Art Of Correspondence

Art Of Correspondence

Letter writing is one of the oldest arts of communication. And even though it is used most often in business or official dealings, many of us fail to get even basic letter writing right. Here re a few tips.

With rare exceptions and regardless of the subject, the goal in all letter writing should be to keep it short, factual, and to the point. Don’t write more than one page in length, unless necessary.

Detailed information can be relegated to attachment that can be referred to by name in the body of the letter. Stick to the absolute essential facts in the main letter.

Prepare a rough draft before the final. Then carefully review and revise it. Put yourself in the place of addressee. Imagine yourself receiving the letter. How would you react to it? Would it answer all of your questions?

Does it deal with all of the key issues? Are the language and tone appropriate? Read it aloud to check whether the words used sound right.

Check for spelling and grammar mistakes. A letter is a direct reflection of the person sending it, and the organization that person works for. Once you have decided on the final content, run it through a spelling and grammar check. A letter with obvious spelling and grammar mistakes looks unprofessional.

In such cases, the recipient can’t really be blamed for seeing this as an indication as to how you and your organization probably do most other things. Follow these rules to make sure that your letter doesn’t end up in the "read later" pile or a waste paper basket.

• Use simple and appropriate language.
• Use simple straightforward language for clarity and precision.
• Use short sentences.
• Each paragraph should contain not more than three or four sentences.
• Use language and terminology familiar to the intended recipient.

Do not use technical terms and acronyms without explaining them, unless you are certain that the addressee is familiar with them. Now-a-days most business communication is through internet and the same rules can apply. The draft stage can be checked before the final 'send' click.

Body language at work

Body language at work

A person need not always has to speak to convey your feelings. Most of the time person’s body gestures are doing the talking which is even mentioned by cricket commentators while the game is going. While verbal communication has its own impact, it’s the gestures and involuntary movements of body parts or non-verbal communication that convey the strongest messages. The person or persons receiving the communication remember the body gestures (language) more than words. It is true as concluded by many experts in the field.

This is the reason why it is very important to have the right body language when you plan to make an impression or do not wish to be interpreted wrongly in an office environment.

It gives them an insight into the confidence or discomfort of the person communicating. It tells them about how much the person believes in what he is saying and whether he wants to be offensive, defensive or a partner.

What is conveyed through gestures is important because people who don’t know the communicator very well are likely to misinterpret the silent messages the body sends out. That’s why it helps to be aware of and control one’s hand and eye movements and facial expressions.

Facial expressions reflect emotional side – a smile on the face with some relevant content is an effective weapon.

Here are some tips to train your body to- give the right message:

What you say and how you say is important. Conviction and depth in voice assures one’s determination and interest in the subject.

Be confident and relaxed in an office meeting. However, don’t appear to be too relaxed as it gives the impression that you are not interested in what’s going on.

If you are in an interview and want to talk about your achievements, look your interviewer in the eye while talking otherwise the interviewer may doubt your claims.

In prolonged meetings, make sure that your body language doesn’t convey your is like of boredom with the proceedings.

Greet your interviewer or a prospective client with a firm handshake. Limp and clammy hands convey your nervousness.

If you are in a meeting and the other person gets a call, try and look away or appear busy as it gives her a sense of privacy. But do not ask if you should go out of the room.

Beware of using too many hand gestures as they lead people to believe that you are angry or are getting aggressive.

An assertive behavior, go-getter tactics and pleasant appearance is always preferred over a blunt looking, difficult to figure out behavior.

Body Language

Interestingly, while words or verbal communication have their own impact, it’s the gestures and involuntarily movements of body parts i.e. non-verbal communication that conveys the strongest of messages.

Hence, social scientists have given great impetus on understanding body language of people to know exactly their state of mind. In a corporate set up too, HR managers are being trained in grasping the subtle messages that prospective recruits as well as existing employees convey through their hand and body movements.

Even a simple observation as to how a person sits in a chair can convey a lot about his or her personality. Understanding this can help HR managers identify whether the person is right for a particular job or not.

According to studies done by psychologists, over 90% of the communication is done through body language only.

Almost all interviews give importance to body language in evaluating candidature. Some interpretations of body language are ads follows:

• An erect walk conveys confidence.
• Raising eyebrows means probing/interest.
• Tilted head signifies doubt.
• Touching nose with a finger conveys doubt.
• Biting nails is a sign of nervousness.
• Folded hands are a sign of defensiveness.
• Hands in the pockets mean dejection.
• Hands on hips while standing shows aggression.
• Legs crossed while sitting signifies boredom.
• Legs apart while sitting shows you are open.

Psychologists state that when it comes to expressing feeling: 55% of the communication-n consists of body language; 38 % is expressed through tone of voice and only; 7% is communicated through words.

That means we express 93% of our feelings in a non-verbal way. A solid reason to mind the way we gesticulate.

Honesty Goes A Long Way

The Seed

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to chose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different.

He called all the young executives in his company together.

"It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO," he said. "I have decided to choose one of you."

The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today - a very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed.

He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened.

Jim felt sick at his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.

He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed. A few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back.

"My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO.

"Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front.

Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Here is your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!"

Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO the others said?

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed.

I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.

"When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!"

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.

Branding Decisions

Branding Decisions

Branding is an important strategy to differentiate the product from its competitors. Its a name ,logo ,trade mark, even patent number or package design, intended to identify the firm’s products or services from others. It represents to the customer the source of the product which leads him to associate with the brand. In taking brand decisions, the firm has to consider the target market, cultural influences on the market and the role the brand will play in its business strategy. Foe example, a brand name which is culturally alien will find difficulty in getting accepted in the market, like in the case of Kiss and Tell brand of cosmetics that failed in the Indian market. Besides, a firm has to ensure that a brand name is not banned because it represents either a national leader or the country.

The brand decisions a firm has to take are:

1.Manufacturer’s name ,i.e whether to have its own name on all products ,or
2.Marketing organization/Distributions brand name ;or
3.Adopt a combination of the two.

Manufacturer’s Brand Policy or National Brand Policy

This policy is based on the assumption that the manufacturer had built a reputation in the market, has strength in distribution and the firm had adequate financial resources to establish a new product in the market. Customer confidence in the firm is the prime factor in the manufacturer deciding to brand the production his own name. When the firm markets this product in its own name ,nationally, this may also be called the national brand policy Common examples are all leading national brands of all well known firms in India.

The options available to a firm here are :

1.Family brand name ;or
2.Independent brand name.

The strategy of family brand name works when its name brings positive associations in the mind of the consumer. To the customer ,it represents quality, reliability and assurance of meeting specific standards.

The strategy of an independent brand name is therefore advisable. This can also help to penetrate different markets segments which may buy the firm’s product for different reasons. This strategy can also ensure that the firm doesn’t lose its original position. For example ,if Hindustan Lever would have introduce different detergent powders under the name of Surf for different market segments and differentiated them only on the basis of price it could have run the risk of losing even the original positioning of an economical detergent powder to an economy conscious middle-class housewife

Even in the same market segment ,a firm may offer different brands of the same product but with different benefits and appeal. Consider for example ,Hindustan Levers’ Liril and Lux brand of toilet soaps in the premium market .Lux has traditionally been positioned as a beauty soap while Liril offers benefits of lemon. Thus, an independent brand offers extensive benefits without endangering the corporate image.

Mixed Brand Policy

The two options is for the firm to enter into a strategic alliance with a well-known marketing firm and let it market the product under its brand name in a defined geographical area .The manufacturer also continues to market the product under his own name nationally. This is done to fight regional competition .Consider Kelvinator’s strategy of marketing refrigerators in its own name and also that of others like Blue Star, Leonard and Spencer ,Whirlpool also lets Mirc Electronics market its washing machines under the name ONIDA.

This strategy allows the firm to take benefits of both the options spelt out earlier.
Brand decisions are central to new product launches and have to be carefully taken. These represent investments in future and also the degree of control the manufacturing firm wants over its marketing operation.

Positioning

Another decision in commercialization of a new product is how to differentiate it in the midst of an already over-communicated society of ours, where an average consumer screens out most of the messages .The strategy to differentiate the brand or product is to place it in an appropriate cell of the human mind so that whenever the customer recalls the product, the firm’s brand id the first to be recalled. This strategy is called Positioning .Positioning is the act of communicating company’s offer so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the customers mind.

The concept of positioning was first advocated by Al Ries and Jack Trout ,two advertising executives in their articles titled The Positioning Era: A View Ten Years Later in Advertising Age in 1972 and later in their book Positioning :The Battle For Your Mind in 1982. According to them :

Positioning is not what you do to a product. But what you do to the mind of the prospect .That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect.

Ries and Trout believe that marketing is like a war which is fought in the mind of consumers. They advocate that the marketer should perceive each consumer to mentally have a product ladder. The customer often knows brands in the form of this ladder. There is a brand on the top of the ladder (brand leader) and there are others that occupy the second and the third step in this ladder .Sometimes the top slot may be vacant and at other times there may be two or three brands vying for this pr4estigious slot in the customer’s mind .The rush for the top slot is understandable as people remember number one.

Advertising Decisions

Advertising Decisions

Advertising objectives

The starting point in any planning exercise is one of setting the goals or objectives .In evolving an advertising plan, objectives have to be set as they help in measuring the performance of an advertising campaign .It is important for the strategist, to know how the strategy fared and the only way to know is how far did it go to achieve the objectives. Objectives or goals are also necessary to justify financial resources that are required for an advertisement campaign. The only way to counter skeptics s to state what it would cost to achieve a specific objective ,say a 20% increase in awareness in the target audience.

Objectives are also required for coordination purposes .As we have mentioned earlier ,advertising is just one of the communication tools and to achieve desired marketing objective of sale or market share all elements of communication mix must be coordinated .Each element should have both, a short term and a long term goal.

So ,to be meaningful, advertising objectives have to be measurable and communicated .Measurability is important or else performance cannot be evaluated.

Let us consider a few objectives for advertising.

Sales objectives

Marketing’s prime objective is to increase the firm or brand’s sales, market share and profits .Hence marketing activities have to be directed this goal. By the same logic, the advertising goal should also be to increase sales. This goal gives credibility to advertising expenditures and may even subdue the complaints that 50% of advertising expenditure is a waste of money .But this goal for advertising has a problem. As we mentioned, sales is a function of a firm’s marketing mix, competition activity and consumer behavior Hence ,to attribute increase or decrease in sales to advertising alone is like attributing success or failure in a game of football to just one single player, when it is really a team game. Besides, the effect of advertising on sales is lagged one ,in the sense that an advertisement may continue to have a demand pull even after it has been withdrawn. It is never that sales start and end immediately after the campaign has got off the ground or comes to an end. In other words, the impact of an advertising campaign may not be known for certain until considerable time has passed. According to one of the researches for frequently purchased consumer non-durable products like soft dinks, tea ,coffee toiletries, etc, the effect of an advertising exposure can take upto nine months to get dissipated.

Typically, an advertising campaign mat attract new customers to the brand, or it might help develop more positive attitudes in the target market towards the brand or may even generate trial purchases. All these together will lead to an increase in the brands; sales. Isolating these effects and conclusively show that the advertising campaign has led to an increase in sales is a difficult proposition.

In case of financial instruments advertising or the direct marketing campaign or even individual classified advertisements—the kind one often sees in the print media ,the results are more tangible.
Thus ,but for the above situations ,it is perhaps incorrect to define advertising goals in terms of sales.

Sardar and Cancer

Sardar and Cancer

Santa Singh went to his doctor after a long illness. The doctor, after a lengthy examination, sighed and looked Santa Singh in the eye and said, "I've some bad news for you... you have cancer and it can't be cured. I'd give you two weeks to a month."

Santa Singh, shocked and saddened by the news, but of solid character, managed to compose himself and walk from the doctor's office into the waiting room. There he saw his son who had been waiting. Santa Singh said, "Puttar, we Surds celebrate when things are good and celebrate when things don't go so well. In this case, things aren't so well. I have cancer and I've been given a short time to live. Let's head for the pub and have a few pints." After three or four pints, the two were feeling a little less somber.

There were some laughs and more beers. They were eventually approached by some of Santa Singh's old friends who asked what the two were celebrating. Santa Singh told them that the Surds celebrate the good and the bad. He went on to tell them that they were drinking to his impending end. He told his friends "I've only got few weeks to live as I have been diagnosed with AIDS."

The friends gave Santa Singh their condolences and they had a couple more beers. After his friends left, Santa Singh's son leaned over and whispered his confusion, "Dad, I thought you said that you were dying from cancer? You just told your friends that you were dying from AIDS!"

Santa Singh said, " I am dying from cancer, puttar. I just don't want any of them around your mother after I'm gone."