Customer-letter writing for tax professionals - Emphasis

Customer-letter writing for tax professionals Customer-letter writing for tax professionals When the naturalist Charles Darwin outlined natural selection, he almost certainly didnt have business people in mind. But his idea, that the species best suited to their environments are the ones who survive, has never been truer in the world of work. Competition for clients can be fierce, and never more so than now. The firms most able to meet their clients needs are often the most successful. One effective way to do this is to make your written communication client-centred. It doesnt have to be complicated simply pre-empting client phone calls and emails with a letter, for example. In fact, well-written, aptly timed letters are one of the best ways to provide good customer service. They help to make your clients feel that you really care about them and their businesses. The trouble is though that too many letters get it wrong. They unwittingly offend the client, dont take responsibility for misunderstandings and talk around issues as though they were having a debate. Clients need you to be the expert; provide the right figures; be honest when you dont know the answers and consistent about the information they need to provide you with. In short, they need to know their needs come first. With the dealings of financial institutions increasingly under public scrutiny, trust is a sought-after quality. So, make sure that it shines through in your written communication because integrity and accuracy will help the numbers add up for your clients. Just SCRAP it Good letters and emails have a clear structure and a specific goal in mind. The aim is to make youre your readers know why you are writing to them and what you want them to do. The SCRAP formula can help you to write clearly. The acronym stands for: situation, complication, resolution, action, politeness. Situation Begin by explaining the situation (or where they are). By doing this your reader will realise you understand and empathise with them. Complication Introduce the idea that theres a problem (why they cant stay there) they need to solve or a request they need to fulfil. Resolution State your resolution to the problem or request. Your reader will probably be relieved that youre offering a ready-made way of fixing things. Action Suggest what action the reader can or should take. In some cases, this will be what further action you are going to take. Make sure that this follows on logically from the resolution. Politeness Finally, end with a polite sign-off. Like any good recipe, you dont have to follow this formula to a tee. Some client correspondence will be so simple and straightforward that theres no problem to resolve. You just need to decide whats happened and what you want the reader to do about it. Top writing tips Get active Use the active rather than the passive voice. So write we found a mistake in your tax return rather than a mistake was found in your tax return. Keep it short and simple Good sentences contain no more than 15-20 words. Long flowery phrases are difficult to follow and can even breed distrust. Clear, plain writing suggests that there is nothing to hide. Always choose a simple word over a complication one. And remember that you can never have too many full stops! Clarify your main message If youre having difficulty figuring out what you really want your letter to say write down the words; who?, what?, where?, when? and why? at the top of a piece of paper. Use these headings to brainstorm the contents of your document. Ditch the management lingo If youve been immersed in the business world for some time, its easy to start writing in management-speak. So, prune carefully through your written work to ensure that youre not unwittingly lapsing into the types of language that would make David Brent in sitcom, The Office proud. Metaphors such as raising the bar and picking the low hanging fruit sound more like a tropical limbo challenge than references to taxation matters. While generic phrases such as working in close partnership with and after due consideration may make your clients think that your letters arent tailored to their industry or even to them. Dont add redundant words, such as pre in pre-prepare and forward in forward planning. All planning goes forwards and you cant prepare until youve prepared. The extra words dilute your message and can make the reader think that your advice is full of padding and waffle too. Remember, clients will thank you for being short and concise, as it will save them time. Brevity can be a courtesy. Case study Whether it is tax, technology or telecommunications; these letter writing principles work in any industry. Heres how letter-writing skills training transformed the customer services of a major insurance provider. The problem: The customer services department wanted to reduce the number of second-stage complaints they were receiving so they asked Emphasis to help the complaints team make its letters more customer-centred. The solution: We helped the team to fully identify the issues and facts behind the letters from complainants. We instructed participants about importance of structure in letters and then analysed the types of language, intentions and assumptions used in their standard responses. We enabled them to write letters in an easily accessible style. The benefits: Each delegate had a one-to-one coaching clinic six weeks later, where they submitted a post-training writing sample. All had progressed in structure and style. The team was so motivated by the course that they now talk about Emphasising their letters. Robert Ashton is Chief Executive of Emphasis.