10.13Writing a Sales Letter for Your Computer Store (LO10.6)
Assume you own a computer retail store located near your campus (give the store any name you want). You have sold fewer PCs in recent years due to the strong demand for Macs among university students. You will write a sales letter to reach all student housing units. Your goal is to encourage students to purchase PCs at your store. You can do online research to help you contrast PCs with Macs and identify pricing levels. In the sales letter, attempt to show students the advantages of PCs compared to Macs and get them to take specific steps to learn more about or even purchase a PC at your store.
2.CompleteAssignment #10.13titled:Writing a Sales Letter for Your Computer Storefrom the end of Chapter 10 (under "Application Exercises") in your textbookby 11:59pm EST July 14th
This should be done inLETTER format! -- See appendix B for a reminder of the format for letters.
Read the assigned chapter and the detailed prompt in the textbook VERY carefully to ensure you areusing the needed structure for communicating this type of Persuasive Message(should be in
'indirect' structure)
,followingcorrect letter format, and includingall needed information as discussed in the prompt.
You shouldcreate a name and address for your company.
Also,create a form/template letterthat does not have a specific name/address to your reader, but instead provides a template that you would eventuallyfill out for each and every addressee as you finalize and print to send through the mail.
Here's an example of what the templated"form letter" should look like(actually use the brackets for the template...again, do NOTcome up with a specific student/name address):
Elycia'sCompany Name (letterhead)
123 Main St.
Columbus, OH 44444
May 4, 2019
{Student First and Last Name}
{Student Address Line 1}
{Student Address Line 2}
Dear {Student First and Last Name}:
Type, type, type, type, type content of letter...
NOTES AND GUIDELINES
Composing Mass Sales Messages
LO10.6
learnConstruct effective mass sales messages.
Even if you are not in a marketing position, you may participate in developing mass sales messages—messages sent to a large group of consumers and intended to market a particular product or service. Often in the form of mass emails, online ads, or sales letters, these messages generally have low success rates (ratio of number of purchases to number of message recipients). For example, a company sending out 7,000 sales letters may achieve only a 2 percent success rate (140 sales directly attributable to the mailings)—enough to make the effort profitable. Since mass emails and online ads are much less expensive than hard-copy sales letters (costs generally involve purchasing Page 320consumer email lists and online ads but no paper or postage), expected success rates may be much lower.
Structure of Mass Sales Messages
Gain attention.
Generate interest.
Build desire.
Call to action.
A secondary benefit of mass sales messages is that even when consumers do not respond with immediate purchases, these messages can raise a company’s brand awareness. Consumers may keep the company in mind when making a purchase one, two, or more years in the future. On the other hand, many consumers resent mass sales messages. Excessive sales letters and spam emails may lower brand value in some cases.
While most of the principles from this chapter apply to sales messages, the structure of mass sales messages is adjusted to increase the success rate. Even modest improvements in the success rate—for example, from 2 percent to 3 percent—can make tens of thousands of dollars’ difference in revenue. The model used most successfully for mass sales messages is the AIDA approach: attention, interest, desire, and action. This approach begins and ends like other persuasive messages; it must first gain attention and it should end with a specific call to action.
Typically, the attention-getter needs to be livelier and even more provocative than with internal persuasive messages. After gaining attention, the next step is to build interest and curiosity. Then, the sales message should focus on building desire. That is, Page 321you want potential customers thinking, “I want this product or service.” You conclude with a specific call to action that the potential customer can take to begin the purchase process.
Most effective sales messages contain a central sales theme. Like other messages, sales messages are strongest when they contain a coherent, unified theme that consumers can recognize quickly. However, whereas your colleagues and clients who know you will grant you a window of 30 seconds or so to provide your main point, recipients of mass sales messages may give you only a few seconds. Thus, your sales message should stick to a single, recognizable theme that resonates within seconds.
One of the most common sales themes is price. Sales messages that focus on price tend to emphasize it immediately, generally in the attention-getter. Sales messages that emphasize other attributes typically de-emphasize price by making a brief mention of it near the end of the message. Some sales messages omit any references to price. This is a risky strategy for mass sales messages since most consumers expect at least some information about price right away.
In Figures 10.10 and 10.11, you can see two mass sales messages that Haniz and her colleagues created to promote the credit union’s auto loans. In the first message (Figure 10.10), the central selling theme is price: Better Horizons Credit Union’s auto loans cost less than dealer financing. So, the attention-getter focuses on this theme in the subject line and opening paragraph. The first paragraph arouses interest Page 322by pointing out the perhaps underappreciated fact that accepting low-rate dealer financing generally involves sacrificing rebates and negotiating power. The prominent and well-designed table likewise increases interest with its easy-to-process comparison between getting an auto loan versus dealer financing. The final paragraphs build desire by showing the ease and perks of getting an auto loan and providing information about how to apply right away. This sales message primarily makes a logical appeal.
An example of a mass sales message via email. Includes annotations.
FIGURE 10.10
A Mass Sales Message with a Strong Logical Appeal
Access the text alternative for Figure 10.10
An example of a mass sales message via email. Includes annotations.
Photo: © Eric Audras/Getty Images RF
FIGURE 10.11
A Mass Sales Message with a Strong Emotional Appeal
Access the text alternative for Figure 10.11
In the next sales message (Figure 10.11), Haniz and her colleagues highlight a different sales theme with a primarily emotional appeal. In this message, they focus on going car shopping with confidence and strength, directly addressing an anxiety many car shoppers have of getting taken advantage of when making a car purchase. The emotional appeal involves several influence strategies, including social proof (with the testimonial of a satisfied member who has saved money by taking out an auto loan) and reciprocation (with the warm offer to get help from a loan officer and an invitation to “work as a team” against the car dealers). You typically have much more freedom of creative expression in mass sales messages than you do with other types of persuasive messages. Haniz uses this creative license with metaphorical language tied to playing cards (“upper hand,” “dealer holds the cards”) and driving (“take you for a ride,” “get in the driver’s seat”).
Page 323
The examples you’ve observed so far focus on consumers. You can also apply the AIDA approach to other types of mass promotions. For example, Better Horizons seeks to attract the best college graduates to apply for open positions. It has access to an email list of current college students who have attended job fairs nearby. In Figures 10.12 and 10.13, you can see a less effective example and a more effective example of Haniz encouraging college students to apply for open positions. In the less effective example, you’ll notice that Haniz tries a strategy of stating all the benefits of working at Better Horizons. This generic strategy fails because it ends up emphasizing nothing. In other words, it lacks a central sales theme. This message also fails to explain benefits in tangible terms. In the more effective example, Haniz focuses on a central sales theme (employer programs that create career advantages for early-career professionals). She focuses on just three programs, allowing her to provide specific and concrete statements of benefits to potential employees. Also, by formatting with italics, bold fonts, and other features, she ensures potential employees get the gist of the message rapidly.
An example of a mass email. Includes annotations.
FIGURE 10.12
Less Effective Mass Email
Access the text alternative for Figure 10.12
Page 324
An example of a mass email. Includes annotations.
Photo: © laflor/Getty Images RF
FIGURE 10.13
More Effective Mass Email
Access the text alternative for Figure 10.13