Deal with customers in writing or electronically

Handout 1: Written communication methods

Written communication can be in the form ofletters, memos, email, reports, notes, and even text messages and forum postings. Effective written communication must be accurate, with correct spelling and correct use of grammar. Written communication will always be necessary when a formal response is required. It should be remembered that any written communication will form a permanent record. For this reason it is important that you are certain of the factual content of your communication.There are likely to be organisational guidelines on when and how to use written communication, eg house styles, language to be used, etc.

A house style is where a set format is used by an organisation. Every organisation has an image and this image is reflected in their house style. Organisations have logos, eg high street stores are instantly recognised by their logos. In each store of that organisation, the name is instantly recognisable above the door by the fact it will be of the same colour, font size and style. Any documents produced by that company will follow that image in that they will all show the logo, be of same colour of paper, same font, set document layout – all of which makes up the house style. Many organisations also have a procedure, a set of rules that must be applied, on the house style to be adopted, which will indicate not only the font style and size to be used in various documents but will also detail other rules that must be applied like margin settings, whether letters should be justified or not, which type of bullet point should be used, etc.

Factors that may form part of the house style in use include:

  • the font style and colour
  • the size of font
  • the style and position of headings
  • the justification of the text
  • the size of the margins
  • the position of date, references and addressee’s details on letters.

A house style means any documents from the organisation are instantly recognisable as being from that organisation and means that everyone in the organisation knows what any letter, invoice, internal report etc should look like and presents a unified, professional image.

Letters
As a general guide to the layout of letters:

The reference is a useful way of tying all relevant correspondence together and makes it quicker to find related information.

This letter has been produced in fully blocked style. This means that no unnecessary punctuation is used. In the date - no ‘th’‘nd’ or ‘st’ and no commas are used. No full stops are used after abbreviations, like Mr or Co or Ltd, etc.

This is the salutation. Use Dear Sirs when writing to a firm, or Dear Sir when writing to an unknown person. The complimentary close will change to Yours faithfully.

Notice that in fully blocked style, all paragraphs start at the margin. In order to read the text easily, each paragraph is separated by a free line. In the body of the letter, there is one line only separating the salutation, the paragraphs and the complimentary close.

This is the complimentary close. A much larger space is needed after this so that Mr Williams can sign his name. Normally the typist presses Enter 5 or 6 times.Enc indicates that an enclosure is included in this letter.

Email

Email is widely used in organisations as a method of communication. Email allows you to send a message to one person or a large number of people and can be used to communicate with people both internal and external to the business. Many organisations now keep staff throughout the world up to date through email, saving on paper. Once your email is received the recipient could reply to you immediately no matter where they are in the world and no matter the time. Email allows communication with others often outside of office hours as more and more people access work emails at home and while mobile.

When sending an email it is important that you clearly describe the subject area, allowing your recipient to know in advance the subject content and its likely importance or relevance. Emails can be flagged to show their importance and you can also send the email with the facility to receive confirmation that it has been received and read. Emails can also be copied to others for information using the CC field, which is visible to all recipients, or the BCC field which is not visible to other recipients.

There is specific email etiquette that you should conform to:

  • most organisations monitor email and internet use so it is important that you know your organisation’s policy regarding email communication and the house style to be adopted
  • always check that the person you are sending the email to is the correct person. it is too easy to accidentally send to the wrong person through the automatic insertion of an address from the address book that you don’t check correctly before sending
  • never use capital letters throughout the email as this is seen as being aggressive and is almost like SCREAMING at the recipient
  • keep the content as concise as possible
  • always use the subject box to accurately describe the content, and only have one subject per email
  • never send confidential information by email – remember emails can be forwarded on to others
  • a virus checker must be used to ensure the security of the system.

Advantages of email / Disadvantages of email
  • Speed.
  • May be sent to many recipients.
  • Documents may be attached.
  • Cost effective.
  • Allows both internal and external communication.
  • Recipient does not have to be present to receive mail.
  • Confidential to receiver’s email account.
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  • Recipient may not pick up mail immediately.
  • Content may be hastily sent.
  • Sensitive information may accidentally be forwarded.
  • Risk of virus spread.
  • Junk mail/spam.

It is sensible to set up a system of folders to file and organise your incoming emails. That way you will be able to locate previous communications and information more easily. If you find that your working day seems to be overtaken by responding to emails, you may need to set aside set times for dealing with them, instead of allowing them to constantly interrupt your flow of work.

Whether you select letters or email to communicate with your customers will largely depend on your organisation’s procedures and service standards.

Text messaging

Increasingly, organisations are using text messaging as a form of communication with customers. These may be used to inform of promotions or to notify, for example, on delivery. Such communications should be written in Standard English, not using the text abbreviations common in social use. It should also be borne in mind that not all mobile phone owners use text messages, particularly in older age groups, and this method of communication should be confirmed as acceptable with the customer.

When receiving incoming communications from customers, it is necessary to reply as soon as possible. If the reply is likely to take some investigation or preparation on your part, it is best to send an instant reply thanking the customer for their communication and indicating when a proper reply will be sent. It is also common for organisations to have standards concerning how long it will take to reply to a letter and you should be sure that you are aware of them.