Business Letters

Business letters are often the main means of establishing business relations with the outside world. However, it is also a means of communication within the business world ie within office, outside office, within the country, outside the country. Therefore, it is vital that letters sent out should convey a good impression. High standards in an organisation’s correspondence suggest high standards in business, and a well-presented business letter may lead to an important business contact. Business letters must be attractively displayed, grammatically correct, and contain no errors in punctuation on spelling.

 

Direct Writing

Approximately 90 percent of the documents in Anglo-American business situations follow the direct style. Good news documents written directly include: goodwill, congratulations, and adjustments, approvals on claims, routine requests, credit extensions, credit approval and order acknowledgement. Some examples of routine correspondence include: making routine claims, requesting routine information, requesting credit, and placing orders.

To write directly, arrange your ideas with most important news first. Many readers never read beyond the first few lines of most documents, therefore, you must make those lines count! Do not ‘bury the lead’, a newspaper term for making your reader aware through several paragraphs before getting to the most important news. In many occasions, writers use subject line mentioning the lead information to save the reader’s time and thus brief the nature of the letter and the positive news. Nonetheless, you use subject line or not, your first sentence should contain the main and specific idea. The second paragraph details the secondary information and the third ends with a positive close.

Business Letter Categories

There are numerous situations for which letters are produced. The following is a checklist of many types of business letter with which a business executive should be familiar.

Enquiry and Reply

Enquiries for information about goods or services are sent and received in business all the time. They should be acknowledged as soon as possible, or business may be lost.

Complaint and Adjustment

Complaints about goods or services are inevitable and need to be investigated immediately. Steps should be taken to rectify matters if goodwill is to be retained.

Job Application, Offer and reference

A wide variety of letters pass back and forth in the recruitment process.

Financial

Collection letters, credit requests and credit rating enquires all come under this heading.

Disciplinary and Legal

Formal warnings to employees may be written under an organisation’s industrial regulations. Legal letters may be written to solicitors regarding overdue payments, defects, contractual problems.

Circulars and Mail shots

To promote goods, services or special events, an organisation may send a letter simultaneously to many recipients. Word processors may be used to personalize such messages.

Sales Letters

Interesting potential customers in future promotions, new products or services is popular, and special writing techniques have to be adopted in order to put over the products or services in an interesting and enthusiastic way.

Congratulations, Sympathy, Thanks

Maintaining goodwill is important in business. Thank you letters are often sent after a dinner or other function. Messages of condolence may be sent on the death of a business associate or colleague. Congratulations may be sent to associates on promotion or other achievements.

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