Dear Sir/Madam:

As you are very much aware, the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team has launched a nationwide Crackdown Campaign on the illegal use of software. The Business Software Alliance (BSA), of which Microsoft is a member, fully supports this campaign. Microsoft depends on you, our valued partner, to educate the customers on Intellectual Property Rights and put them on the right track to ownership of Microsoft licenses.

However, we have recently completed our quarterly review of your purchase summary and according to our records, your company has not purchased any Microsoft products from our authorized distributors from July to September, 2005.

We believe that you have a lot of customers who need to be compliant with Microsoft licensing policies. We, therefore, urge you to be vigilant in offering licensed Microsoft software when servicing the customers, follow correct licensing guidelines and encourage compliance of software intellectual property laws. Be sure to obtain Microsoft products from only our authorized distributors so that neither you nor your customers run any risk of inadvertent piracy.

Be part of the solution to overcome the problem of piracy in this country!

Very truly yours,

Thanks.

CELINE CONTI
License Compliance Manager
Small, Mid-Market Solutions and Partners
Microsoft Philippines, Inc.

Now before you continue reading the next section, I would like to ask you to read the letter again but this time pretend that you're a client, a partner, and a reseller of Microsoft.  After reading it for the second time, assess how you are feeling if you're one of those who received this letter then read on.

I took the liberty of calling Ms. Conti to check what she meant by her letter.  Ms. Conti said that they (Microsoft Phils.) simply reminded their partners to encourage their clients to licensed their software and reminded them of their commitment as partners.  Ms. Conti added that there are two versions of the letter, the first one includes the number of licenses purchased by the partner and the 2nd one are for those who did not made any purchases from the stated time frame.  The letter was authorized by Microsoft Phils. legal department and Corporate Affairs from region and was sent to their resellers who signed up for their portal according to Ms. Conti.  Microsoft Phils. has around 700 resellers nationwide. 

As simple as it may sound, the letter's message and its impact to Microsoft's partners goes beyond than what Ms. Conti said.  Most if not all of Microsoft's partners got irked after receiving the Microsoft letter.   Here are some of their reactions:

Partner1: The Microsoft letter was so insensitive.  We bought our Original Microsoft products from abroad, and not from local distributors.  Does that make it illegal? 

Partner2: The Microsoft letter was a total lie, they should have checked their records thoroughly before sending out that letter.  Our total purchase totaled millions and this is what we get for complying and supporting Microsoft.

Partner3: Are they insinuating that we are using illegal software?  Is this a guessing game?  They can come to our office anytime and check.

Partner4: This is a very poorly executed marketing ploy if you ask me.  You don't send threatening letters to force us to sell Microsoft products.  Is this the strategy they want us to adopt as well?  Threaten our customers and force them to buy Microsoft products?  If they want us to sell more and sustain the anti-piracy campaign - catch the bigger fish and not the small ones.

Partner5: We're not even selling Microsoft products, but we got the same letter.  Our company spent millions to comply and to support the anti-piracy campaign and this is what we get for that.  A simple thank you note would have been more appreciated. 

Partner6: They made it sound like it's our fault why piracy is growing, that we are not doing our end of the deal.  It is not our job to catch illegal users, it's their job.  They asked for our help to inform our customers to comply, and we did.  So how come we are now suspects?  Is this how they treat their partners?

I was able to talk to some more partners and all of them share the same sentiment - very disappointed and disgusted over the Microsoft letter.  I'm almost certain that most of the recipients will have the same reactions except for those who are guilty.  So what went wrong?

Basing from the reactions and feedbacks from Microsoft partners, It seems like Microsoft sent the letter without much information at hand.  Microsoft don't sell direct to consumers, they appoint authorized distributors which in turn have their own resellers.  I found out that Microsoft Philippines do not have records of their customers who purchased Microsoft Full and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) products, they only have the end-user names for multiple licensing transactions.  Although Microsoft users need to register their product online, I don't think this information is pass-on to the local subsidiary.  How soon Microsoft update its database provided by their distributors and resellers is another question.

I also consulted a friend of mine who is a Ph.D. holder in Business Administration and according to him the letter was poorly written and executed.  "You don't send a letter informing them of their sales performance and at the same time inform them of an ongoing anti-piracy campaign.  Ms. Conti is the License Compliance Manager, not marketing." said my friend.  Judging from the letter, my friend said the letter can be interpreted in two ways - the result of the anti-piracy program is not working as planned and Microsoft Philippines is not meeting their numbers for the specified months.

Ms. Conti was kind enough to send me the two original letters but sending it to 700+ recipients proved my suspicion - the letter was a FORM LETTER, a letter written from a template rather than being composed with its recipient in mind.  A repetitive letter in which the names and addresses of individuals are automatically generated from a database or typed individually.  You don't send a form letter using an outdated database or you run into the possibility of offending your recipients.  So who is to blame here?  Microsoft Word MailMerge function who else.  Was the letter a threat, a reminder, or an expression of supreme confidence?  I will let you decide my dear readers.

As a reminder to all of you - Always put yourself in the shoes of the recipient before you send any business letters and  keep your readers in mind when you write.  It will help you use the right tone, appropriate language and include the right amount of detail. The purpose of writing business letters is to convince someone to act or react in a positive way and not the other way around.

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