Chapter 10

 Writing for Service

Liar, Liar, your pants are on fire! Remember this phrase from your younger days? This is how your customers feel when they read letters that are sent in the spirit of service but are not written in the spirit of service.

The toughest part of sending a written communication is that many times you will not know how your customer reacts to the message unless they are driven to action. In most cases, their action can be broken down into two classes:

• Complaints
• Orders

Results Only

Only when you hear from the customer will you know whether or not your letter accomplished its goal. Otherwise, it’s the great void.

The success of a written communication isn’t based on how well the letter is written, but rather on how well it is received and acted upon.

Did the letter communicate the appropriate intentions and motivate the customer to take the appropriate actions? Even a letter of thank you should lead to a referral or continuation of business down the road if written properly.

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 Tales from the Real World
Ron was walking back to the hotel one night after dinner with a VP of Marketing from one of his clients. During the walk, the VP complained how the sales executives didn’t respond to her recent memo and how she could not understand why. She claimed it was the best memo she’d ever written and that the salespeople were lazy for not reading it.

 

Ron gently informed her that the memo was not successful if it wasn’t read, no matter how well it was written. The bottom line is that people read letters and don’t think about whether they’re well-written or not; they react depending on whether or not they feel the letter’s message will benefit them. They simply don’t much care about the writer.

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Where’s Your Destination?

Stephen Covey says you should “begin with the end in mind.” When you think about it, this is really the golden rule for anything you take on. Say you want to fly from New York to Miami. Would you get there if the pilot’s flight plan only called for going South? Probably not! But you’re virtually certain to get to a specific destination when the flight plan calls for it. Ever hear of a major airliner landing in the wrong city? Pretty rare.

Only when you have the specific destination in mind can you figure out what you are going to need to reach that destination. Anything else is just motion.

Communicate whether the goal of your letter is to:

• Thank your customers for their patronage
• Handle complaints
• Respond to inquiries
• Communicate information regarding a transaction

If you start writing your letters before figuring this out up-front, there is a strong likelihood your intended message may never be communicated. That’s because, even if you eventually get to the point you want to make, you’ll have thoroughly confused or bored your reader. Net result: zip.

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 At Your Service
People are bombarded with a lot to do and no time to do it. Add to the time pressure the habit most people have of channel surfing and it’s easy to understand why it’s a real challenge to make an impression on someone. In fact, statistics show that you have 18–39 seconds to make a favorable impression on a decision maker when meeting face-to-face—and that the average person spends only about 9–20 seconds reviewing sales-related materials, and a brief 4–11 seconds when reviewing a print ad. That’s if they even stop to consider the message at all! So, if you don’t grab your customer’s attention fast, forget it. Your communication is wasted. And that’s a fact!

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What’s in It for the Customer?

In order for your message to be heard, it must grab the customer’s attention. If you don’t believe that, speak to anyone in direct mail marketing and ask about the power of headlines. Sometimes you can realize a tremendous jump in response to a marketing letter by changing only one word in the headline. Of course, you need to figure out what the magic word(s) is.

The Quick Scan Test

Think about when you read your mail. Say a letter happens to survive the initial cut—you know, to the trash or not. It makes it all the way to your kitchen table and you actually open it. How long would you give it before you decide if it’s anything you want to be bothered with? For most people, it’s a few seconds at best.

Get Their Attention

One of the best ways to grab your customer’s attention is by starting your message with your purpose, either in the headline or in the first sentence. And make sure that your purpose is of benefit and interest to the customer.

For example, if you’re writing to thank someone for doing business with you, you may start with:

Or:

Or, for example, you may be sending instructions for a product update, such as:

People for the most part like being thanked, want to receive the latest information that could impact their lives, and want to know that their comments are being heard. If you start your letters out by stating these intentions from the top, there’s an excellent possibility that your letter will be read.

Another key factor in grabbing and keeping the customer’s attention up-front is to avoid using the word “I.” If you’re using too many Is (more than one or two is too many) in your letters, then you’re probably communicating a self-centered message.

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 Watch It!
Customer service is about helping and positively impressing your customers. If your message doesn’t clearly convey an attitude of gratitude and helpfulness, you not only won’t positively impress customers, you might even cause a damaging, negative reaction.

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Customers don’t really care about how you feel or what you think. They want to know what you are doing to help them. Now this may seem a bit harsh, but it’s the reality.

Out of the two opening sentences listed below, which do you think is more powerful?

As you can see, the first sentence is more focused on the writer, while the second sentence is clearly focused on the customer. When the message is focused on the customer, the customer wants to read it. And your message can only register when it’s read.

Your Call to Action

Every letter you write should have a central purpose of enhancing the relationship with your customer. It could be to:

• Thank them for their business and to remind them to remember you when the need for your products and services arises in the future.
• Request that your customer spread the good word about your company to their friends and relatives.
• Suggest how they can get a hold of you in case of a problem.

Notice how every one of the examples suggests that the customer do something. Every letter you send to a customer should suggest that your customer do something. That’s known as a call to action. A letter without a call to action is usually a wasted opportunity.

The following are some sample calls to action.

Thank You letters:

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 Word to the Wise
A call to action is simply a request for the customer to do something. It can range from asking them to call a certain number with any problems to filling out a customer survey and sending it back. No matter what type of letter you’re writing, there should be a call to action that results in a stronger relationship.

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Responses to complaints:

Survey requests:

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 At Your Service
Vanity phone numbers are great for getting a customer to remember your name, like Ron has: 1-800-423-KARR. But remember that your role is to make things easy for your customers, not hard and frustrating. Do them a favor and put the digits after the letters. There’s nothing more frustrating or wasteful of time than having to translate letters into numbers. Ron lists his phone number as 1-800-423-KARR(5277).

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As with grabbing your customer’s attention, the call to action must be centered on the customer, not you. Which of the following two sentences would be of more interest to you if you were the customer?

The bottom line is if your call to action is not customer-centered, it won’t be acted upon.

Writing for World Class Service

Providing world class service isn’t a reactive type of behavior. It is proactive. It involves taking the initiative and sending a communication to your customer telling her how important she really is to you and acknowledging her thoughts and comments. And sometimes it’s merely a token of appreciation. But no matter how small the token may be, it will go a long way.

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 Tales from the Real World
In 1987, Ron bought a Honda Accord. Two weeks after driving home from the dealer in his new car, he received a package from Honda in California. Wondering what parts Honda forgot to put into his car, he carefully opened the package and was surprised (shocked) to find a tin of cookies inside with a note thanking him for his purchase. No car company had ever sent him cookies before, let alone a note of thanks.

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Open All Hailing Frequencies

Providing world class customer service means keeping the lines of communication open. Never take your customers’ feelings and gratitude for granted. If you do, they’ll wonder what happened and why they never heard from you. And then, when it comes time to purchase the same kind of products again, they will return the favor by not communicating to you. In other words, they will go to the competition.

It amazes both of us how businesses spend incredible amounts of money trying to get new customers and not nearly as much as they should on trying to keep existing customers. Especially when it is a proven fact that it costs more to secure a new customer than it does to get more business from an existing one.

Look at Nordstrom, or better yet, go to Nordstrom. They know they will get a higher return on investment by mobilizing their resources to serve the customer as best as possible. Stories of customers receiving thank you cards and extraordinary service from their Nordstrom salesperson are legendary. When their customers think Nordstrom, they think world class service.

When you think about it, the success or failure of any business depends on its ability to effectively communicate with its customers: before, during, and after the purchase. Are you writing for world class service?

Phrases to Avoid

As with the words you use in verbal communications, there are phrases you should absolutely avoid in your written communication. Some of them are a complete waste of time, attention, and paper. And some of them totally detract from your overall message.

Let’s take a look at some of these phrases:

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 At Your Service
Your written words represent you. They are a substitute for your interacting with a customer in-person. Just as you wouldn’t leave the house wearing the first thing you blindly grabbed out of your closet, you shouldn’t send off on paper the first words that pop into your mind. Take time to craft thoughtful, meaningful messages. If you keep “form” letters on your computer, add a personal touch to them. People believe you care when they get a clear sense that you care enough to communicate it clearly and warmly.

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Common or Special

The words you use in a letter can be viewed either as commodities or precious gems. Words without impact in your message are mere commodities. They aren’t even worth the proverbial dime a dozen. On the other hand, words that create impact, clearly state your message, and succeed in getting the customer to take action are precious gems indeed.

As with anything that is polished, you must take a few passes at it before you get the shine you’re looking for. So on your first draft, forget about the words. Just get your thoughts on paper. Then read through your copy and strike out any superfluous words that have no impact or bearing on your overall mission. Make that letter shine!

Elements of a Good “Bad News” Letter

Did you ever have to write a letter that you knew would not make the customer happy? Like telling the customer her suggestion is not feasible for whatever reason. Or, that the promised date of delivery is no longer valid. The point is that no matter how hard you try to give great service, sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to.

Whether or not a customer will continue to do business with you will sometimes be determined by how you communicate the bad news.

The following is some great advice on communicating bad news in the written form. The five elements were based on a model developed by nationally known communications expert Sue Hershkowitz.

The Cushion

You know the urge you have when you have to let someone down? To do it as gently as possible. That’s what we call the cushion. The cushion is an opening statement that lays a soft landing for when you have to deliver the bad news. Here’s a sample cushion statement:

Dear Mr. Jones:

We received your request for a full refund on the unused tickets and have carefully reviewed it in great detail.

The sample cushion statement above highlights the fact that the customer’s request was important, heard, and acted upon. Whatever decision is made, the customer can at least feel somewhat better that a great deal of attention was given to his request. That’s more comforting than believing your request was ignored.

The Transition

Now that you have laid down the soft blanket, it’s time to position the customer for the let down. Here’s a sample transition:

The tickets you purchased were based on a non-refundable fare.

The above transitional statement brings the conversation back toward the issue you are being asked to address in a manner that is not demoralizing. Telling someone “Now for the bad news” is what we would call a demoralizing statement.

The Bad News

Here it comes. Now you have to communicate the news you wish you didn’t have to write about. The only way to do this successfully is to keep to the facts. Facts tend to neutralize the issue. Avoid inflammatory words and statements as discussed in Chapter 6 such as “can’t,” “won’t,” “don’t,” and “couldn’t.” These words will only turn the issue into a confrontation in which there are no winners. Here is a sample bad news statement:

Non-refundable fares are lower in cost and do have some limitations, including the unavailability of a refund for unused tickets.

All that was stated in the bad news statement above was the fact that non-refundable tickets carried some limitations, including no refunds. Nowhere was it stated that you don’t, won’t, can’t give refunds. The neutral facts keep the emotion out of the equation.

Rebuilding the Bridge

So now you have knocked your customer down, even though you did it gently and properly. Now it’s time to pick the customer up and rebuild the relationship. You must build a bridge that rises above the rejection and focuses on an acceptable solution. The following is an example of a bridge to a positive:

Please keep in mind that non-refundable tickets can be applied to any fare during the next 12 months.

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 Watch It!
Any letter that smells of being a form letter immediately conveys an impersonal feeling. Now we are not saying don’t use form letters. We live in the real world and know all about efficiency and productivity (we consult on those issues). When you do use form letters, at least write them in a conversational tone—not in the form of a speech that sounds like you’re broadcasting to thousands of other customers. Remember that each piece of communication reaches but one customer at a time.

 

Likewise, every letter should come from a named individual. Don’t sign the letter as from “the Customer Service Dept.,” or “Acme Amalgamated Inc.” The letter should come from a single individual. You can’t communicate caring humanity by signing a letter as coming from a dehumanized, impersonal institution!

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The bridge above focuses on the solution that the customer can hold onto the tickets and redeem their value against a future purchase. In the end, the customer at least has some recourse.

Close with Action

As with any written communication, you want to end with a call to action and provide closure to the situation. Here’s an example closing statement:

To apply this ticket to your next purchase, please call 1-000-WE-SERVE (937-3783) or your travel agent. We look forward to seeing you in the air!

In the above example, you see that the call to action was an invitation to call and make reservations on an upcoming trip using the non-refundable ticket. The letter ends with the perception that the customer and airline will continue to move forward together.

Give It a Shot

Here is a sample bad news letter with all the components strung together:

Dear Mr. Jones:

We received your request for a full refund on the unused tickets and we have carefully reviewed it in great detail. (Cushion)

The tickets you purchased were based on a non-refundable fare. (Transition) Non-refundable fares are lower in cost and do have some limitations, including the inability to receive a refund for any unused tickets. (Bad News) Please keep in mind that non-refundable tickets can be applied to any fare during the next 12 months. (Bridge Toward Acceptable Solution)

To apply this ticket to your next purchase, please call 1-000-WE-SERVE (937-3783) or your travel agent. We look forward to seeing you in the air! Sincerely, (Call To Action and Closure)

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 Watch It!
The New York Times has a great slogan; “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” When you’re writing your next customer service letter, keep this variation on the Times’ slogan in mind: “Only the news that’s fit for your precious time.” Your letter should only contain the words and news that’s fit to print in relation to what your purpose is, what you need to communicate, and what result you want to achieve. Anything else is not fit to print.

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Emphasize Empathy

When you’re forced to write a letter to your customer containing bad news, write it in a way you would want to be told the news. Like everyone, you want to be given a solid reason for the negative answer. It must make sense, and be rational and non-combative. You want to feel like you have been treated fairly. You don’t want to feel ignored or taken for granted. That’s exactly how your customers want to feel. No one likes bad news. Even worse is feeling bad about how the news was communicated. You may not be able to control the news you have to communicate, but you can control how you communicate the news.

A Final, Personal Word

And one more thing! Regardless of the type of letter you’re writing, please remember your audience is made up of fellow human beings, who, like you, want to be treated with respect—for both their feelings and their time. People want to feel that your letter is like a peer-to-peer conversation. So be conversational in your letters, not formal and not preachy.

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 Watch It!
After all the time you took to make sure your message was appropriate, be sure to take a few extra minutes to proofread your message. A message with grammatical and spelling errors is a clear sign that you did not value your message to the customer and might get her to wondering what else your company skimps on.

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Recall the objective of creating great experiences with your customers. When a customer receives great customer service, he feels that the solution was created just for him. It’s true for your written communication as well. When a letter conveys a genuine appreciation for your customer, he or she feels satisfied and special.

Make sure your communication conveys feelings of warmth, genuine interest, and appreciation. Above all, don’t hesitate to express your humanity. Your customers will recognize, appreciate, and value that more than you can imagine.

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 Tales from the Real World
Don worked with a large company whose customer service letters had all the charm of directives from the Soviet bureaucracy. No, those were probably friendlier. The irony? The client was a major communications company!

 

When writing to your customers for whatever reason, never decree, proclaim, or declare. And don’t write to the unseen masses even when sending a mailing to all your customers. Similarly, if your company’s customers are other organizations, remember that a company, institution, or agency can’t read a letter. It’s always a person at the other end.

 

No matter how many copies of your letter you send, only one, single person at a time will read your letter. So your written communication is always person-to-person communication and never institution-to-institution communication.

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