Business Communications: Ch 4 Mini Sim on Planning Business Messages

You're making great progress on your assignment. You've defined the purpose of your message, identified both the primary and secondary audiences, given thought to your audience's reaction, and have begun planning your message. Now it's time to select the best combination of media and channels to reach your audience. Remember that the medium is the form the message takes (such as a Twitter update) and the channel is the system used to deliver it (such as a mobile phone) Your message will need to be delivered to all design engineers at headquarters who will be expected to take part in the shadowing program as well as the sales staff at 20 different retail stores that will be involved in this program. You have a wide array of media/channels to get across your message, but what's the most effective way?

Email message

Now that you've chosen the direct approach for your message, it's time to figure out the most logical and effective way to present your major points and supporting details. Which of the following outlines would be the most appropriate for your chosen approach?

I) Introduction of the program A) Reasons why the program is necessary 1) Facts and figures about declining sales 2) Loss of market share to competitors 3) Focus group research B) Additional description of program 1) Who will be involved 2)When the program will commence 3) The locations of the retail stores involved 4) When additional details will be forthcoming II) Benefits A) Benefits to employees involved in the program B) Benefits to the company of the program III) Answers to commonly asked questions

Based on your "gut feeling," you think that the audience will be resistant to your message and may not perceive the value of the program. Assuming that your analysis is correct, which of the following would be the most appropriate way to begin organizing your message?

Introduce the program gradually, and provide more supporting evidence for the need for the program.

Now that you've identified the primary and secondary audiences of your message, it will be important for you to analyze your audience and gauge their receptiveness to the new program. You're relatively new to the company, so you don't know many of the design engineers at headquarters, and you've only been to a couple of the retail stores as a customer before you started working for Structural Sound. Of the following options, which would appear to be the most effective and efficient way to gather insights about your audience?

Survey the opinions of several of the design engineers and retail staff members for their input. (ok choice)

In the early planning stages of your message to the design engineers and sales staff, you have several decisions to make. These will help you create the framework for your words and message. You have a meeting with Lloyd Baskin, Chairman of the Executive Committee, to get details about the program. Baskin started with Structural Sound as an engineer over 30 years ago and has risen through the ranks of the company. He describes the program in more depth and then tells you, "Before you communicate anything to the engineers and sales staff, be sure that you have a good understanding of the purpose of your communication. That'll be the key in successfully communicating with these folks." You give the purpose of the communication some thought as you walk back to your office. Of the following options, which would be the most appropriate purpose of your message to the engineers and sales staff?

The purpose of your message is to not only inform the employees about the new program, but also emphasize the benefits of the program for both them and the company.

Lloyd Baskin stops by your desk and asks how you're progressing on the message to the employees. He reminds you that, after analyzing your audience's needs, your message should satisfy those needs completely and answer questions they may have, such as "who," "what," "when," "where," "why," and "how." After he leaves, you ponder how you're going to accomplish this, and start developing a list of statements in your communication that would answer those questions. You come up with a list of statements that you feel might answer the who-what-when-where-why-how questions.

Which employees at headquarters and the retail sales offices will be involved in the program: Who? Details about the program for both the engineers at headquarters and the sales staff at the stores, including a list of answers to anticipated questions: What? The date that the program will commence and a tentative schedule of when engineers will be required to spend time at the retail stores: When? The location of the stores where the engineers are tentatively expected to be assigned: Where? The reasons for implementation of this program by Structural Sound and the benefits of the program to both the company and the employees: Why? A statement that travel, lodging, liaison with the sales staff at the retail stores, and other details regarding the program will be forthcoming shortly: How?

You're about ready to begin writing, but you know from experience that writing the message will go more smoothly if you create an outline first. After a little research on the ways to arrange this type of material, you discover that there are two ways to organize your message: an indirect approach and a direct approach. You call Lloyd Baskin for advice, and he tells you, "Remember that most of the people in this audience are highly intelligent, quick to understand complicated material, and often a bit impatient. You need to organize your information with these characteristics in mind." Of the following options, which would be most appropriate considering your audience's characteristics?

You will use a direct approach and immediately state that the company is implementing a new research program that is intended to stimulate sales through customer interaction and the development of products that more directly address customer needs. You will then follow through with supporting details about the reasons for the recent sales decline, focus group results, and so forth.

Unfortunately, you haven't been able to identify other companies that have implemented similar programs. Instead, you try to put yourself in the engineers' and sales associates' positions in order to guess what they may be thinking or feeling. That's proving to be difficult, because you have no experience as either an engineer or a sales associate, so you're going to simply "go with your gut" and take a guess. Which of the following would appear to be the most likely analysis of your audience?

Your audience is likely to be highly resistant to the program. Engineers may resent the implication that they don't know what the customers want, and sales staff may not be pleased to have engineers in the stores.

Now that you have a clearer picture of your audience and their needs, your next step is to satisfy those needs completely in your message. Of the following options, which seems like the best way to describe what your message needs to do?

Your message will inform impacted employees of the program details, address common questions/objections, and describe the benefits to both them and the company.

Now that you've determined the overall purpose of your message, it's time to determine who should receive the message—both the primary audience and the secondary audience. Of the following options, which would be the best choice for the primary audience for the message?

this program involves the sending the engineers at headquarter to the retail store nationwide, so your primary audience will be the design engineers at the headquarters of structural sound who will be involved in the program'. (ok choice)