Lauchman Group · Because Writing Clearly Matters

Writing to Customers

Target Audience
Writing to Customers is geared to professionals who are "on point" for an organization -- who represent the organization in letters, proposals, and faxes designed either to sell a product, explain a procedure, or rectify a problem. The training assumes that participants are fairly skilled writers; it contains no formal instruction on common errors with syntax, mechanics, or emphasis (the purview of Effective Writing for Professionals). Instead, it deals with issues specific to customer relations: inviting format, good focus, proper scope, and appropriate tone.

Objectives of the Training
Good writing is good business. Customers are won and lost by turns of phrase; letters that are attractive, courteous, forthright, and creditable will win and retain customers. Participants learn an overall strategy for ensuring that their documents are well focused, clear, and persuasive. Highlights of the program include

formatting for clarity and readability
establishing a courteous tone
conveying the right nuance
ascertaining the proper focus
opening and closing with the right emphasis
answering (or anticipating) the reader's questions, objections, or complaints
avoiding "red flag" phrases
developing the persuasive argument
being concise without being abrupt

Writing to Customers differs from the Effective Writing program in that the majority of class time will be spent actually writing and revising the organization's correspondence to customers (as opposed to doing any drills). We distribute the manuals 10 days before the workshop begins and ask that participants read them thoroughly before class. The training is writing-intensive; the instructor provides overnight feedback on each assignment.

Lauchman Group
1324 Wild Oak
Rockville, MD 20852

Telephone 301-315-6040
Fax 301-838-9044
email richard@lauchmangroup.com




Home Page Demystifying the Process Our Approach to Training Workshops Consulting Services FAQs About "Plain Style" Plain Language Handbook Reading Room Contact Us	Writing to Customers Target Audience Writing to Customers is geared to professionals who are "on point" for an organization -- who represent the organization in letters, proposals, and faxes designed either to sell a product, explain a procedure, or rectify a problem. The training assumes that participants are fairly skilled writers; it contains no formal instruction on common errors with syntax, mechanics, or emphasis (the purview of Effective Writing for Professionals). Instead, it deals with issues specific to customer relations: inviting format, good focus, proper scope, and appropriate tone. Objectives of the Training Good writing is good business. Customers are won and lost by turns of phrase; letters that are attractive, courteous, forthright, and creditable will win and retain customers. Participants learn an overall strategy for ensuring that their documents are well focused, clear, and persuasive. Highlights of the program include formatting for clarity and readability establishing a courteous tone conveying the right nuance ascertaining the proper focus opening and closing with the right emphasis answering (or anticipating) the reader's questions, objections, or complaints avoiding "red flag" phrases developing the persuasive argument being concise without being abrupt Writing to Customers differs from the Effective Writing program in that the majority of class time will be spent actually writing and revising the organization's correspondence to customers (as opposed to doing any drills). We distribute the manuals 10 days before the workshop begins and ask that participants read them thoroughly before class. The training is writing-intensive; the instructor provides overnight feedback on each assignment. Lauchman Group 1324 Wild Oak Rockville, MD 20852 Telephone 301-315-6040 Fax 301-838-9044 email richard@lauchmangroup.com © 1996-2012 Lauchman Group All Rights Reserved	Our Clientele AARP ABB Environmental Services American Bankers Association American Chemical Society American Institute of Architects American Red Cross American Security Bank Agency for International Development The Baldwin Group British Aerospace Bureau of the Public Debt CAIS Internet Central Intelligence Agency Chevy Chase Federal Savings Bank Defense Communications Agency Defense Informations Systems Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Defense Logistics Agency Defense Mapping Agency Department of Agriculture Department of Commerce Department of Energy Department of Homeland Security Department of the Interior DoD Office of the Comptroller DoD Office of Health Affairs DoD Office of Family Policy Support and Services Edison Electric Institute EPA Exxon Fannie Mae FBI FCC FDA Federal Aviation Administration Federal Home Loan Bank Board Federal Trade Commission FEMA First American Bankshares Freddie Mac GHT Goddard Space Flight Center HPTi IBM ICF Kaiser Engineers I.M. Systems Group Immigration and Customs Enforcement Intelsat InterAmerican Foundation John Hanson Savings and Loan Lockheed Martin MAI MCI Military District of Washington Mortgage Bankers Association NASA Headquarters National Archives and Records Administration National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies National Education Association National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases National Institutes of Science and Technology National Ocean Service Naval Research Laboratory Nextel Communications NOAA Northeast-Midwest Institute Office of Technology Assessment Perot Systems Perpetual Savings Bank Potomac Electric Power Company Project Performance Corporation Riggs National Bank Ryland Homes Sallie Mae Small Business Administration Smithsonian Institution State Department Technology Planning and Management Corporation United Savings Bank U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Office of Personnel Management U.S. Patent and Trademark Office WSSC