Granted, there's nothing more impersonal than receiving a Form Letter. But for all the negatives associated with these types of letters, they persist as common communications for companies both large and small.
Negatives aside, not all Form Letters are necessarily bad. For routine announcements, transmittals, and sign-up activities, a standardized communication ensures consistency in language, style and tone. The caveat being the subject and content of the communication should be unquestionably routine or general in nature.
It should be noted, that Form Letters, regardless of the subject, should still be individualized, thus giving recipients some semblance of an original communication. Fortunately, with Word Processing, form letter blanks can be saved as templates. These , in turn, can be called up and addressed and mailed as needs arise.
By and large, these kinds of Form Letters can be effective; however, problems arise when they are used inappropriately. These would include subjects where a non-standard letter is called for, such as Human Resource Actions, Sales Letters, and Customer Service Issues, to name a few obvious misuses.
In these instances, an original letter will be better-received in that it will be customized to address a specific circumstance or individual. That said, it may still be useful and productive to use an existing template as a draft and edit accordingly.
Whether you or your company uses Form Letters is usually a matter of personal preference or philosophy. Surely most individuals will react more positively to original communications, but if staffing or operational issues make this impractical, then Form Letters can be viable communication devices.
As a final word, it is good practice to view all written communications as original and as unique as the addressess themselves. And while Form Letters can serve a useful purpose, be mindful that overusing or misusing such devices can lead to reader apathy as well as credibility problems for the writer.
Jack
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