8e
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
In Person, In Print, Online
Chapter 7
Persuasive Messages
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Persuasive Messages
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Audience
Analysis
Short
Messages
Sales Letters
Responding
to Feedback
Persuasive Messages
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Audience
Analysis
Short
Messages
Sales Letters
Responding
to Feedback
Common Areas of Resistance
• Previous negative experience
• Limited time
• Limited money
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• Indifference
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Analyzing Your Audience
Who is the audience?
What is your relationship with the audience?
How will the audience likely react?
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What does the audience already know?
What is unique about the audience?
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Video Example
Revisiting Starbucks
What are the key
messages for each of
these audiences?
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•
•
•
•
Customers
Investors
The Public
Employees
Click image to play the video
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
[Click Revisiting
to edit Master
Starbucks
title style]
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
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[Click
Applying
to edit
Persuasion
Master title
Principles
style]
Ethos:
An appeal based
on credibility
Pathos:
An appeal based
on emotion
Logos:
An appeal based
on logic
Demonstrate
good
character
Connect with
people on an
emotional
level
Use solid
evidence and
reasoning
Provide your
background
and
experience
Use stories
and imagery
Provide facts
and expert
opinion
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Video Example
Taco Bell’s
“Real Beef” Campaign
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
• What examples of
ethos, pathos, and
logos can you identify
in Greg Creed’s video?
• Which arguments do
you consider most
effective? Why?
Click image to play the video
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Taco Bell’s
“Real
Beef”title
Campaign
[Click
to edit
Master
style]
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Persuasive Messages
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Audience
Analysis
Short
Messages
Sales Letters
Responding
to Feedback
Writing a Short Persuasive Message
Determine How to Start the Message
Justify Your Idea or Request
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Deal with Obstacles
Motivate Action
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Determining How to Start
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Use a Direct Plan When…
Use an Indirect Plan When…
writing to supervisors
writing to colleagues or people
who report to you
your audience is predisposed to
listen objectively to your request
writing to someone outside the
organization
the proposal does not require
strong persuasion
strong persuasion is needed
the proposal is long or complex
the reader is initially resistant to
your proposal
you know that your reader prefers
the direct approach
you know that your reader prefers
the indirect approach
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Compare
Indirect
Openings
[Click
toDirect
edit the
Master
title
style]
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Direct
Indirect
I’ve come to expect
premium quality in the
products I purchase from
your company over the
last ten years. You can
imagine my
disappointment when the
shirt I purchased recently
faded after it was washed
the first time.
I’m writing to request
that you replace the shirt
I purchased because the
color has faded.
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
| Responding to Feedback
[Click
Practice
to edit
Enticing
Master
Your
title
Reader
style]
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Imagine a situation where you’re
writing to a prospective customer
of your house cleaning service.
Write a catchy opening that
meets these criteria:
• Interesting (perhaps a
rhetorical question)
• Relevant to the audience
(busy professionals)
• Short (one or two sentences)
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
| Responding to Feedback
Justifying Your Idea or Request
Facts and
Statistics
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Expert
Opinion
Examples
Audience Analysis
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Use objective statements and
statistics that can be verified.
Choose a few relevant data points
to avoid overwhelming the reader.
Include experts to support your
points, particularly if your credibility
is in question.
Use relevant, representative cases
or incidents to illustrate your
points.
Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
[Click
Dealing
to editwith
Master
Obstacles
title style]
Address big
obstacles
directly
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Anticipate
objections
Devote
little space
to
objections
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
Incorporate
objections
into
benefits
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Sales Letters
| Responding to Feedback
Motivating Action
State (or restate) the specific request
late in the message
BUT:
Make the desired action clear and easy
for the reader to take
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End on a forward-looking note,
continuing to stress reader benefits
NOT: I need your
recommendation by
Friday, or I’ll miss my
deadline!
Use a polite, sincere tone and include
compliments only when they are
sincere
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Link to the full
story on the
blog.
Barnes and Noble Pursues Borders Customers
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Now that Borders has closed its doors, Barnes and Noble has purchased
some assets—including Borders' customer list. With an email, Barnes and
Noble is luring Borders' former customers to its stores.
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
19
Persuasive Messages
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Audience
Analysis
Short
Messages
Sales Letters
Responding
to Feedback
[Click
Selectto
a edit
Central
Master
Selling
titleTheme
style]
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Find one major
reader benefit that
you will introduce
early and
emphasize
throughout the
letter.
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Creating Interest and Building Desire
Interpret
Features
Devote several paragraphs to interpreting the
product’s features.
Use Vivid
Language
Invite the reader to pay attention.
Use Objective,
Ethical
Language
Maintain credibility by providing specific facts
and figures.
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Mention Price
Subordinate or downplay price in your message.
Refer to
Enclosures
Audience Analysis
Refer to enclosures at the end of the letter.
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
[Click
Changing
to edit
Features
Mastertotitle
Benefits
style]
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BUT:
BUT:
NOT: This
laptop battery
lasts 6-8 hours.
Audience Analysis
NOT: The
apartment
includes utilities.
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
[Click to
Motivating
edit Master
Action
title style]
Make the action clear and easy to take
Ask confidently
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Encourage prompt action
End your letter with a reminder of a
reader benefit
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Persuasive Messages
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Audience
Analysis
Short
Messages
Sales Letters
Responding
to Feedback
Deciding Whether to Respond
Social Media Posts
DISCOVER
You have found a post about your company.
Is it positive?
YES
EVALUATE
NO
No
Response
NO
Happy
Degrading
Will you
respond?
NO
YES
Misguided
YES
Monitor
YES
Fix the Facts
YES
Restore the
Relationship
NO
Unhappy
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NO
Reach Out
RESPOND
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
Consider
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Link to the
full story.
Nike "Get High" T-Shirts Anger Boston Mayor
Nike responded
to the author’s
tweets that
questioned Nike’s
T-shirt campaign.
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Mayor of Boston Thomas Menino doesn't like Nike's
new T-shirts. He believes that messages such as "Get
High" and "Dope" promote drug use. In a letter to the
general manager of Niketown Boston, Menino urges the
company to remove the T-shirts.
Watch the
video. Do you
consider Nike’s
promotional Tshirts ethical?
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Writing Complaint Letters and
[Click to
edit
Master
title
style]
Negative Online Reviews
Consider an indirect style
Give specific evidence about what went wrong
Maintain a calm, objective tone
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Close with a confident, respectful tone
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Responding to Negative Online Feedback
Show appreciation Thank the writer for the review—even negative comments
for the feedback give you the opportunity to respond and restore your
company’s reputation.
Reinforce positive
aspects of the
Many reviews will include some positive points; highlight
review
those for other readers.
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Address negative Explain the situation and what you will do to correct the
aspects directly situation. Then, follow through to use negative feedback to
improve operations or service.
Invite the
customer back
Audience Analysis
If you can contact the writer directly, you might offer a
special discount to entice him or her to try your company
again—and to have a better experience.
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Video Example
Upset Customer at the
Colonnade Hotel
How will you respond to
the guest’s TripAdvisor
review?
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Link to the
entire case.
Click image to play the video
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Upset Customer
the Colonnade
[Click
to editatMaster
title Hotel
style]
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Additional Video Suggestions
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
Video Example
Audience Reaction to
Mattel CEO
• How does Bob Eckert use
logos, pathos, and ethos
to persuade his audience?
• At what points does
Eckert’s believability
increase and decline,
according to the
audience? How do you
account for these
changes?
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback
Video Example
Sales Call in the movie
Boiler Room
Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning
• What examples of logos,
pathos, and ethos do you
see in this scene?
• How could Harry protect
himself in this situation?
In other words, what
responsibility does he
hold for this interaction?
Audience Analysis
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Short Messages
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Sales Letters
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Responding to Feedback