Circular letters are letters, with identical content, sent to a large number of people. They are used in business when the same information has to be sent to a large number of people, for e.g., customers or clients. The information may be of the following or similar kind:
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Opening of a new business
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Establishment of a new branch
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Expansion of an existing business
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Moving to new premises
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Changes in partnership / ownership, etc.
The function of the letter may not be simply to convey
information but to do a variety of other things. For example, it may be to
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Request the customer to take some simple action
(e.g., fill in a questionnaire, form, or card)
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Acknowledge an order
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Make an inquiry about non-receipt of, or delay
in the supply of an order
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Reply to inquiries (e.g., about job openings)
and requests (e.g., for a line of credit)
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Respond to a complaint letter, etc.
Since the content of all the letters is the same, or the function
that they perform is identical, the text of the letter is prepared only once. The
required number of copies of the text are then made, but the name and address
of the recipients are entered individually. The salutation and the sender’s
signature are also individualized so as to give the letter a personalized appearance.
In modern times, the mail-merge facility provided by word processing programs
has made this process very simple. There are also various marketing platforms
that enable the email process through their operating system.
STYLE OF A CIRCULAR LETTER
The style of a circular letter must reinforce the business impression
that every customer is important. The letter must give the impression that the
writer is interested individually in each customer and is taking the trouble to
approach him or her personally. Some ways to do the same are:
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Address each customer individually in the
salutation. The best way to do so is to find out the name of the customer (from
customer database). A letter addressed as ‘Dear Mr. Fernandes’ has a better
change of being read through than one which begins with ‘Dear Sir’ or ‘Dear
Customer’. However, if the names are not available, use specific salutations
like ‘Dear Householder’ or ‘Dear Subscriber’. ‘Dear Customer’ may be used as the
last resort the plural forms (‘Dear Customers’) should never be used.
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Keep the customer’s viewpoint / interests in
everything you write. Talk to him / her directly using the pronoun ‘you’ as frequently
as necessary instead of the word ‘customers’, ‘clients’, or ‘people’. You will
see the difference between the two attitudes in the examples:
Example 1
The writer’s viewpoint – Our business has
been so successful that we are opening a new department for cosmetics and shall
be stocking a wide selection of articles.
The reader’s viewpoint – We are pleased to
inform you that, encouraged by the response of customers like you, we are now opening
a department of cosmetics in our store. This department will store a wide selection
of articles and will make it possible for you to shop for all your daily
necessities under one roof.
Example 2
The writer’s viewpoint – We regret to
inform you that we cannot grant you the line of credit you have requested, as
the information provided by you in your letter is not adequate. We cannot take
the risk of selling to companies we know very little about.
If you wish to pursue the matter of credit
further, we will advise you to have the enclosed form filled by your bank and
mailed to us directly. If your claims are supported by the information provided
by the bank, we will reconsider our decision and inform you accordingly.
The reader’s viewpoint – Thank you for
your letter requesting a line of credit with our company.
We are always glad to consider request for
credit and have already reviewed the credit information so thoughtfully
supplied by you. All that you have to do now is to have your bank fill out the
standard form enclosed and return it directly to us in the envelope provided. As
soon as we receive this information, we will let you know the status of your
new account.
Notice that the inclusion of a self- addressed envelope in
the second example shows the importance attached to the reader’s viewpoint.
The difference in tone from the first version is quite
marked.
The first version casts a doubt on the truth of the details
supplied by the customer and says that only if the details are verified by the bank
will the decision be reconsidered.
The second version puts the same thing in an entirely
different way, which shows a readiness to accept the details provided, making the
bank’s verification appear as a kind of formality that has to be gone through
but presenting no big obstacle. This does not mean that the request for credit
cannot be denied in case on an unfavorable bank report; what it means is that
even if it is, the customer is not permanently lost.
While the use of personal pronouns by itself cannot be any
indication of the degree of personalization in a letter, in general, letters
which use personal pronouns (like I, me, my, we, our, you, your, etc.) will
sound more personal than letters which use nouns like our company, our customers,
clients, etc. So use the pronouns whenever possible, but do not overdo it. In particular,
use the singular ‘I’ only where you must speak for yourself. But avoid using third
person nouns which sound cold and distant, and instead use we, our, etc., to
refer to the company. In the final analysis, of course, it is how you use these
pronouns that will matter more than what pronouns you use. Their use should reflect
your eagerness to help the customer do business with you.
Another technique often used to give a personal touch to a
circular letter is the use of direct address forms in the text of the letter. The
common address form is the name itself, which we often use in face-to-face
conversation to show your eagerness, sincerity and friendliness. The same
technique can also be used in circular letters. Properly used, the device will lend
earnestness to your tone. Consider, for example, the following:
a. I’m
sure, Mrs. Mehra, the foregoing account of our activities will have convinced
you that investment in our company will assure you not only of high returns but
will also serve the causes of environment protection and women’s welfare which,
as an enlightened member of the modern society, must be very dear to your
heart.
b. Meanwhile,
Mr. Raut, I look forward to a visit from you to our main store in Central Plaza,
where our staff can demonstrate to you the multifarious capacities of the new
IVR-2023
When not to send a circular letter
We have discussed several ways of making circular letters
personal so that the recipient does not feel treated like a number. The need
for this arises because a circular letter is a standard text unmodified to meet
individual needs or requirements. Therefore, it is fine to use a circular letter
for the purposes we have listed: making announcements, providing information,
etc. but it would be unwise for a business to send a circular letter where he
feels a potential sale is involved. When you receive a request for a catalogue or
a brochure seeking more information about a product, a sale may be involved. In
responding to such requests, it is desirable to write a letter which makes use
of positive techniques of persuasion so that the potential sale can be turned
into a real one. This cannot be achieved by a circular letter which at best
aims at not turning away a customer. A positive letter of persuasion must do the
following: Provide all the information the potential customer has asked for, encourage
the potential sale and leave the customer with a positive impression of your
firm.
EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE
Write a notice (letter) announcing that your company
offices are moving from their present location in Bandra West to Bandra Kurla Complex,
which is better connected to all parts of Mumbai and will help you to attend to
customer complaints more quickly. You are an electronics goods dealer.
The bank you work at is opening a new branch in BKC. You want
to find out what kind of banking services your BKC customers need most. Write a
circular letter to your customers requesting them to fill in the enclosed
questionnaire to help you serve them better.
As a large engineering company, you receive a large number
of enquiries from various young college graduates for job opportunities as well
as resumes sent in from time to time. Write a reply thanking the applicants for
their interest in the company. Inform that that your company has included their
resume details in the company database, and they would hear from you as soon as
a vacancy comes up. Your letter should neither turn the applicant away nor give
him/her false hope.
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