizational news

7. Describe an effective strategy for responding to negative information in a social media environment

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Communication Matters . . .

“You know what [consumers] hate most? A cover-up. They understand that we all goof-up now and then, but they expect us to fess-up immediately and do right by those who may have been misled or injured as a result of the error.” 1

—W. T. “Bill” McKibben, senior counsel, The Great Lakes Group

From network hacker attacks to product safety failures, business leaders must sometimes face the need to communicate unwelcome information to consumers and other interested parties. As communication ethics advisor Bill McKibben emphasizes, playing it straight with those who have been affected is essential to repairing business relationships. Sharing unwelcome news is never pleasant, but learning how to do it with sensitivity and honesty will make the task easier for you as a writer and the experience less traumatic for the recipients of your messages.

According to communication ethics specialist Bill McKibben, consumers demand ethical responses from companies that make mistakes, and that commitment to ethics must be reflected in external communication efforts. General Motors (GM), for example, was criticized for not disclosing long-running safety issues with ignition switches until an outsider investigator uncovered the problem.

Linda Parton/Alamy

Using the Three-Step Writing Process for Negative Messages

Five goals of negative messages:

· Give the bad news

· Encourage its acceptance

· Maintain the reader’s goodwill

· Maintain the organization’s good image

· Manage the volume of future correspondence on the matter

1 LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Apply the three-step writing process to negative messages.

Delivering negative information is never enjoyable, but with some helpful guidelines, you can craft messages that minimize negative reactions. When you need to deliver bad news, you have five goals: (1) to convey the bad news, (2) to gain acceptance for it, (3) to maintain as much goodwill as possible with your audience, (4) to maintain a good image for your organization, and (5) if appropriate, to reduce or eliminate the need for future correspondence on the matter. Accomplishing all five goals requires careful attention to planning, writing, and completing your message.

Step 1: Planning Negative Messages

Careful planning is necessary to avoid alienating your readers.

When you need to convey negative news, you can’t avoid the fact that your audience does not want to hear what you have to say. To minimize the damage to business relationships and to encourage the acceptance of your message, plan carefully. With a clear purpose and your audience’s needs in mind, gather the information your audience will need in order to understand and accept your message.

Choose the medium with care when preparing negative messages.

Selecting the right combination of medium and channel is critical. For instance, experts advise that bad news for employees be delivered in person whenever possible, both to show respect for the employees and to give them an opportunity to ask questions. However, and an increasing number of managers appear to be using email and other digital media to convey negative messages to employees. 2

The appropriate message organization helps readers accept your negative news.

Figure 8.1 Comparing the Direct and Indirect Approaches for Negative Messages

The direct and indirect approaches differ in two important ways: the position of the bad news within the sequence of message points and the use of a buffer in the indirect approach. (“Using the Indirect Approach for Negative Messages” on page  187  explains the use of a buffer.) Both these messages deal with changes made in response to negative financial developments, but the second example represents a much higher emotional impact for readers, so the indirect approach is called for in that case.  Figure 8.2  explains how to choose the right approach for each situation.

Finally, the organization of a negative message requires particular care. One of the most critical planning decisions is choosing whether to use the direct or indirect approach (see  Figure 8.1 ). A negative message using the direct approach opens with the bad news, proceeds to the reasons for the situation or decision, offers any additional information that may help the audience, and ends with a positive statement aimed at maintaining a good relationship with the audience. In contrast, the indirect approach opens with a buffer (see page  187 ), then builds up the reasons behind the bad news before presenting the bad news itself.

To help decide which approach to take in a particular situation, ask yourself the following questions:

Use the direct approach when your negative answer or information will have minimal personal impact; consider the indirect approach for more serious matters.

· Do you need to get the reader’s attention immediately? If the situation is an emergency, or if someone has ignored repeated messages, the direct approach can help you get attention quickly.

· Does the recipient prefer a direct style of communication? Some recipients prefer the direct approach no matter what, so if you know this, go with direct.

· How important is this news to the reader? For minor or routine scenarios, the direct approach is nearly always best. However, if the reader has an emotional investment in the situation or the consequences to the reader are considerable, the indirect approach is often better, particularly if the bad news is unexpected.

· Will the bad news come as a shock? The direct approach is fine for many business situations in which people understand the possibility of receiving bad news. However, if the bad news might come as a shock to readers, use the indirect approach to help them prepare for it.

Figure 8.2  offers a convenient decision tree to help you decide which approach to use.

Figure 8.2 Choosing the Direct or Indirect Approach

Following this decision tree will help you decide whether the direct or indirect approach is better in a given situation. Of course, use your best judgment as well. Your relationship with the audience could affect your choice of approaches, for example.

Step 2: Writing Negative Messages

By writing clearly and sensitively, you can take some of the sting out of bad news and help your reader accept the decision and move on. If your credibility hasn’t already been established with an audience, clarify your qualifications so recipients won’t question your authority or ability.

Choose your language carefully; it is possible to deliver negative news without being negative.

TABLE 8.1 Choosing Positive Words

Examples of Negative Phrasings	Positive Alternatives
Your request doesn’t make any sense.	Please clarify your request.
The damage won’t be fixed for a week.	The item will be repaired next week.
Although it wasn’t our fault, there will be an unavoidable delay in your order.	We will process your order as soon as we receive an aluminum shipment from our supplier, which we expect within 10 days.
You are clearly dissatisfied.	I recognize that the product did not live up to your expectations.
I was shocked to learn that you’re unhappy.	Thank you for sharing your concerns about your shopping experience.
The enclosed statement is wrong.	Please verify the enclosed statement and provide a correct copy.

When you use language that conveys respect and avoids an accusing tone, you protect your audience’s pride. This kind of communication etiquette is always important, but it demands special care with negative messages. Moreover, you can ease the sense of disappointment by using positive words rather than negative, counterproductive ones (see  Table 8.1 ).

Step 3: Completing Negative Messages

The need for careful attention to detail continues as you complete your message. Revise your content to make sure everything is clear, complete, and concise—bearing in mind that even small flaws are likely to be magnified in readers’ minds as they react to the negative news. Produce clean, professional documents and proofread carefully to eliminate mistakes. Finally, be sure to deliver messages promptly; withholding or delaying bad news can be unethical, even illegal.

Using the Direct Approach for Negative Messages

2 LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Explain how to use the direct approach effectively when conveying negative news.

A negative message using the direct approach opens with the bad news, proceeds to the reasons for the situation or decision, and ends with a positive statement aimed at maintaining a good relationship with the audience. Depending on the circumstances, the message may also offer alternatives or a plan of action to fix the situation under discussion. Stating the bad news at the beginning can have two advantages: (1) It makes a shorter message possible, and (2) it allows the audience to reach the main idea of the message in less time.

Opening with a Clear Statement of the Bad News

If you’ve chosen the direct approach to convey bad news, use the introductory paragraph of your message to share that information. To avoid being overly blunt, you can open with a neutral or positive statement that establishes common ground with the reader, then transition into the news. If necessary, remind the reader why you’re writing.

Providing Reasons and Additional Information

The amount of detail you provide depends on your relationship with the audience.

In most cases, follow the direct opening with an explanation of why the news is negative. The extent of your explanation depends on the nature of the news and your relationship with the reader. For example, if you want to preserve a long-standing relationship with an important customer, a detailed explanation could well be worth the extra effort such a message would require.

However, you will encounter some situations in which explaining negative news is neither appropriate nor helpful, such as when the reasons are confidential, excessively complicated, or irrelevant to the reader.

The decision whether to apologize depends on a number of factors; if you do apologize, be sincere.

Should you apologize when delivering bad news? The answer isn’t quite as simple as one might think, partly because the notion of apology is hard to pin down. To some people, it simply means an expression of sympathy that something negative has happened to another person. At the other extreme, it means admitting fault and taking responsibility for specific compensations or corrections to atone for the mistake.

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Some experts contend that a company should never apologize, even when it knows it has made a mistake, as the apology might be taken as a confession of guilt that could be used against the company in a lawsuit. However, several states have laws that specifically prevent expressions of sympathy from being used as evidence of legal liability. In fact, judges, juries, and plaintiffs tend to be more forgiving of companies that express sympathy for wronged parties; moreover, an apology can help repair a company’s reputation. Recently, some prosecutors have begun pressing executives to publicly admit guilt and apologize as part of the settlement of criminal cases—unlike the common tactic of paying fines but refusing to admit any wrongdoing. 3

The best general advice in the event of a mistake or accident is to express sympathy immediately and sincerely and offer help, if appropriate, without admitting guilt; then seek the advice of your company’s lawyers before elaborating. A straightforward, sincere apology can go a long way toward healing wounds and rebuilding relationships. As one report on the issue concluded, “The risks of making an apology are low, and the potential reward is high.” 4

If you do apologize, make it a real apology. Don’t say “I’m sorry if anyone was offended” by what you did—this statement implies that you’re not sorry at all and that it’s the other party’s fault for being offended. 5  For example, when Target’s information systems were infiltrated in a hacking attack that exposed the personal data of tens of millions of customers, the CEO’s apology to customers included the statement, “I know this breach has had a real impact on you, creating a great deal of confusion and frustration.” 6  Note that he did not say, “if this breach caused you any confusion or frustration.”

Recognize that you can express sympathy with someone’s plight without suggesting that you are to blame. For example, if a business customer damaged a product through misuse and suffered a financial loss as a result of not being able to use the product, you can say something along the lines of “I’m sorry to hear of your difficulties.” This demonstrates sensitivity without accepting blame.

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Closing on a Respectful Note

Close your message on a respectful note, being as positive as you can be without being insincere.

After you’ve explained the negative news, close the message in a manner that respects the impact the negative news is likely to have on the recipient. If appropriate, consider offering your readers an alternative solution if you can and if doing so is a good use of your time. Look for opportunities to include positive statements, but avoid creating false hopes or writing in a way that seems to suggest that something negative didn’t happen to the recipient. Ending on a false positive can leave readers feeling “disrespected, disregarded, or deceived.” 7

Using the Indirect Approach for Negative Messages

3 LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Explain how to use the indirect approach effectively when conveying negative news, and explain how to avoid ethical problems when using this approach.

As noted earlier, the indirect approach helps readers prepare for the bad news by outlining the reasons for the situation before presenting the bad news itself. However, the indirect approach is not meant to obscure bad news, delay it, or limit your responsibility. The purpose of this approach is to ease the blow and help readers accept the news. When done poorly, the indirect approach can be disrespectful and even unethical. But when done well, it is a good example of audience-oriented communication crafted with attention to both ethics and etiquette. Showing consideration for the feelings of others is never dishonest.

Use the indirect approach when some preliminary discussion will help your audience accept your bad news.

Opening with a Buffer

A buffer gives you the opportunity to start the communication process without jumping immediately into the bad news.

Messages using the indirect approach open with a buffer, a neutral, noncontroversial statement that is closely related to the point of the message but doesn’t convey the bad news. Depending on the circumstances, a good buffer can express your appreciation for being considered, assure the reader of your attention to the request, indicate your understanding of the reader’s needs, introduce the general subject matter, or simply establish common ground with your reader. A good buffer also needs to be relevant and sincere. In contrast, a poorly written buffer might trivialize the reader’s concerns, divert attention from the problem with insincere flattery or irrelevant material, or mislead the reader into thinking your message actually contains good news.

Consider these possible responses to a manager of the order-fulfillment department who requested some temporary staffing help from your department (a request you won’t be able to fulfill):

Poorly written buffers mislead or insult the reader.

· Our department shares your goal of processing orders quickly and efficiently.

· As a result of the last downsizing, every department in the company is running shorthanded.

· You folks are doing a great job over there, and I’d love to be able to help out.

· Those new state labor regulations are driving me crazy over here; how about in your department?

Only the first of these buffers can be considered effective; the other three are likely to damage your relationship with the other manager.  Table 8.2  provides several types of effective buffers you can use to open a negative message tactfully.

TABLE 8.2 Types of Buffers

Buffer Type	Strategy	Example
Agreement	Find a point on which you and the reader share similar views.	We both know how hard it is to make a profit in this industry.
Appreciation	Express sincere thanks for receiving something.	Your check for $127.17 arrived yesterday. Thank you.
Cooperation	Convey your willingness to help in any way you realistically can.	Employee Services is here to assist all associates with their health insurance, retirement planning, and continuing education needs.
Fairness	Assure the reader that you’ve closely examined and carefully considered the problem, or mention an appropriate action that has already been taken.	For the past week, we have had our bandwidth monitoring tools running around the clock to track your actual upload and download speeds.
Good news	Start with the part of your message that is favorable.	We have credited your account in the amount of $14.95 to cover the cost of return shipping.
Praise	Find an attribute or an achievement to compliment.	The Stratford Group clearly has an impressive record of accomplishment in helping clients resolve financial reporting problems.
Resale	Favorably discuss the product or company related to the subject of the letter.	With their heavy-duty, full-suspension hardware and fine veneers, the desks and file cabinets in our Montclair line have long been popular with value-conscious professionals.
Understanding	Demonstrate that you understand the reader’s goals and needs.	So that you can more easily find the printer with the features you need, we are enclosing a brochure that describes all the Epson printers currently available.

Providing Reasons and Additional Information

Build your reasoning in a way that signals the negative news ahead.

An effective buffer serves as a transition to the next part of your message, in which you build up the explanations and information that will culminate in your negative news. An ideal explanation section leads readers to your conclusion before you come right out and say it. The reader has followed your line of reasoning and is ready for the answer. By giving your reasons effectively, you help maintain focus on the issues at hand and defuse the emotions that always accompany significantly bad news. An effective way to do this is to start with positive or neutral points and move through progressively negative points. Provide enough detail for the audience to understand your reasons but be concise.

Whenever possible, don’t use “company policy” as the reason for the bad news.

Avoid hiding behind company policy to cushion your bad news. If you say, “Company policy forbids our hiring anyone who does not have two years’ supervisory experience,” you imply that you won’t consider anyone on his or her individual merits. Skilled and sympathetic communicators explain company policy (without referring to it as “policy”) so that the audience can try to meet the requirements at a later time. Consider this response to an employee:

Well-written reasons are

· Detailed

· Tactful

· Personalized

· Unapologetic if the writer is not at fault

· As positive as possible

Because these management positions are quite challenging, the human relations department has researched the qualifications needed to succeed in them. The findings show that the two most important qualifications are a bachelor’s degree in business administration and two years’ supervisory experience.

This paragraph does a good job of stating reasons for the refusal:

· It provides enough detail to logically support the refusal.

· It implies that the applicant is better off avoiding a position in which he or she might fail.

· It doesn’t apologize for the decision because no one is at fault.

· It avoids negative personal statements (such as “You do not meet our requirements”).

Even valid, well-thought-out reasons won’t convince every reader in every situation, but if you’ve done a good job of laying out your reasoning, then you’ve done everything you can to prepare the reader for the main idea, which is the negative news itself.

Continuing with a Clear Statement of the Bad News

To convey bad news carefully

· Deemphasize the bad news visually and grammatically

· Use a conditional statement if appropriate

· Tell what you did do, not what you didn’t do

After you’ve thoughtfully and logically established your reasons and readers are prepared to receive the bad news, you can use three techniques to convey the negative information as clearly and as kindly as possible. First, make sure you don’t overemphasize the bad news:

· Minimize the space or time devoted to the bad news—without trivializing it or withholding important information. In other words, don’t repeat it or belabor it.

· Subordinate bad news within a complex or compound sentence (“My department is already shorthanded, so I’ll need all my staff for at least the next two months”).

· Embed bad news in the middle of a paragraph or use parenthetical expressions (“Our profits, which are down, are only part of the picture”).

However, keep in mind that it’s possible to abuse this notion of deemphasizing bad news. For instance, if the primary point of your message is that profits are down, it would be inappropriate to marginalize that news by burying it in the middle of a sentence. State the negative news clearly, and then make a smooth transition to any positive news that might balance the story.

Second, if appropriate, use a conditional (if or when) statement to imply that the audience could have received, or might someday receive, a favorable answer under different circumstances (“When you have more managerial experience, you are welcome to apply for any openings that we may have in the future”). Such a statement could motivate applicants to improve their qualifications. However, you must avoid any suggestion that you might reverse the decision you’ve just made or any phrasing that could give a rejected applicant false hope.

Don’t disguise the bad news when you emphasize the positive.

Third, emphasize what you can do or have done rather than what you cannot do. Also, by implying the bad news, you may not need to actually state it, thereby making the bad news less personal (“Our development budget for next year is fully committed to our existing slate of projects”). However, make sure your audience understands the entire message—including the bad news. If an implied message might lead to uncertainty, state your decision in direct terms. Just be sure to avoid overly blunt statements that are likely to cause pain and anger:

Instead of This	Write This
I must refuse your request.	I will be out of town on the day you need me.
We must deny your application.	The position has been filled.
I am unable to grant your request.	Contact us again when you have established . . .
We cannot afford to continue the program.	The program will conclude on May 1.
Much as I would like to attend . . .	Our budget meeting ends too late for me to attend.
We must turn down your extension request.	Please send in your payment by June 14.

Closing on a Respectful Note

As in the direct approach, the close in the indirect approach offers an opportunity to emphasize your respect for your audience, even though you’ve just delivered unpleasant news. Express best wishes without ending on a falsely upbeat note. If you can find a positive angle that’s meaningful to your audience, by all means consider adding it to your conclusion. However, don’t try to pretend that the negative news didn’t happen or that it won’t affect the reader. Suggest alternative solutions if such information is available and doing so is a good use of your time. If you’ve asked readers to decide between alternatives or to take some action, make sure that they know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Whatever type of conclusion you use, follow these guidelines:

A respectful close

· Builds goodwill

· Offers a suggestion for action

· Provides a look toward the future

· Is sincere

· Avoid an uncertain conclusion. If the situation or decision is final, avoid statements such as “I trust our decision is satisfactory,” which imply that the matter is open to discussion or negotiation.

· Manage future correspondence. Encourage additional communication only if you’re willing to discuss your decision further. If you’re not, avoid wording such as “If you have further questions, please write.”

· Express optimism, if appropriate. If the situation might improve in the future, share that with your readers if it’s relevant. However, don’t suggest the possibility of a positive change if you don’t have insight that it might happen.

· Be sincere. Avoid clichés that are insincere in view of the bad news. If you can’t help, don’t say, “If we can be of any help, please contact us.”

Keep in mind that the close can have a lasting impact on your audience. Even though they’re disappointed, leave them with the impression that they were treated with respect.

Sending Negative Messages on Routine Business Matters

4 LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Describe successful strategies for sending negative messages on routine business matters.

Professionals and companies receive a wide variety of requests and cannot respond positively to every single one. In addition, mistakes and unforeseen circumstances can lead to delays and other minor problems that occur in the course of business. Occasionally, companies must send negative messages to suppliers and other parties. Whatever the purpose, crafting routine negative responses and messages quickly and graciously is an important skill for every businessperson.

Making Negative Announcements on Routine Business Matters

Many negative messages are written in response to requests from an internal or external correspondent, but on occasion managers need to make unexpected announcements of a negative nature. For example, a company might decide to consolidate its materials purchasing with fewer suppliers and thereby need to tell several firms it will no longer be buying from them. Internally, management may need to announce the elimination of an employee benefit or other changes that employees will view negatively.

For unexpected negative messages on routine matters, the indirect approach is usually more appropriate.

Although such announcements happen in the normal course of business, they are generally unexpected. Accordingly, except in the case of minor changes, the indirect approach is usually the better choice. Follow the steps outlined for indirect messages: open with a buffer that establishes some mutual ground between you and the reader, advance your reasoning, announce the change, and close with as much positive information and sentiment as appropriate under the circumstances.

Rejecting Suggestions and Proposals

Rejecting suggestions and proposals, particularly if you asked for input, requires special care and tact because you need to maintain a positive working relationship.

Managers receive a variety of suggestions and proposals, both solicited and unsolicited, from internal and external sources. For an unsolicited proposal from an external source, you may not even need to respond if you don’t already have a working relationship with the sender. However, if you need to reject a proposal you solicited, you owe the sender an explanation, and because the news will be unexpected, the indirect approach is better. In general, the closer your working relationship, the more thoughtful and complete you need to be in your response. For example, if you are rejecting a proposal from an employee, explain your reasons fully and carefully so that the employee can understand why the proposal was not accepted and so that you don’t damage an important working relationship.

Refusing Routine Requests

When turning down an invitation or a request for a favor, consider your relationship with the reader.

When you are unable to meet a routine request, your primary communication challenge is to give a clear negative response without generating negative feelings or damaging either your personal reputation or the company’s. As simple as these messages may appear to be, they can test your skills as a communicator because you often need to deliver negative information while maintaining a positive relationship with the other party.

The direct approach works best for most routine negative responses because it is simpler and more efficient. The indirect approach works best when the stakes are high for you or for the receiver, when you or your company has an established relationship with the person making the request, or when you’re forced to decline a request that you might have accepted in the past (see  Figure 8.3  on the next page).

Consider the following points as you develop routine negative messages:

If you aren’t in a position to offer additional information or assistance, don’t imply that you are.

· Manage your time carefully; focus on the most important relationships and requests.

· If the matter is closed, don’t imply that it’s still open by using phrases such as “Let me think about it and get back to you” as a way to delay saying no.

· Offer alternative ideas if you can, particularly if the relationship is important.

· Don’t imply that other assistance or information might be available if it isn’t.

Handling Bad News About Transactions

Bad news about transactions is always unwelcome and usually unexpected. When you send such messages, you have three goals: (1) modify the customer’s expectations, (2) explain how you plan to resolve the situation, and (3) repair whatever damage might have been done to the business relationship.

Some negative messages regarding transactions carry significant business ramifications.

The specific content and tone of each message can vary widely, depending on the nature of the transaction and your relationship with the customer. Telling an individual consumer that his new sweater will be arriving a week later than you promised is a much simpler task than telling Toyota that 30,000 transmission parts will be a week late, especially when you know the company will be forced to idle a multimillion-dollar production facility as a result.

Figure 8.3 Effective Letter Declining a Routine Request

In declining a request to use her company’s facilities, May Yee Kwan took note of the fact that her company has a long-standing relationship with the college and wants to maintain that positive relationship. Because the news is unexpected based on past experience, she chose an indirect approach to build up to her announcement.

Figure 8.4 Effective Negative Message Regarding a Transaction

This message, which is a combination of good and bad news, uses the indirect approach—with the good news serving as a buffer for the bad news. In this case, the customer wasn’t promised delivery by a certain date, so the writer simply informs the customer when to expect the rest of the order. The writer also takes steps to repair the relationship and encourage future business with her firm.

If you haven’t done anything specific to set the customer’s expectations—such as promising delivery within 24 hours—the message simply needs to inform the customer of the situation, with little or no emphasis on apologies (see  Figure 8.4 ).

My BComm Lab Apply  Figure 8.4 ’s key concepts by going to  mybcommlab.com

Your approach to bad news about business transactions depends on the customer’s expectations.

If you’ve failed to meet expectations that you set for the customer, an element of apology should be considered.

If you did set the customer’s expectations and now find that you can’t meet them, your task is more complicated. In addition to resetting those expectations and explaining how you’ll resolve the problem, you may need to include an element of apology. The scope of the apology depends on the magnitude of the mistake. For the customer who ordered the sweater, a simple apology followed by a clear statement of when the sweater will arrive would probably be sufficient. For larger business-to-business transactions, the customer may want an explanation of what went wrong to determine whether you’ll be able to perform as you promise in the future.

To help repair the damage to the relationship and encourage repeat business, many companies offer discounts on future purchases, free merchandise, or other considerations. Even modest efforts can go a long way to rebuilding a customer’s confidence in your company.

Refusing Claims and Requests for Adjustment

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Use the indirect approach in most cases of refusing a claim.

Customers who make a claim or request an adjustment tend to be emotionally involved, so the indirect approach is usually the better choice when you are denying such a request. Your delicate task as a writer is to avoid accepting responsibility for the unfortunate situation and yet avoid blaming or accusing the customer. To steer clear of these pitfalls, pay special attention to the tone of your letter. Demonstrate that you understand and have considered the complaint carefully, and then rationally explain why you are refusing the request. Close on a respectful and action-oriented note (see  Figure 8.5 ). And be sure to respond quickly. With so many instantaneous media choices at their disposal, some angry consumers will take their complaints public if they don’t hear back from you within a few days or even a few hours. 8

If you deal with enough customers over a long-enough period, chances are you’ll get a request that is particularly outrageous. You may even be convinced that the person is not telling the truth. However, you must resist the temptation to call the person dishonest or incompetent. If you don’t, you could be sued for defamation, a false statement that damages someone’s reputation. (Written defamation is called libel; spoken defamation is called slander.) To successfully sue for defamation, the aggrieved party must prove (1) that the statement is false, (2) that the language injures the person’s reputation, and (3) that the statement has been communicated to others.

To avoid accusations of defamation, follow these guidelines:

You can help avoid accusations of defamation by not responding emotionally.

· Avoid using any kind of abusive language or terms that could be considered defamatory.

· Provide accurate information and stick to the facts.

· Never let anger or malice motivate your messages.

· Consult your company’s legal advisers whenever you think a message might have legal consequences.

· Communicate honestly and make sure you believe what you’re saying is true.

· Emphasize a desire for a good relationship in the future.

Keep in mind that nothing positive can come out of antagonizing a customer, even one who has verbally abused you or your colleagues. Reject the claim or request for adjustment in a professional manner and move on to the next challenge.

Sending Negative Employment Messages

5 LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Describe successful strategies for sending negative employment-related messages.

As a manager, you will find yourself in a variety of situations in which you have to convey bad news to individual employees or potential employees. Recipients have an emotional stake in these messages, so taking the indirect approach is usually advised. In addition, use great care in choosing your medium for each situation. For instance, email and other written forms let you control the message and avoid personal confrontation, but one-on-one conversations are often viewed as more sensitive and give both sides the opportunity to ask and answer questions.

Refusing Requests for Recommendations

Managers may get requests for recommendations from other employers and from past employees. When sending refusals to other employers who have requested information about a former employee of yours, your message can be brief and direct:

In messages informing prospective employers that you will not provide a recommendation, be direct, brief, and factual (to avoid legal pitfalls).

Our human resources department has authorized me to confirm that Yolanda Johnson worked for Tandy, Inc., for three years, from June 2010 to July 2013. Best of luck as you interview applicants.

This message doesn’t need to say, “We cannot comply with your request.” It simply gives the reader all the information that is allowable.

Refusing an applicant’s direct request for a recommendation letter is another matter. Any refusal to cooperate may seem to be a personal slight and a threat to the applicant’s future. Diplomacy and preparation help readers accept your refusal:

Thank you for letting me know about your job opportunity with Coca-Cola. Your internship there and the MBA you’ve worked so hard to earn should place you in an excellent position to land the marketing job.

Figure 8.5 Message to Refuse a Claim

Vera Shoemaker diplomatically refuses this customer’s request for a new saw blade. Without blaming the customer (even though the customer clearly made a mistake), she points out that the saw blade is not intended to cut steel, so the warranty doesn’t cover a replacement in this instance.

Although we do not send out formal recommendations here at PepsiCo, I can certainly send Coca-Cola a confirmation of your employment dates. And if you haven’t considered this already, be sure to ask several of your professors to write evaluations of your marketing skills. Best of luck to you in your career.

This message tactfully avoids hurting the reader’s feelings because it makes positive comments about the reader’s recent activities, implies the refusal, suggests an alternative, and uses a polite close.

Refusing Social Networking Recommendation Requests

Making recommendations in a social networking environment is more complicated than with a traditional recommendation letter because the endorsements you give become part of your online profile. On a network such as LinkedIn, others can see whom you’ve recommended and what you’ve written about these people. Much more so than with traditional letters, then, the recommendations you make in a social network become part of your personal brand. 9  Moreover, networks make it easy to find people and request recommendations, so chances are you will get more requests than you would have otherwise—and sometimes from people you don’t know well.

Social networks have created new challenges in recommendation requests, but they also offer more flexibility in responding to these requests.

Fortunately, social networks give you a bit more flexibility when it comes to responding to these requests. One option is to simply ignore or delete the request. Of course, if you do know a person, ignoring a request could create an uncomfortable situation, so you will need to decide each case based on your relationship with the requester. Another option is to refrain from making recommendations at all, and just let people know this policy when they ask. Whatever you decide, remember that it is your choice. 10

If you choose to make recommendations and want to respond to a request, you can write as much or as little information about the person as you are comfortable sharing. Unlike the situation with an offline recommendation, you don’t need to write a complete letter. You can write a brief statement, even just a single sentence that focuses on one positive aspect. 11  This flexibility allows you to respond positively in those situations in which you have mixed feelings about a person’s overall abilities.

Rejecting Job Applications

Experts disagree on which elements to include in a rejection letter, but the safest strategy is a minimalist approach.

Application rejections are routine communications, but saying no is never easy, and recipients are emotionally invested in the decision. Moreover, companies must be aware of the possibility of employment discrimination lawsuits, which have been on the rise in recent years. 12  Of course, having fair and nondiscriminatory hiring practices is essential, but rejections must also be written in a way that doesn’t inadvertently suggest any hint of discrimination. Expert opinions differ on the level of information to include in a rejection message, but the safest strategy is to avoid sharing any explanations for the company’s decision and to avoid making or implying any promises of future consideration (see  Figure 8.6 ): 13

· Personalize the message by using the recipient’s name. “Dear Applicant” can make it sound as though you never bothered to read the application.

· Open with a courteous expression of appreciation for having applied. In a sense, this is like the buffer in an indirect message because it gives you an opportunity to begin the conversation without immediately and bluntly telling the reader that his or her application has been rejected.

· Convey the negative news politely and concisely. The passive voice is helpful in this situation because it depersonalizes the response. For example, “Your application was not among those selected for an interview” is less blunt than the active phrase “We have rejected your application.”

· Avoid explaining why an applicant was rejected or why other applicants were chosen instead. Although it was once more common to offer such explanations, and some experts still advocate this approach, the simplest strategy from a legal standpoint is to avoid offering reasons for the decision. Avoiding explanations lowers the possibility that an applicant will perceive discrimination in the hiring decision or be tempted to challenge the reasons given.

Figure 8.6 Effective Message Rejecting a Job Applicant

This message rejecting a job applicant takes care to avoid making or implying any promises about future opportunities, beyond inviting the person to apply for positions that may appear in the future. Note that this would not be appropriate if the company did not believe the applicant was a good fit for the company in general.

· Don’t state or imply that the application will be reviewed at a later date. Saying that “we will keep your résumé on file for future consideration” can create false hopes for the recipient and leave the company vulnerable to legal complaints if a future hiring decision is made without actually reviewing this candidate’s application again. If the candidate might be a good fit for another position in the company in the future, you can suggest he or she reapply if a new job opening is posted.

· Close with positive wishes for the applicant’s career success. A brief statement such as “We wish you success in your career” is sufficient.

My BComm Lab Apply  Figure 8.6 ’s key concepts by going to  mybcommlab.com

Naturally, you should adjust your tactics to the circumstances. A simple and direct written message is fine when someone has only submitted a job application, but a phone call might be more appropriate for rejecting a candidate who has made it at least partway through the interview process.

Giving Negative Performance Reviews

Performance reviews are designed to clarify job requirements, give employees feedback on their performance relative to those requirements, and establish a personal plan of action to ensure continued performance in the future. Performance reviews also help companies set organizational standards and communicate organizational values. 14  In addition, they document evidence of performance in the event that disciplinary action is needed or an employee later disputes management decisions regarding pay or promotions. 15

By giving employees clear goals and regular feedback, you can help avoid unpleasant surprises in a performance review.

The worst possible outcome in an annual review is a negative surprise, such as when an employee has been working toward different goals than the manager expects or has been underperforming throughout the year but didn’t receive any feedback or improvement coaching along the way. 16  To avoid negative surprises, managers should provide regular feedback and coaching as needed throughout the year if employee performance falls below expectations. In fact, some companies have gone so far as to abandon the traditional performance review altogether. The online retailer Zappos, for example, has replaced annual performance reviews with frequent status reports that give employees feedback on routine job tasks and an annual assessment of how well each employee embodies the company’s core values. 17

Regardless of the specific approach a company takes, writing an effective performance review requires careful, objective assessment and a clear statement of how well an employee has done relative to agreed-upon goals. If you need to write a review that includes negative information, keep the following points in mind: 18

Negative evaluations should provide careful documentation of performance concerns.

· Document performance problems in detail as they happen. You will need this information to write an effective appraisal and to support any decisions that need to be made about pay, promotions, or termination.

· Evaluate all employees consistently. Consistency is not only fair but also helps protect the company from claims of discriminatory practices.

· Maintain a calm, objective tone. Manage the emotions of the situation by maintaining professional reserve in your writing.

· Focus on opportunities for improvement. This information can serve as the foundation for an improvement plan for the coming year.

· Keep job descriptions up to date. If a job evolves over time in response to changes in the business, the employees’ current activities may no longer match an outdated job description.

Terminating Employment

If an employee’s performance cannot be brought up to company standards or if other factors such as declining sales cause a reduction in the workforce, a company often has no choice but to terminate employment. As with other negative employment messages, termination is fraught with emotions and legal ramifications, so careful planning, complete documentation, and sensitive writing are essential.

Termination messages should always be written with input from the company’s legal staff, but here are general writing guidelines to bear in mind: 19

Carefully word a termination letter to avoid creating undue ill will and grounds for legal action.

· Clearly present the reasons for this difficult action, whether it is the employee’s performance or a business decision unrelated to performance.

· Make sure the reasons are presented in a way that cannot be construed as unfair or discriminatory.

· Follow company policy, contractual requirements, and applicable laws to the letter.

· Avoid personal attacks or insults of any kind.

· Ask another manager to review the letter before issuing it. An objective reviewer who isn’t directly involved might spot troublesome wording or faulty reasoning.

· Deliver the termination letter in person if at all possible. Arrange a meeting that will ensure privacy and freedom from interruptions.

Any termination is clearly a negative outcome for the employee, but careful attention to content and tone in the termination message can help the employee move on gracefully and minimize the misunderstandings and anger that can lead to expensive lawsuits.

Sending Negative Organizational News

6 LEARNING OBJECTIVE

List the important points to consider when conveying negative organizational news.

As a manager or business owner, you may at times need to issue negative announcements regarding some aspect of your products, services, or operations. Unlike routine negative announcements, these messages involve significant changes that negatively affect one or more groups (such as losing a major contract or canceling a popular product), announcements of workforce reductions, project cancelations, and crisis communication regarding environmental incidents, workplace accidents, or other traumatic situations (see  Figure 8.7 ).

Figure 8.7 Internal Message Providing Bad News About Company Operations

The cancellation of a major development project before completion can be a traumatic event for a company’s employees. People who worked on the project are likely to feel that all their time and energy were wasted and worry that their jobs are in jeopardy. Employees who didn’t work on the project might worry about the company’s financial health and the stability of their own jobs. Such messages are therefore prime candidates for the indirect approach. Note how much more effectively the revised version manages the reader’s emotions from beginning to end.

Negative organizational messages to external audiences often require extensive planning.

When making negative announcements, follow these guidelines:

· Match your approach to the situation. For example, in an emergency such as product tampering or a toxic spill, get to the point immediately and make sure all affected parties get the information they need.

· Consider the unique needs of each group. When a company or facility closes, for instance, employees need time to find new jobs, customers may need to find new suppliers, and community leaders may need to be prepared to help people who have lost their jobs.

· Minimize the element of surprise whenever possible. Give affected groups as much time as possible to prepare and respond.

· If possible, give yourself enough time to plan and manage a response. Make sure you’re ready with answers to potential questions.

· Look for positive angles but don’t exude false optimism. Laying off 10,000 people does not give them “an opportunity to explore new horizons.” It’s a traumatic event that can affect employees, their families, and their communities for years. The best you may be able to do is thank people for their past support and wish them well in the future.

· Seek expert advice. Many significant negative announcements have important technical, financial, or legal elements that require the expertise of lawyers, accountants, or other specialists.

· Use multiple channels to reach out to affected audiences. Provide information through your normal communication network, such as your company website, Facebook page, and Twitter account, but also reach out and participate in conversations that are taking place elsewhere in the social media landscape. 20

· Be open and be transparent. Mark Price, managing director of the UK grocery chain Waitrose, puts it perfectly: “We recognize that we have to be increasingly open and transparent. You can’t close down businesses now; you can’t bunker up if there’s a problem. You’ve got to go the other way.” 21

Give people as much time as possible to react to negative news.

Ask for legal help and other assistance if you’re not sure how to handle a significant negative announcement.

Negative situations give you an opportunity to excel as a communicator and as a business leader. Inspirational leaders try to seize such situations as opportunities to reshape or reinvigorate the organization, and they offer encouragement to those around them.

REAL-TIME UPDATES Learn More by Visiting This Website: Communication pros discuss the latest events in crisis communication

Situations with US Airways, Target, and SeaWorld are among the high-profile events you can learn more about. Go to  http://real-timeupdates.com/bce7 . Under “Students,” click on “Learn More.”

Responding to Negative Information in a Social Media Environment

7  LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Describe an effective strategy for responding to negative information in a social media environment.

For all the benefits they bring to business, social media and other communication technologies have created a major new challenge: responding to online rumors, false information, and attacks on a company’s reputation. Customers who believe they have been treated unfairly like these sites and tools because they can use the public exposure as leverage. Most companies appreciate the feedback, too, and many actively seek out complaints to improve their products and operations.

REAL-TIME UPDATES Learn More by Watching This Video: Positive ways to engage when you pick up negative social commentary

Aetna’s Lauren Vargas talks about the challenges of moving a large corporation in a heavily regulated industry (health insurance) into social media, including the best ways to respond to negative comments online. Go to  http://real-timeupdates.com/bce7 . Under “Students,” click on “Learn More.”

However, false rumors and both fair and unfair criticisms can spread around the world in a matter of minutes. Responding to rumors and countering negative information requires an ongoing effort and case-by-case decisions about which messages require a response. Follow these four steps: 22

Responding effectively to rumors and negative information in social media requires continual engagement with stakeholders and careful decision making about which messages should get a response.

1. Engage early, engage often. The most important step in responding to negative information has to be done before the negative information appears, and that is to engage with communities of stakeholders as a long-term strategy. Companies that have active, mutually beneficial relationships with customers and other interested parties are less likely to be attacked unfairly online and more likely to survive such attacks if they do occur. In contrast, companies that ignore constituents or jump into “spin doctoring” mode when a negative situation occurs don’t have the same credibility as companies that have done the long, hard work of fostering relationships within their physical and online communities.

2. Monitor the conversation. If people are interested in what your company does, chances are they are blogging, tweeting, podcasting, posting videos, writing on Facebook walls, and otherwise sharing their opinions. Use automated reputation analysis and other technologies to listen to what people are saying.

3. Evaluate negative messages. When you encounter negative messages, resist the urge to fire back immediately. Instead, evaluate the source, the tone, and the content of the message and then choose a response that fits the situation. For example, the Public Affairs Agency of the U.S. Air Force groups senders of negative messages into four categories, including “trolls” (those whose only intent is to stir up conflict), “ragers” (those who are just ranting or telling jokes), “the misguided” (those who are spreading incorrect information), and “unhappy customers” (those who have had a negative experience with the Air Force).

4. Respond appropriately. After you have assessed a negative message, quickly make the appropriate response based on an overall public relations plan. The Air Force, for instance, doesn’t respond to trolls or ragers, responds to misguided messages with correct information, and responds to unhappy customers with efforts to rectify the situation and reach a reasonable solution. In addition to replying promptly, make sure your response won’t make the situation even worse. For example, taking legal action against critics, even if technically justified, can rally people to their defense and create a public relations nightmare. In some instances, the best response can be to contact a critic privately (through direct messaging on Twitter, for example) to attempt a resolution away from the public forum.

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The Yelp mobile app is an easy way to keep the consumer review site at your fingertips—and to monitor what’s being said about your business.

Whatever you do, keep mind that positive reputations are an important asset and need to be diligently guarded and defended. Everybody has a voice now, and some of those voices don’t care to play by the rules of ethical communication.

For more information on writing negative messages, visit  http://real-timeupdates.com/bce7  and click on  Chapter 8  .

REAL-TIME UPDATES Learn More by Reading This Infographic: Decide how to respond to online reputation attacks

This flowchart embodies the rumor-response process used by the U.S. Air Force. Go to  http://real-timeupdates.com/bce7 . Under “Students,” click on “Learn More.”

Chapter Review and Activities Learning Objectives: Check Your Progress

Objective 1: Apply the three-step writing process to negative messages.

Because the way you say no can be even more damaging than the fact that you’re saying it, planning negative messages is crucial. Make sure your purpose is specific and use an appropriate combination of medium and channel to fit the message. Collect all the facts necessary to support your negative decision, adapt your tone to the situation, and choose the optimum approach. Use positive words to construct diplomatic sentences, and pay close attention to quality.

Objective 2: Explain how to use the direct approach effectively when conveying negative news.

The direct approach puts the bad news up front, follows with the reasons, and closes with a respectful statement that shares any positive aspects that are relevant. Even though it is direct, however, don’t use the direct approach as a license to be rude or overly blunt.

Objective 3: Explain how to use the indirect approach effectively when conveying negative news, and explain how to avoid ethical problems when using this approach.

The indirect approach begins with a buffer, explains the reasons, clearly states the negative news, and closes with a respectful statement. If the bad news is not unexpected, the direct approach is usually fine, but if the news is shocking or painful, the indirect approach is better. When using the indirect approach, pay careful attention to avoid obscuring the bad news, trivializing the audience’s concerns, or even misleading your audience into thinking you’re actually delivering good news. Remember that the purpose of the indirect approach is to cushion the blow, not to avoid delivering it.

Objective 4: Describe successful strategies for sending negative messages on routine business matters.

For making negative announcements on routine business matters, the indirect approach is usually preferred, unless the news has minor consequences for the audience. For rejecting suggestions or proposals when you requested input or it came from someone with whom you have an established relationship, the indirect approach is the right choice because it allows you to gently reset the other party’s expectations.

For refusing routine requests, the direct approach is usually sufficient, except when the matter at hand is significant, you or your company have an established relationship with the person making the request, or you’re forced to decline a request that you might have accepted in the past.

When conveying bad news about transactions, you need to modify the customer’s expectations, explain how you plan to resolve the situation, and repair whatever damage might have been done to the business relationship. Whether or not you should apologize depends in part on the magnitude of the situation and whether you previously established specific expectations about the transaction.

When refusing a claim or a request for adjustment, the indirect approach is usually preferred because the other party is emotionally involved and expects you to respond positively. Demonstrate that you understand and have considered the complaint carefully, and then rationally and calmly explain why you are refusing the request.

Objective 5: Describe successful strategies for sending negative employment-related messages.

The indirect approach is usually the better choice for negative employment messages because the recipient is always emotionally involved and the decisions are usually significant. When refusing requests from other employers for performance-related information about past employees, your message can be brief and direct. Simply provide whatever information your company allows to be shared in these situations. Refusing a recommendation request directly from a former employee feels much more personal for the recipient, however, so the indirect approach is better.

You have some flexibility when responding to requests for recommendations or endorsements on social networks. You can choose to ignore the request if you don’t know the person, you can decline the request as a matter of personal policy, you can write a full recommendation if that matches your assessment of the person, or you can write a limited recommendation on just one or a few aspects of the person’s capabilities.

Messages rejecting job applicants raise a number of emotional and legal issues and therefore must be approached with great care. Experts vary in their advice about how much information to include in these messages. However, the safest strategy is a brief message that opens with an expression of appreciation for being considered (which functions like a buffer in an indirect message), continues with a statement to the effect that the applicant was not chosen for the position applied for, and closes courteously without providing reasons for the rejection or making promises about future consideration.

Negative performance reviews should take care to document the performance problems, make sure that all employees are being evaluated consistently, be written in a calm and objective voice, and focus on opportunities for improvement. Moreover, they must be written with reference to accurate, current job descriptions that provide the basis for measuring employee performance.

Termination messages are the most challenging employment messages of all. They should clearly present the reasons for the decision, present the reasons in a way that cannot be construed as unfair or discriminatory, follow company policy and any relevant legal guidelines, and avoid personal attacks or insults of any kind. Asking a manager not directly involved in the situation to review your message can help you avoid troublesome wording or faulty reasoning. Finally, try to deliver the written message in person if possible.

Objective 6:   List the important points to consider when conveying negative organizational news.

When communicating negative organizational news, (1) match your approach to the situation, (2) consider the unique needs of each group, (3) minimize the element of surprise whenever possible so that affected groups have time to prepare and respond, (4) give yourself as much time as possible to plan and manage a response, (5) look for positive angles but don’t exude false optimism, (6) seek expert advice, (7) use multiple channels to reach out to affected audiences, and (8) be open and transparent.

Objective 7:   Describe an effective strategy for responding to negative information in a social media environment.

First, be sure you are engaged with important stakeholders before negative situations appear. Second, monitor the conversations taking place about your company and its products. Third, when you see negative messages, evaluate them before responding. Fourth, after evaluating negative messages, take the appropriate response based on an overall public relations plan. Some messages are better ignored, whereas others should be addressed immediately with corrective information.

MyBCommLab

Go to  mybcommlab.com  to complete the problems marked with this icon .

9 Writing Persuasive Messages

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter, you will be able to

1. Apply the three-step writing process to persuasive messages

2. Describe an effective strategy for developing persuasive business messages

3. Identify the three most common categories of persuasive business messages

4. Describe an effective strategy for developing marketing and sales messages, explain how to modify this approach for social media, and identify steps you can take to avoid ethical lapses in marketing and sales messages

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Communication Matters . . .

“Trustworthiness, transparency, credible authority, lots of high-value content, and just plain old decency are your best weapons.”

—Sonia Simone, cofounder and chief marketing officer of Copyblogger Media

Sonia Simone was discussing the fear that keeps online shoppers from completing a transaction, but her insight applies to every form of persuasive communication. 1  Trust is an essential element of persuasion, whether you’re trying to convince people to help fund your new business via Kickstarter, asking your boss for a raise, or promoting a concert. If people don’t believe in you, they won’t believe in what you’re promoting.

In this chapter, you’ll apply what you’ve learned so far about writing to the unique challenges of persuasive messages. You’ll explore two types of persuasive messages: persuasive business messages (those that try to convince audiences to approve new projects, enter into business partnerships, and so on) and marketing and sales messages (those that try to convince audiences to consider and then purchase products and services).

Sonia Simone emphasizes the power of trust in persuasive communication; without it, you’ll have a hard time convincing people to change their beliefs or behaviors.

Sonia Simone/Copyblogger Media

Using the Three-Step Writing Process for Persuasive Messages

1 LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Apply the three-step writing process to persuasive messages.

Persuasion is the attempt to change someone’s attitudes, beliefs, or actions.

For both internal messages to colleagues, employees, and managers and for external messages to customers, investors, and other outsiders, you’ll use many of the same techniques of persuasion—the attempt to change an audience’s attitudes, beliefs, or actions. 2  Because persuasive messages ask audiences to give something of value (money in exchange for a product, for example) or take substantial action (such as changing a corporate policy), they are more challenging to write than routine messages. Successful professionals understand that persuasion is not about trickery or getting people to act against their own best interests; it’s about letting audiences know they have choices and presenting your offering in the best possible light. 3

Step 1: Planning Persuasive Messages

Having a great idea or a great product is not enough; you need to be able to convince others of its merits.

In today’s information-saturated business environment, having a great idea or a great product is no longer enough. Every day, untold numbers of good ideas go unnoticed and good products go unsold simply because the messages meant to promote them aren’t compelling enough to be heard above the competitive noise. Creating successful persuasive messages in these challenging situations demands careful attention to all four tasks in the planning step, starting with an insightful analysis of your purpose and your audience.

Analyzing the Situation

Clarifying your purpose is an essential step with persuasive messages.

In defining your purpose, make sure you’re clear about what you really hope to achieve. Suppose you want to persuade company executives to support a particular research project. But what does “support” mean? Do you want them to pat you on the back and wish you well? Or do you want them to give you a staff of five researchers and a $1 million annual budget?

The best persuasive messages are closely connected to your audience’s desires and interests (see  Figure 9.1 ). 4  Consider these important questions: Who is my audience? What are my audience members’ needs? What do I want them to do? How might they resist? Are there alternative positions I need to examine? What does the decision maker consider to be the most important issue? How might the organization’s culture influence my strategy?

Demographics include characteristics such as age, gender, occupation, income, and education.

Psychographics include characteristics such as personality, attitudes, and lifestyle.

To understand and categorize audience needs, you can refer to specific information, such as demographics (the age, gender, occupation, income, education, and other quantifiable characteristics of the people you’re trying to persuade) and psychographics (personality, attitudes, lifestyle, and other psychological characteristics). When analyzing your audiences, take into account their cultural expectations and practices so that you don’t undermine your persuasive message by using an inappropriate appeal or by organizing your message in a way that seems unfamiliar or uncomfortable to your readers.

If you aim to change someone’s attitudes, beliefs, or actions, it is vital to understand his or her motivation—the combination of forces that drive people to satisfy their needs.  Table 9.1  on page  214  lists some of the needs that psychologists have identified or suggested as being important in influencing human motivation. Obviously, the more closely a persuasive message aligns with a recipient’s existing motivation, the more effective the message is likely to be. For example, if you try to persuade consumers to purchase a product on the basis of its fashion appeal, that message will connect with consumers who are motivated by a desire to be in fashion, but it probably won’t connect with consumers driven more by functional or financial concerns.

Gathering Information

Once your situation analysis is complete, you need to gather the information necessary to create a compelling persuasive message. You’ll learn more about the types of information to include in persuasive business messages and marketing and sales messages later in the chapter.  Chapter 10  presents advice on how to find the information you need.

Figure 9.1 Appealing to Audience Needs

This draft of a response to an inquiry about an editorial company’s services addresses the writer’s concerns about the time, cost, and effectiveness of the company’s services. Source: Microsoft Office 2013.

Selecting the Right Combination of Medium and Channel

Persuasive messages are often unexpected and sometimes even unwelcome, so choose your medium carefully to maximize the chance of getting through to your audience.

Media and channel choices are always important, of course, but these decisions are particularly sensitive with persuasive messages because such messages are often unexpected or even unwelcome. For instance, some people don’t mind promotional email messages for products they’re interested in; others resent every piece of commercial email they receive. Persuasive messages can be found in virtually every communication medium, from instant messages and podcasts to radio advertisements and skywriting. In fact, advertising agencies employ media specialists whose only job is to analyze the media options available and select the most cost-effective combination for each client and each advertising campaign.

Organizing Your Information

Most persuasive messages use the indirect approach.

The nature of persuasion is to convince people to change their attitudes, beliefs, or actions, so most persuasive messages use the indirect approach. That means you’ll want to explain your reasons and build interest before asking for a decision or for action—or perhaps even before revealing your purpose. However, in some instances, such as when you have a close relationship with your audience and the message is welcome or at least neutral, the direct approach can be effective.

The choice of approach is influenced by your position (or authority within the organization) relative to your audience’s.

For persuasive business messages, the choice between the direct and indirect approaches is also influenced by the extent of your authority, expertise, or power in an organization. For example, if you are a highly regarded technical expert with years of experience, you might use the direct approach in a message to top executives. In contrast, if you aren’t well known and therefore need to rely more on the strength of your message than the power of your reputation, the indirect approach will probably be more successful.

Step 2: Writing Persuasive Messages

Persuasive messages are often unexpected or even unwelcome, so the “you” attitude is crucial.

Encourage a positive response to your persuasive messages by (1) using positive and polite language, (2) understanding and respecting cultural differences, (3) being sensitive to organizational cultures, and (4) taking steps to establish your credibility.

TABLE 9.1 Human Needs That Influence Motivation

Need	Implications for Communication
Basic physiological requirements: The needs for food, water, sleep, oxygen, and other essentials	Everyone has these needs, but the degree of attention an individual gives to them often depends on whether the needs are being met; for instance, an advertisement for sleeping pills will have greater appeal to someone suffering from insomnia than to someone who has no problem sleeping.
Safety and security: The needs for protection from bodily harm, for the safety of loved ones, and for financial security, protection of personal identity, career security, and other assurances	These needs influence both consumer and business decisions in a wide variety of ways; for instance, advertisements for life insurance often encourage parents to think about the financial security of their children and other loved ones.
Affiliation and belonging: The needs for companionship, acceptance, love, popularity, and approval	The need to feel loved, accepted, or popular drives a great deal of human behavior, from the desire to be attractive to potential mates to wearing the clothing style that a particular social group is likely to approve.
Power and control: The need to feel in control of situations or to exert authority over others	You can see many examples appealing to this need in advertisements: Take control of your life, your finances, your future, your career, and so on. Many people who lack power want to know how to get it, and people who have power often want others to know they have it.
Achievement: The need to feel a sense of accomplishment—or to be admired by others for accomplishments	This need can involve both knowing (when people experience a feeling of accomplishment) and showing (when people are able to show others that they’ve achieved success); advertising for luxury consumer products frequently appeals to this need.
Adventure and distraction: The need for excitement or relief from daily routine	People vary widely in their need for adventure; some crave excitement—even danger—whereas others value calmness and predictability. Some needs for adventure and distraction are met virtually, such as through horror movies, thriller novels, etc.
Knowledge, exploration, and understanding: The need to keep learning	For some people, learning is usually a means to an end, a way to fulfill some other need; for others, acquiring new knowledge is the goal.
Aesthetic appreciation: The desire to experience beauty, order, symmetry, etc.	Although this need may seem “noncommercial” at first glance, advertisers appeal to it frequently, from the pleasing shape of a package to the quality of the gemstones in a piece of jewelry.
Self-actualization: The need to “be all that one can be,” to reach one’s full potential as a human being	Psychologists Kurt Goldstein and Abraham Maslow popularized self-actualization as the desire to make the most of one’s potential, and Maslow identified it as one of the higher-level needs in his classic hierarchy; even if people met most or all of their other needs, they would still feel the need to self-actualize. An often-quoted example of appealing to this need is the U.S. Army’s one-time advertising slogan “Be all that you can be.”
Helping others: The need to believe that one is making a difference in the lives of other people	This need is the central motivation in fundraising messages and other appeals to charity.

Positive language usually happens naturally with persuasive messages because you’re promoting an idea or product you believe in. However, take care not to inadvertently insult your readers by implying that they’ve made poor choices in the past and that you’re here to save them from their misguided ways.

Be sure to understand cultural expectations as well. For example, a message that seems forthright and direct in a low-context culture might seem brash and intrusive in a high-context culture.

Organizational culture can influence persuasion as much as social culture.

Just as social culture affects the success of a persuasive message, so too does the culture within an organization. For instance, some organizations handle disagreement and conflict in an indirect, behind-the-scenes way, whereas others accept and even encourage open discussion and sharing of differing viewpoints.

Finally, if you are trying to persuade a skeptical or hostile audience, you must convince them you know what you’re talking about and that you’re not trying to mislead them. Use these techniques:

Audiences often respond unfavorably to over-the-top language, so keep your writing simple and straightforward.

· Use simple language to avoid suspicions of fantastic claims and emotional manipulation.

· Provide objective evidence for the claims and promises you make.

· Identify your sources, especially if your audience already respects those sources.

· Establish common ground by emphasizing beliefs, attitudes, and background experiences you have in common with the audience.

· Be objective and present fair and logical arguments.

· Display your willingness to keep your audience’s best interests at heart.

· Persuade with logic, evidence, and compelling narratives, rather than trying to coerce with high-pressure, “hard-sell” tactics.

· Whenever possible, try to build your credibility before you present a major proposal or ask for a major decision. That way, audiences don’t have to evaluate both you and your message at the same time. 5

Step 3: Completing Persuasive Messages

Careless production undermines your credibility, so revise and proofread with care.

The pros know from experience that details can make or break a persuasive message, so they’re careful not to skimp on this part of the writing process. For instance, advertisers may have a dozen or more people review a message before it’s released to the public.

When you evaluate your content, try to judge your argument objectively and try not to overestimate your credibility. When revising for clarity and conciseness, carefully match the purpose and organization to audience needs. If possible, ask an experienced colleague who knows your audience well to review your draft. Your design elements must complement, not detract from, your argument. In addition, meticulous proofreading will identify any mechanical or spelling errors that would weaken your persuasive potential. Finally, make sure your distribution methods fit your audience’s expectations as well as your purpose.

Developing Persuasive Business Messages

2 LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Describe an effective strategy for developing persuasive business messages.

Your success as a businessperson is closely tied to your ability to encourage others to accept new ideas, change old habits, or act on your recommendations. Unless your career takes you into marketing and sales, most of your persuasive messages will consist of persuasive business messages, which are those designed to elicit a preferred response in a nonsales situation.

Even if you have the power to compel others to do what you want them to do, persuading them is more effective than forcing them. People who are forced into accepting a decision or plan are less motivated to support it and more likely to react negatively than if they’re persuaded. 6  Within the context of the three-step process, effective persuasion involves four essential strategies: framing your arguments, balancing emotional and logical appeals, reinforcing your position, and anticipating objections. (Note that all these concepts in this section apply as well to marketing and sales messages, covered later in the chapter.)

Framing Your Arguments

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Many persuasive messages follow some variation of the indirect approach. One of the most commonly used variations is called the AIDA model, which organizes your message into four phases (see  Figure 9.2  on the next page):

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The AIDA model is a useful approach for many persuasive messages:

· Attention

· Interest

· Desire

· Action

· Attention. Your first objective is to encourage your audience to want to hear about your problem, idea, or new product—whatever your main idea is. Be sure to find some common ground on which to build your case.

· Interest. Provide additional details that prompt audience members to imagine how the solution might benefit them.

· Desire. Help audience members embrace your idea by explaining how the change will benefit them and answering potential objections.

· Action. Suggest the specific action you want your audience to take. Include a deadline, when applicable.

Figure 9.2 The AIDA Model for Persuasive Messages

With the AIDA model, you craft one or more messages to move recipients through four stages of attention, interest, desire, and action. The model works well for both persuasive business messages (such as persuading your manager to fund a new project) and marketing and sales messages.

The AIDA model is ideal for the indirect approach.

The AIDA model is tailor-made for using the indirect approach, allowing you to save your main idea for the action phase. However, it can also work with the direct approach, in which case you use your main idea as an attention-getter, build interest with your argument, create desire with your evidence, and emphasize your main idea in the action phase with the specific action you want your audience to take.

When your AIDA message uses the indirect approach and is delivered by memo or email, keep in mind that your subject line usually catches your reader’s eye first. Your challenge is to make it interesting and relevant enough to capture reader attention without revealing your main idea. If you put your request in the subject line, you’re likely to get a quick “no” before you’ve had a chance to present your arguments:

Instead of This	Write This
Request for development budget to add automated IM response system	Reducing the cost of customer support inquiries

The AIDA approach has limitations:

· It essentially talks at audiences, not with them

· It focuses on one-time events, not long-term relationships

With either the direct or indirect approach, AIDA and similar models do have limitations. First, AIDA is a unidirectional method that essentially talks at audiences, not with them. Second, AIDA is built around a single event, such as asking an audience for a decision, rather than on building a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship. 7  AIDA is still a valuable tool for the right purposes, but as you’ll read later in the chapter, a conversational approach is more compatible with today’s social media.

REAL-TIME UPDATES Learn More by Reading This Article: Using stories to persuade

Learn why stories are usually more effective than plain data when it comes to changing minds. Go to  http://real-timeupdates .com/bce7 . Under “Students,” click on “Learn More.”

Balancing Emotional and Logical Appeals

Emotional appeals attempt to connect with the reader’s feelings or sympathies.

Few persuasive appeals are purely logical or purely emotional, and a key skill is finding the right balance for each message (see  Figure 9.3 ). An emotional appeal calls on feelings or audience sympathies. For instance, you can make use of the emotions inspired by words such as freedom, success, prestige, compassion, free, and comfort. Such words put your audience in a certain frame of mind and help people accept your message.

Figure 9.3 Balancing Logical and Emotional Appeals

Whenever you plan a persuasive message, imagine you have a knob that turns from emotion at one extreme to logic at the other, letting you adjust the relative proportions of each type of appeal. Compare these two outlines for a proposal that asks management to fund an on-site daycare center. The version on the left relies heavily on emotional appeals, whereas the version on the right uses logical appeals (inductive reasoning, specifically). Through your choice of words, images, and supporting details, you can adjust the emotional-logical ratio in every message.

Logical appeals are based on the reader’s notions of reason; these appeals can use analogy, induction, or deduction.

Many marketing and sales messages rely heavily on emotional appeals, but most persuasive business messages rely more on logic. And even if your audience reaches a conclusion based on emotions, they’ll look to you to provide logical support as well. A logical appeal uses one of three types of reasoning:

· Analogy. With analogy, you reason from specific evidence to specific evidence, in effect “borrowing” from something familiar to explain something unfamiliar. For instance, to convince management to add chat room capability to the company’s groupware system, you could explain that it is like a neighborhood community center, only online.

· Induction. With inductive reasoning, you work from specific evidence to a general conclusion. To convince your boss to change a certain production process, you could point out that every company that has adopted it has increased profits.

· Deduction. With deductive reasoning, you work from a generalization to a specific conclusion. To persuade your boss to hire additional customer support staff, you might point to industry surveys that show how crucial customer satisfaction is to corporate profits.

Every method of reasoning is vulnerable to misuse. To avoid faulty logic, follow these guidelines: 8

· Avoid hasty generalizations. Make sure you have plenty of evidence before drawing conclusions.

· Avoid circular reasoning. Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy in which you try to support your claim by restating it in different words. The statement “We know temporary workers cannot handle this task because temps are unqualified for it” doesn’t prove anything because the claim and the supporting evidence are essentially identical.

· Avoid attacking an opponent. Attack the argument your opponent is making, not your opponent’s character.

· Avoid oversimplifying a complex issue. For example, don’t reduce a complex situation to a simple “either/or” statement if the situation isn’t that simple or clear-cut.

· Avoid mistaken assumptions of cause and effect. If you can’t isolate the impact of a specific factor, you can’t assume that it’s the cause of whatever effect you’re discussing. You lowered prices, and sales went up. Were lower prices the cause? Maybe, but the sales increase might have been caused by a better advertising campaign, changes in the weather, or some other factor.

· Avoid faulty analogies. Be sure that the two objects or situations being compared are similar enough for the analogy to hold. For instance, explaining that an Internet firewall is like a prison wall is a poor analogy, because a firewall keeps things out, whereas a prison wall keeps things in.

Using logical appeals carries with it the ethical responsibility to avoid faulty logic.

Reinforcing Your Position

Choose your words carefully to trigger the desired responses.

After you’ve worked out the basic elements of your argument, step back and look for ways to strengthen your position. Are all your claims supported by believable evidence? Would a quotation from a recognized expert help make your case?

Next, examine your language. Can you find more powerful words to convey your message? For example, if your company is in serious financial trouble, talking about fighting for survival is a more powerful emotional appeal than talking about ensuring continued operations. As with any other powerful tool, though, use vivid language and abstractions carefully and honestly.

In addition to examining individual word choices, consider using metaphors and other figures of speech. If you want to describe a quality-control system as being designed to detect every possible product flaw, you might call it a “spider web” to imply that it catches everything that comes its way. Similarly, anecdotes (brief stories) can help your audience grasp the meaning and importance of your arguments. Instead of just listing the number of times the old laptop computers in your department have failed, you could describe how you lost a sale when your computer broke down during a critical sales presentation.

Beyond specific words and phrases, look for other factors that can reinforce your position. When you’re asking for something, your audience members will find it easier to grant your request if they stand to benefit from it as well.

Anticipating Objections

Even powerful persuasive messages can encounter audience resistance.

Even compelling ideas and exciting projects can encounter objections, if only as a consequence of people’s natural tendency to resist change. Anticipate likely objections and address them before your audience can bring them up. By doing so, you can remove these potentially negative elements from the conversation and keep the focus on positive communication. Note that you don’t need to explicitly mention a particular concern. For instance, if your proposal to switch to lower-cost materials is likely to raise concerns about quality, you can emphasize that the new materials are just as good as existing materials. You’ll not only get this issue out of the way sooner but also demonstrate a broad appreciation of the issue and imply confidence in your message. 9

If you expect to encounter strong resistance, present all sides of an issue.

If you expect a hostile audience that is biased against your plan, be sure to present all sides of the situation. As you cover each option, explain the pros and cons. You’ll gain additional credibility if you mention these options before presenting your recommendation or decision. 10  If you can, involve your audience in the design of the solution; people are more likely to support ideas they help create.

Avoiding Common Mistakes in Persuasive Communication

When you believe in a concept or project you are promoting, it’s easy to get caught up in your own confidence and enthusiasm and thereby fail to see things from the audience’s perspective. When putting together persuasive arguments, avoid these common mistakes (see  Figure 9.4  on the next page): 11

· Using a hard sell. Don’t push. No one likes being pressured into making a decision, and communicators who take this approach can come across as being more concerned with meeting their own goals than with satisfying the needs of their audiences. In contrast, a “soft sell” is more like a comfortable conversation that uses calm, rational persuasion.

· Resisting compromise. Successful persuasion is often a process of give-and-take, particularly in the case of persuasive business messages, where you don’t always get everything you asked for in terms of budgets, investments, and other commitments.

· Relying solely on great arguments. Great arguments are important, but connecting with your audience on the right emotional level and communicating through vivid language are just as vital. Sometimes a well-crafted story can be even more compelling than dry logic.

· Assuming that persuasion is a one-shot effort. Persuasion is often a process, not a one-time event. In many cases, you need to move your audience members along one small step at a time rather than try to convince them to say “yes” in one huge step.

Don’t let confidence or enthusiasm lead you to some common mistakes in persuasive communication.

Common Examples of Persuasive Business Messages

3 LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Identify the three most common categories of persuasive business messages.

Throughout your career, you’ll have numerous opportunities to write persuasive messages within your organization—for example, when suggesting more-efficient operating procedures, asking for cooperation from other departments, pitching investors on a new business idea, or requesting adjustments that go beyond a supplier’s contractual obligations. In addition, many of the routine requests you studied in  Chapter 7  can become persuasive messages if you want a nonroutine result or believe that you haven’t received fair treatment. Most of these messages can be divided into persuasive requests for action, persuasive presentation of ideas, and persuasive claims and requests for adjustment.

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Persuasive Requests for Action

Most persuasive business messages involve a request for action.

The bulk of your persuasive business messages will involve requests for action. In some cases, your request will be anticipated, so the direct approach is fine. In others, you’ll need to introduce your intention indirectly, and the AIDA model or a similar approach is ideal for this purpose (see  Figure 9.5  on page  221 ).

Figure 9.4 Persuasive Argumentation

Imagine you’re the marketing manager in a company that decided to speed up its new product launches but did too much too fast and wound up creating chaos. You decide enough is enough and write a memo to the company president advocating that the new program be shut down until the company can regroup—a suggestion you know will meet with resistance. Notice how the poor version doesn’t quite use the direct approach but comes out swinging, so to speak, and is overly emotional throughout. The improved version builds to its recommendation indirectly, using the same information but in a calm, logical way. Because it sticks to the facts, it is also shorter.

Figure 9.5 Persuasive Message Using the AIDA Model

This message uses the AIDA model in a persuasive message about a program that would try to reduce Host Marriott’s annual plastics costs and curtail consumer complaints about the company’s recycling record. Note how the writer “sells the problem” before attempting to sell the solution. Few people are interested in hearing about solutions to problems they don’t know about or don’t believe exist. The interest section introduces an additional, unforeseen problem with plastic product containers.

My BComm Lab Apply  Figure 9.5 ’s key concepts by going to  mybcommlab.com

Open with an attention-getting device and show readers that you understand their concerns. Use the interest and desire sections of your message to demonstrate that you have good reason for making such a request and to cover what you know about the situation: the facts and figures, the benefits of helping, and any history or experience that will enhance your appeal. Your goals are (1) to gain credibility (for yourself and your request) and (2) to make your readers believe that helping you will indeed help solve a significant problem. Close with a request for some specific action, and make that course of action as easy to follow as possible to maximize the chances of a positive response.

Persuasive Presentation of Ideas

Sometimes the objective of persuasive messages is simply to encourage people to consider a new idea.

You may encounter situations in which you simply want to change attitudes or beliefs about a particular topic, without asking the audience to decide or do anything—at least not yet. The goal of your first message might be nothing more than convincing your audience to reexamine long-held opinions or to admit the possibility of new ways of thinking.

For instance, the World Wide Web Consortium, a global association that defines many of the guidelines and technologies behind the World Wide Web, launched a campaign called the Web Accessibility Initiative. Although the consortium’s ultimate goal is making websites more accessible to people who have disabilities or age-related limitations, a key interim goal is simply making website developers more aware of the need. As part of this effort, the consortium has developed a variety of presentations and documents that highlight the problems many web visitors face. 12

Persuasive Claims and Requests for Adjustments

Most claims are routine messages and use the direct approach discussed in  Chapter 7  . However, consumers and business professionals sometimes encounter situations in which they believe they haven’t received a fair deal by following normal procedures. These situations require a more persuasive message.

The key ingredients of a good persuasive claim are a complete and specific review of the facts and a confident and positive tone based on your right to be satisfied with every transaction. Begin persuasive claims by outlining the problem and continue by reviewing what has been done about it so far, if anything. The recipient might be juggling numerous claims and other demands on his or her attention, so be clear, calm, and complete when presenting your case. Be specific about how you would like to see the situation resolved.

Next, give your reader a good reason for granting your claim. Show how the individual or organization is responsible for the problem, and appeal to your reader’s sense of fair play, goodwill, or moral responsibility. Explain how you feel about the problem, but don’t get carried away and don’t make threats. People generally respond most favorably to requests that are calm and reasonable. Close on a respectful note that reflects how a successful resolution of the situation will repair or maintain a mutually beneficial working relationship.

Developing Marketing and Sales Messages

4 LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Describe an effective strategy for developing marketing and sales messages, explain how to modify this approach for social media, and identify steps you can take to avoid ethical lapses in marketing and sales messages.

Marketing and sales messages use many of the same techniques as persuasive business messages.

Marketing and sales messages use the same basic techniques as other persuasive messages, with the added emphasis of encouraging someone to participate in a commercial transaction. Although the terms marketing message and sales message are often used interchangeably, there is an important difference: Marketing messages usher potential buyers through the purchasing process without asking them to make an immediate decision. Sales messages take over at that point, encouraging potential buyers to make a purchase decision then and there. Marketing messages focus on such tasks as introducing new brands to the public and encouraging customers to visit websites for more information, whereas sales messages make an explicit request for people to buy a specific product or service. (The text of marketing and sales messages is usually referred to as “copy,” by the way.)

Most marketing and sales messages, particularly in larger companies, are created and delivered by professionals with specific training in marketing, advertising, sales, or public relations. However, you may be called on to review the work of these specialists or even to write such messages in smaller companies, and having a good understanding of how these messages work will help you be a more effective manager.

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Planning Marketing and Sales Messages

Everything you’ve learned about planning messages applies in general to marketing and sales messages, but the planning steps for these messages have some particular aspects to consider as well:

· Assessing audience needs. As with every other business message, successful marketing and sales messages start with an understanding of audience needs. Depending on the product and the market, these considerations can range from a few functional factors (such as the size, weight, and finish of office paper) to a complicated mix of emotional and logical issues (all the factors that play into buying a house, for example).

Understanding the purchase decision from the buyer’s perspective is a vital step in framing an effective marketing or sales message.

· Analyzing your competition. Marketing and sales messages nearly always compete with messages from other companies trying to reach the same audience. When Nike plans a marketing campaign to introduce a new shoe model to current customers, the company knows its audience has also been exposed to messages from Adidas, New Balance, Reebok, and numerous other shoe companies. Finding a unique message in crowded markets can be quite a challenge.

· Determining key selling points and benefits. With some insight into audience needs and the alternatives offered by your competitors, the next step is to decide which features and benefits to highlight. Selling points are the most attractive features of a product, whereas benefits are the particular advantages purchasers can realize from those features. In other words, selling points focus on what the product does. Benefits focus on what the user experiences or gains. Benefits can be practical, emotional, or a combination of the two. For example, the feature of a thin, flexible sole in a running shoe offers the practical benefit of a more natural feel while running. In contrast, the visual design features of the shoe offer no practical benefits but can offer the emotional benefit of wearing something stylish or unusual.

· Anticipating purchase objections. Marketing and sales messages usually encounter objections, and, as with persuasive business messages, the best way to handle them is to identify these objections up front and address as many as you can. Objections can range from high price or low quality to a lack of compatibility with existing products or a perceived risk involved with the product. By identifying potential objections up front, you can craft your promotional messages in ways that address those concerns. If price is a likely objection, for instance, you can look for ways to increase the perceived value of the purchase and decrease the perception of high cost. When promoting a home gym, you might say that it costs less than a year’s worth of health club dues. Of course, any attempts to minimize perceptions of price or other potential negatives must be done ethically.

Selling points focus on the product; benefits focus on the user.

Anticipating objections is crucial to effective marketing and sales messages.

Writing Conventional Marketing and Sales Messages

Conventional marketing and sales messages are often prepared using the AIDA model or some variation of it. (See the next section on crafting messages for social media.) Here are the key points of using the AIDA model for these messages:

· Getting the reader’s attention. By looking and listening during any given day, you’ll notice the many ways advertisers try to get your attention. For example, a headline might offer an exciting product benefit, a piece of interesting news, an appeal to people’s emotions or sense of financial value, or a unique solution to a common problem. Of course, words aren’t the only attention-getting devices. Depending on the medium, marketers can use evocative images, music, animation, or video. “Cutting through the clutter” to get the audience’s attention is one of the biggest challenges with marketing and sales messages.

· Building interest. After catching the reader’s or viewer’s attention, your next step is to build interest in the product, company, or idea you are promoting. A common technique is to “pay off” the promise made in the headline by explaining how you can deliver those benefits. For example, if the headline offers a way to “Get Fit for $2 a Day,” the first paragraph could explain that the home gyms your company sells start at less than $700, which works out to less than $2 a day over the course of a year.

· Increasing desire. Now that you’ve given the audience some initial information to start building interest, the next step is to boost desire for the product by expanding on your explanation of its benefits. Think carefully about the sequence of support points and use plenty of subheadings, hyperlinks, video demonstrations, and other devices to help people quickly find the information they need. By keeping the focus on potential customers and their practical and emotional needs, you can layer on information that helps convince people that your product really is the best solution for them. You can also use a variety of techniques to address potential objections and minimize doubts, including testimonials from satisfied users, articles written by industry experts, competitive comparisons, offers of product samples or free demonstrations, independent test results, and money-back guarantees.

· Motivating action. The final step in the AIDA model is persuading the audience to take action, such as encouraging people to pick up the phone to place an order or visit an online app store to download your software. The keys to a successful call to action are making it easy and as risk-free as possible. If the process is confusing or time-consuming, you’ll lose potential customers.

To build interest, expand on and support the promises in your attention-getting opening.

Add details and audience benefits to increase desire for the product or service.

After you’ve generated sufficient interest and desire, you’re ready to persuade readers to take the preferred action.

If you analyze the advertisements you encounter day to day, you’ll see variations on these techniques used again and again.

Writing Promotional Messages for Social Media

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In a social media environment, persuasive efforts require a more conversational, interactive approach.

The AIDA model and similar approaches have been successful with marketing and sales messages for decades, but in the social media landscape consumers are more apt to look for product information from other consumers, not the companies marketing those products. Consequently, your emphasis should shift to encouraging and participating in online conversations. Follow these guidelines (see  Figure 9.6 ): 13

Figure 9.6 Persuasive Messages in Social Media

From online video to Twitter updates, persuasive messages in social media are generally more effective when they are conversational (rather than blatantly promotional) and when they offer something of value to readers. Deloitte, for example, offers a wealth of free business strategy information on its website and uses Twitter to announce new material. Source: Deloitte Global Services Twitter page. Copyright © 2012 Deloitte Global Services Limited. Reprinted with permission.

MyBCommLab Apply  Figure 9.6 ’s key concepts by going to  mybcommlab.com

· Facilitate community building. Give customers and other audiences an opportunity to connect with you and one another, such as on your Facebook page or through members-only online forums.

· Listen at least as much as you talk. Listening is just as essential for online conversations as it is for in-person conversations.

· Initiate and respond to conversations within the community. Through content on your website, blog postings, social network profiles and messages, newsletters, and other tools, make sure you provide the information customers need in order to evaluate your products and services. Use an objective, conversational style; people in social networks want useful information, not “advertising speak.”

· Provide information people want. Whether it’s industry-insider news, in-depth technical guides to using your products, or brief answers to questions posted on community Q&A sites, fill the information gaps about your company and its products.

· Identify and support your champions. In marketing, champions are enthusiastic fans of your company and its products. Champions are so enthusiastic they help spread your message (through their blogs, for instance), defend you against detractors, and help other customers use your products.

· Be real. Social media audiences respond positively to companies that are open and conversational about themselves, their products, and subjects of shared interest. In contrast, if a company is serving its stakeholders poorly with shoddy products, bad customer service, or unethical behavior, an attempt to improve its reputation by adopting social media without fixing the underlying problems is likely to fail as soon as audiences see through the superficial attempt to “be social.”

· Integrate conventional marketing and sales strategies at the right time and in the right places. AIDA and similar approaches are still valid for specific communication tasks, such as conventional advertising and the product promotion pages on your website.

Creating Promotional Messages for Mobile Devices

Mobile advertising and mobile commerce (sometimes referred to as m-commerce) are two of the hottest developments in marketing communications. Mobile advertising is already a multibillion-dollar business, with nearly 70 percent of ad dollars spent on Google and Facebook ads. 14  The types of marketing and sales messages created for mobile audiences range from short, simple text ads that appear next to search engine results to mobile-optimized video—the most common form of content marketing in the mobile arena. 15

REAL-TIME UPDATES Learn More by Visiting This Website: Best practices in mobile marketing

Get everything you need to know from the Mobile Marketing Association. Go to  http://real-timeupdates.com/bce7 . Under “Students,” click on “Learn More.”

Companies are putting so much emphasis on mobile marketing because mobile devices now play such a big role in consumer buying behavior. Smartphone owners tend to use their devices for many shopping-related tasks, from searching for product reviews to finding stores and service businesses, looking for coupons and other promotions, and doing in-store price comparisons. In fact, some 80 percent of smartphone-equipped consumers use their devices to get shopping-related information. 16

Promotional messages aimed at mobile audiences need to be short, simple, and easy to respond to.

If you are involved with creating mobile marketing or sales messages, keep two essential points in mind. First, like all mobile messages, promotional messages need to be kept short and simple. Second, the mobile experience needs to be fast and straightforward. Mobile users are often time-constrained, and they will quickly abandon websites that don’t load quickly or are confusing to navigate.

Maintaining High Ethical and Legal Standards

The word persuasion has negative connotations for some people, especially in a marketing or sales context. However, ethical businesspeople view persuasion as a positive force, a way to align their own interests with what is best for their audiences. They influence audience members by providing information and aiding understanding, which allows audiences the freedom to choose. 17

Marketing and sales messages are covered by a wide range of laws and regulations.

As marketing and selling grow increasingly complex, so do the legal ramifications of marketing and sales messages. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other federal, state, and local authorities can penalize advertisers that violate standards for truthful advertising and other regulations. All marketers need to understand these basic legal aspects of promotional communication: 18

· Marketing and sales messages must be truthful and nondeceptive. The FTC considers messages to be deceptive if they (a) include statements that are likely to mislead reasonable customers and the statements are an important part of the purchasing decision, (b) fail to include important information, or (c) imply deceptive claims without actually making them.

· You must back up your claims with evidence. According to the FTC, offering a money-back guarantee or providing letters from satisfied customers is not enough; you must still be able to support your claims with objective evidence such as a survey or scientific study.

· “Bait and switch” advertising is illegal. Trying to attract buyers by advertising a product that you don’t intend to sell—and then trying to sell them another (and usually more expensive) product—is illegal.

· Marketing messages and websites aimed at children are subject to special rules. For example, online marketers must obtain consent from parents before collecting personal information about children under age 13.

· Marketing and sales messages are considered binding contracts in many states. If you imply or make an offer and then can’t fulfill your end of the bargain, you can be sued for breach of contract.

· In most cases, you can’t use a person’s name, photograph, or other identity without permission. Doing so is considered an invasion of privacy. You can use images of people considered to be public figures as long as you don’t unfairly imply that they endorse your message.

Marketers have a responsibility to stay up to date on laws and regulations that restrict promotional messages.

Marketers also need to be up to date on the latest regulations affecting “spam” (unsolicited bulk email), customer privacy, and data security.

For the latest information on writing persuasive messages, visit  http://real-timeupdates.com/bce7  and click on  Chapter 9 .

Chapter Review and Activities Learning Objectives: Check Your Progress

Objective 1:   Apply the three-step writing process to persuasive messages.

To plan persuasive messages, carefully clarify your purpose to make sure you focus on a single goal. Understand audience needs, which can involve research to identify relevant demographic and psychographic variables and to assess audience motivations. Persuasive messages usually ask people to give up time, money, or other resources, so gathering the right information to convince readers of the benefits of responding is essential. Media choices need to be considered carefully, particularly with marketing and sales messages in a social media landscape. For organizing persuasive messages, you will usually want to choose the indirect approach in order to establish awareness and interest before asking the audience to take action.

When writing persuasive messages, use positive and polite language, understand and respect cultural differences, be sensitive to organizational cultures when writing persuasive business messages, and take steps to establish your credibility. Seven common ways to establish credibility in persuasive messages are using simple language, supporting your claims, identifying your sources, establishing common ground, being objective, displaying good intentions, and avoiding the hard sell.

The steps for completing persuasive messages are the same as for other types of messages, but accuracy and completeness are especially important because they send signals about your credibility—a crucial element in persuasive messages.

Objective 2: Describe an effective strategy for developing persuasive business messages.

Within the context of the three-step process, effective persuasion involves four essential strategies: framing your arguments, balancing emotional and logical appeals, reinforcing your position, and anticipating objections. One of the most commonly used methods for framing a persuasive argument is the AIDA model, in which you open your message by getting the audience’s attention; build interest with facts, details, and additional benefits; increase desire by providing more evidence and answering possible objections; and motivate a specific action.

Persuasive business messages combine emotional appeals (which call on feelings and sympathies) and logical appeals (which call on reason, using analogy, induction, or deduction). To reinforce your position, look for ways to add convincing evidence, quotations from experts, or other support material.

By identifying potential objections and addressing them as you craft your message, you can help prevent audience members from gravitating toward negative answers before you have the opportunity to ask them for a positive response. You can often resolve these issues before the audience has a chance to go on the defensive.

Objective 3: Identify the three most common categories of persuasive business messages.

The most common types of these messages are (1) persuasive requests for action, in which you ask the recipient to make a decision or engage in some activity; (2) persuasive presentations of ideas, in which you aren’t necessarily looking for a decision or action but rather would like the audience to consider a different way of looking at a particular topic; and (3) persuasive claims and requests for adjustments, in which you believe you have not received fair treatment under an organization’s standard policies and would like the recipient to give your case fresh consideration.

Objective 4:   Describe an effective strategy for developing marketing and sales messages, explain how to modify this approach for social media, and identify steps you can take to avoid ethical lapses in marketing and sales messages.

Marketing and sales messages use the same basic techniques as other persuasive messages, with the added emphasis of encouraging someone to participate in a commercial transaction. Marketing messages do this indirectly, whereas sales messages do it directly. The basic strategy for creating these messages includes assessing audience needs; analyzing your competition; determining key selling points and benefits; anticipating purchase objections; applying the AIDA model; adapting your writing to social media, if appropriate; and maintaining high standards of ethical and legal compliance.

To use social media for promotional communication, start by engaging audiences with efforts to build networked communities of potential buyers and other interested parties. Listen to conversations taking place about your company and its products. Initiate and respond to conversations within these communities, being sure to use an objective, conversational style. Provide the information interested parties want. Identify and support the enthusiastic product champions who want to help spread your message. Be authentic and transparent in all your communication. Speak directly to customers so you don’t have to rely on the news media. Finally, continue to use the AIDA model or similar approaches, but only at specific times and places.

Effective and ethical persuasive communicators focus on aligning their interests with the interests of their audiences. They help audiences understand how their proposals will provide benefits to the audience, using language that is persuasive without being manipulative. They choose words that are less likely to be misinterpreted and take care not to distort the truth. Throughout, they maintain a “you” attitude with honest concern for the audience’s needs and interests.

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