In order to craft effective business messages, beginning writers should follow the writing process closely. The first step in this process is to analyze the purpose and audience of the message. Which of the following are among the primary purposes for sending business messages? Check all that apply.

To persuade
To build your network
To promote goodwill
To inform
To entertain
Read the following scenario, and answer the questions.
The Freebird Turbocharger is being recalled. All customers who submitted warranty cards can have their installed turbochargers serviced free by authorized mechanics. If you do not have a warranty with Freebird, bring your original receipt to your local Freebird dealership and they will complete the repairs at cost.
What is the primary purpose of this message?

To sell a turbocharger
To give a price quote
To refuse a refund
To inform a customer about a recall
What is the secondary purpose of this message?

To sell more turbochargers
To retain the customer’s goodwill
To provide a refund
After identifying the purpose of your message, you should select the most appropriate communication channel. When determining the most effective channel for your message, which of the following should you consider? Check all that apply.

Cost of the channel
Confidentiality and sensitivity of the message
Amount of effort involved
Amount and speed of feedback and interactivity required
Degree of satisfaction
Sender’s composing preference
Receiver’s preference and level of technical expertise
Consider the following situation and choose the most appropriate communication channel.
Your staff uses expense accounts for job-related travel. The accounting department has changed the way such expenses are handled. You need to inform your staff about the new process for reimbursement. How can you explain the new process in a way they will be able to refer to later?
You should use:
Technology and competition continue to accelerate the pace of business; thus, business writers switch to increasingly faster means of communication. Consider the following scenario, and determine if a faster communication channel would be more appropriate.
Marco is on the phone with a client. He needs to get his boss’s approval for an immediate change in the client’s contract. Marco writes his boss an e-mail.

Marco should send an instant message.
Marco has chosen the correct channel.
Marco should put his request for approval in a memo.
A good writer anticipates the audience of a message. Although you can’t always know exactly who the audience is, you can imagine the general characteristics of the receiver. Profiling your audience allows you to adopt the appropriate tone, language, and channel.
Which of the following are appropriate questions to ask when profiling your audience? Check all that apply.

Do I need to include more background information?
Who is my primary audience?
Why am I writing this message?
How does my secondary audience differ from my primary audience?
What do I know about the audience’s education, beliefs, culture, and attitude?
Read the following scenario, and answer the questions.
You are a store manager for a midsize shoe retailer located near the campus of a large state university. During the summer months, you need fewer retail associates. You have a great team and don’t want to impact employee morale negatively by laying off members of the team. Therefore, in order to reach the best outcome, you decide to try to convince your retail team to schedule vacation time carefully so that no one will be laid off for the summer.
Should the tone for this message be formal or informal?

Informal
Formal
Which communication channel would be most appropriate?

Letter
E-mail
Face-to-face meeting
Instant message
The retail team will likely have a response to the message you send.
Who might be the secondary audience for your message? Check all that apply.

Competing retail stores
Your boss
Retail associates at other locations
Assume you just wrote the following e-mail message to a subordinate about a presentation.
Hey Jim,
Nice work on that presentation. I’m going to send a copy to the CEO to show off your creativity. Congratulations to you and your team.
Speaking of teams, I’m sending a recommendation to Human Resources. Your leadership during the presentation really shows, and you deserve a promotion for all that hard work. A team is only as good as its leader, after all.
Before sending the message, it occurs to you that your e-mail will probably be forwarded to other subordinates.
What will you need to change to make the message appropriate for both a subordinate and other subordinates?

Start with the promotion discussion and use a more formal tone.
Make the message even more friendly and informal but focus only on congratulating the team.
Focus on congratulating the team using each individual’s name and use a more formal tone. Send news about the promotion recommendation in a separate e-mail.