Deck 10: Writing Specific Communications

Question 1

List and briefly describe the five objectives of an effective sales letter.

Answer 1

An effective sales letter generally accomplishes the following five objectives (1) attract the reader's attention, (2) establish a close relationship with the reader, (3) appeal to one or more specific buying motives, (4) persuade the reader to act, and (5) provide the reader with an opportunity to act.
A sales letter must immediately attract favorable attention. Appearance starts with the envelope that promises big prizes, valuable certificates, and great savings inside. Once a reader opens the envelope, other factors come into play. To keep the sales prospect reading, the writer needs to establish a familiar tone. One way is to refer to the reader as you as often as possible. Use the reader's name twice in the letter and start the letter with a question that will result in a yes answer. Other ways to establish a familiar tone is by using imperative sentences, informal punctuation but no contractions, short, informal sentences, and by complimenting the reader. The goal is to induce the reader to buy. "Incentives to buy" are called sales appeals, and they are the main act of the sales letter. The sales appeal brings the reader to the point of wanting to buy a product. To persuade the reader to act, the writer often uses techniques that help develop a close relationship, such as a rhetorical question. After subconsciously answering yes to rhetorical questions, readers are ready to act. Writers of sales letters include at least one of the following opportunities for immediate reaction: a postage-paid reply card, an order form, coupons, a toll-free phone number, a web address, store locations, product samples, or a fax number.

Question 2

Describe each collection letter in a typical five-letter follow-up series.

Answer 2

In a typical five-letter follow-up series, all letters should include the amount owed and the date due.
a) First follow-up letter-though clear and firm, should still give the customer the benefit of the doubt.
b) Second letter-which should be mailed no later than 15 days after the first letter, should remain friendly and courteous but should be firmer and more insistent than the first.
c) Third letter-should be even more insistent and forceful than the second letter.
d) Fourth letter-should demand payment.
e) Fifth letter-should state what legal action will be taken if the delinquent customer fails to take advantage of this last opportunity to pay. The goal of this last letter is to urge the reader to pay the bill in order to avoid legal action.

Question 3

What is a claim letter? List a few guidelines to be followed when writing a claim letter.

Answer 3

A claim letter is a type of request letter written when there is a problem with a product or service. The person who writes a claim letter believes, of course, that he or she has been wronged. A few guidelines to be followed when writing a claim letter are:
• Get the facts. When you write a claim letter, you should rely on facts as the basis of your claim. Until you have sufficient facts, do not write the letter. When you do have all the facts, use them to describe the claim completely and accurately. It is especially important to be complete and accurate when you are writing a claim letter because you are, in effect, making an accusation. Both to make a convincing argument and to be fair to the reader, you should present all the facts, and you should do so accurately.
• Avoid accusations, threats, and demands. The goal of the claim letter is to get the missing merchandise, to correct the billing error, to return the damaged goods-in other words, to get results; not to accuse, to lay blame, to threaten, or to demand.
• Suggest reasonable solutions. The opposite of accusing, threatening, or demanding is suggesting reasonable solutions. By suggesting reasonable solutions, you strengthen your chance of getting a just settlement quickly. It is usually best to suggest the kind of solution that you consider acceptable.

Question 4

How does writing an adjustment letter differ when a claim is allowable and when a claim is clearly nonallowable?

Question 5

Elaborate on the role of a public relations specialist.

Question 6

How does the social-business letter format differ from the personal-business letter format?

Question 7

Describe three occasions that call for a written thank-you letter.

Question 8

What are form letters? What are the advantages of using them?

Question 9

What are the disadvantages of form letters? Describe one way to offset each disadvantage.

Question 10

What are the ways in which companies can reduce the costs and time involved in writing letters?

Question 11

"Incentives to buy" are called _____, and they are the main act of a sales letter.

Question 12

A(n) _____ is a group of potential customers chosen on the basis of certain characteristics, such as age, geographic location, income, or lifestyle.

Question 13

A type of persuasive letter in which a company reminds certain customers that they have not paid their bills is known as a(n) _____.

Question 14

A(n) _____ is a type of request letter written by a customer when there is a problem with a product or service.

Question 15

A _____ looks for opportunities to show the company they work for in the best possible light.

Question 16

When the promotions of an event use newspaper ads, spot announcements on local radio stations, circulars, and news releases, all focused on the same theme, together they make up a(n) _____.

Question 17

The salutation in a social-business letter ends with a _____ rather than with a colon.

Question 18

When certain details in the body of a form letter are changed according to the situation, these changes are called _____.

Question 19

Form letters are composed by combining various prewritten paragraphs, called _____, into a particular communication.

Question 20

16. Which of the following is NOT an objective of an effective sales letter?

A) Establish a close relationship with the reader.
B) Provide the reader with an opportunity to act.
C) Define and choose the target audience.
D) Appeal to one or more specific buying motives.

Question 21

Referring to the reader of your sales letter as "you" as often as possible will:

A) offend the reader.
B) guarantee purchase action from the reader.
C) establish familiarity with the reader.
D) fail to personalize the message.

Question 22

True Green Inc., a pharmaceutical company, is promoting a new drug for arthritic knee pain. With the help of its existing database of hospitals and private clinics, True Green is sending out sales letters to all its prospective customers. Which of the following would be an appropriate rhetorical question to be used in the sales letter?

A) How long have you been suffering from arthritic knee pain?
B) Would you like to be free from arthritic knee pain?
C) What medications have you been prescribed for arthritic knee pain?
D) What causes arthritic knee pain?

Question 23

Which of the following items included with a sales letter is NOT meant to provide customers with an opportunity to act on an urge to buy?

A) A collection letter
B) A sample product
C) An order form
D) A postage-paid reply card

Question 24

Collection letters are used to:

A) remind certain customers that they have not paid their bills.
B) respond to claim letters.
C) make requests when there are problems with products or services.
D) congratulate co-workers on their promotions.

Question 25

A company has not received its payment from a customer even after sending the customer multiple reminders. In the final letter of a five-letter follow-up series to be sent to the customer, the company should:

A) give the customer the benefit of the doubt.
B) state what legal action will be taken if the customer fails to pay.
C) insult and blame the customer.
D) demand that the customer make the payment immediately.

Question 26

Derek placed an order for seven electronic circuits for his project, but only two were delivered on the specified date. A week later, the remaining five circuits had still not arrived, prompting Derek to write a claim letter to the seller. Which of the following should Derek avoid when writing the claim letter?

A) Providing all the details about the transaction in chronological order
B) Suggesting the kinds of solution that Derek would consider acceptable
C) Starting the letter with a threatening or insulting statement
D) Checking if it is the supplier's fault or the shipping company's fault

Question 27

If you receive a claim letter threatening legal action against the company you are working for, which of the following actions would be most appropriate for you to take?

A) Replying to the letter in a negative tone
B) Granting an adjustment irrespective of whether the claim is allowable or not
C) Notifying your supervisor and the company's legal department
D) Ignoring the letter and keeping the issue from the company's management

Question 28

Henry wrote a letter to Warm and Soft Inc., informing them that the comforter he received was the incorrect size. The company replied, stating that it would replace the comforter with the right one in three days. In this scenario, the reply from Warm and Soft Inc. is referred to as a(n):

A) collection letter.
B) sales letter.
C) adjustment letter.
D) claim letter.

Question 29

An adjustment letter is written by a:

A) company to a customer when a bill has not been paid.
B) company in response to a claim letter.
C) customer when there is problem with the company's product.
D) company's HR department to congratulate an employee on a promotion.

Question 30

A company decides to seek a compromise adjustment with a claimant in the event of a(n):

A) allowable claim.
B) partially allowable claim.
C) nonallowable claim.
D) illegal claim.

Question 31

Which of the following is most likely to result in unfavorable public relations?

A) Congratulating someone for a special achievement
B) Inviting someone to a highly-acclaimed art show and not letting them pay
C) Thanking someone for his or her business
D) Informing a customer that his or her claim is nonallowable

Question 32

A bank wants to congratulate one of its customers for having repaid an entire loan amount with no defaults. Which of the following letters would best help the bank convey this message?

A) An adjustment letter
B) A claim letter
C) A public relations letter
D) A collection letter

Question 33

With regard to the social-business letter format, which of the following statements is NOT True?

A) The inside address is placed last, at the bottom left of the page.
B) The salutation ends with a comma rather than a colon.
C) The baronial letterhead cannot be used.
D) Reference initials and copy notations are not included.

Question 34

The salutation "Dear Ms. Lucy" should end with a comma rather than with a colon in a(n) _____.

A) collection letter
B) claim letter
C) condolence letter
D) adjustment letter

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT an example of social-business communications?

A) Congratulating a co-worker on a promotion
B) Expressing a grievance to a firm when there is problem with a product
C) Expressing condolences when a business associate suffers a tragedy
D) Thanking someone for a special favor or a gift

Question 36

Form letters should be primarily used when:

A) the same message has to be sent to many addressees.
B) individually customized communications are required.
C) multiple letters with different messages are to be sent to the same addressee.
D) highly personalized messages are to be conveyed to a reader.

Question 37

Which of the following is a disadvantage of form letters?

A) They have poorer content quality.
B) They increase a company's cost and time required to write letters.
C) They fail to add a personal touch to the message in them.
D) They have more errors.

Question 38

Fly Now Inc. has to send out letters to two customers confirming their air ticket reservations. Since only a few details in the confirmation letters are different, the writer has decided to use form letters with variables. Which of the following parts of the two form letters will be different?

A) The letterheads
B) The body of the letters
C) The complimentary closings
D) The punctuation after the salutations

Question 39

When Jack and Fred, members of the same team, completed five years at their company, they received separate congratulations letters from their manager. When Jack and Fred compared their letters, they observed that apart from the date, inside address, and salutation, the bodies of the letters were identical. From this scenario, it can be concluded that the letters sent to Jack and Fred were _____.

A) form letters without variables
B) adjustment letters
C) collection letters
D) form letters with variables

Question 40

Sales letters can be more direct and personal than commercials on radio and television.

Question 41

In order to establish a familiar tone in a sales letter, a writer should avoid referring to the reader as "you."

Question 42

Using imperative sentences in the first paragraph of a sales letter can help a writer establish a familiar tone with the readers.

Question 43

A rhetorical question is a question that is posed with an expectation of a long reply.

Question 44

Rhetorical questions in a sales letter are a poor way to develop a close relationship between the writer and the reader

Question 45

When a customer first fails to pay a bill on time, it is wise to assume that this failure is an oversight.

Question 46

The goal of a claim letter is to accuse, blame, or threaten the reader.

Question 47

By suggesting reasonable solutions to resolve a claim, the claimant weakens his or her chance of getting a just settlement quickly.

Question 48

To evaluate a claim, the person receiving the claim must consider only one source of evidence-the law.

Question 49

Unfavorable public opinion can ruin a firm.

Question 50

When routine letters are written to a company, writers should avoid looking for ways to incorporate good public relations techniques in their replies to the letters.

Question 51

The three most commonly used sizes of stationery for businesses are the letter, or standard, the executive, or monarch, and the half letter, or baronial.

Question 52

Writers should follow the personal-business letter format when writing congratulations letters to employees of the same company.

Question 53

Form letters are used to respond to identical situations.

Question 54

If readers find out that they have received a form letter, they may feel somewhat disappointed.