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Common Market

COMMON MARKET LETTERS
SEE International Trade; Trading Blocs Letters are primarily printed, formal business documents.
They are best used when one wants to convey important,
nonroutine information, such as job offers or refusals,
promotions, awards and honors, and other kinds of spe-
COMMUNICATION cial announcements. Also, they are an appropriate chan-
nel for certain attempts at persuasion, such as soliciting
CHANNELS contributions to a special cause, asking someone to speak
In the basic communication process, a sender puts a mes- to a group, or proposing the acceptance of an idea. Print
sage in words and transmits it to a receiver who interprets letters are still used as advertising tools; the most effective
the message. The medium the sender chooses to transmit ones, however, are those that are individually customized,
the message is called the communication channel. making them a special message.
Traditionally, it was thought that the words chosen
and way they were interpreted were solely responsible for E-MAIL MESSAGES
a successful message. Beginning in the 1960s with Mar- E-mail messages are widely used in business as well as in
shall McLuhan, however, many came to believe that the personal life. While e-mail is a fast and efficient channel,
medium was the message. Today, with the help of media it is considered lean because it allows no eye contact and
richness theory and its extensions—and variants such as few nonverbal cues. Because e-mail messages are not
channel expansion theory—most people realize that the totally secure and because they are legally discoverable,
appropriate choice of communication channel (medium) these messages are used primarily in routine contexts,
contributes significantly, along with the words, to the suc- leaving special or nonroutine messages for other channels.
cess of a message. Appropriate choice helps senders com- The notes writers send to family and friends are usually
municate clearly, saving them and their businesses time accounts of day-to-day activities, with more important,
and money. Therefore, examining various communication special messages communicated through richer channels.
channels to understand their appropriate use is important.
Media richness theory ranks communication chan- VIDEO E-MAIL MESSAGES
nels along a continuum of richness, defining highly rich
A variant of e-mail, video e-mail is much richer than text-
channels as those handling multiple inherent cues simul-
based e-mail, but it is still a one-way communication
taneously, such as using feedback, nonverbal cues, and
channel. The lack of interactivity makes it appropriate for
several senses simultaneously. A face-to-face meeting,
messages that need richness but not real-time feedback.
which employs feedback as well as audio and visual senses, Personal use of this channel might be appropriate for such
is considered extremely rich. A newsletter or brochure is situations as showing a new haircut, introducing new
lean, however, involving only the visual sense and slow or friends, and even showing a new baby. On the other hand,
no feedback. Several of these channels—brochures and business use of video e-mail is still evolving. Obviously,
Web pages, letters, electronic mail (e-mail) messages, when one needs to show something, say a new package
video e-mail messages, text messaging, instant messaging, design, it would be a good choice. A short sales message
telephone conversations, videoconferencing or virtual might be appropriate in some contexts. At this time, the
meetings, and face-to-face meetings—will be reviewed, best use of this channel appears to be special messages.
along with some guidelines for appropriate use.
TEXT MESSAGING
BROCHURES/WEB PAGES Text messaging is predominantly for short messages sent
Writers usually create brochures or Web pages to provide from one cell phone to another cell phone by typing in
information on a product or service. While often used for written messages. Because it takes time to enter the text,
persuasive purposes, they are usually presented as routine senders often use shortcuts such as “u” for “you” or “thx”
informational documents. Writers lay out the information for “thanks.” Some technologies, however, are making it
carefully, often designing the visual layout as carefully as easier to send these messages. Not only are there Web sites
they compose the text of the content. These lean channels where users simply enter messages via a keyboard, but the
work effectively when one-way communication in a visual predictive technology built into phones that completes
medium is needed. In choosing these channels, the sender words is reducing the amount of typing needed. Addition-
is eliminating any extraneous information a richer source ally, voice-input software that converts voice to text is an
might include, keeping the content of the message clear up-and-coming technology. Sending text messages allows
and focused. the senders to communicate with receivers in a way that is

124 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION