Business Correspondence: Types and Importance

• Business correspondence involves exchanging ideas and information through writing letters.
• Businesspersons communicate with customers and wholesalers, and customers may write letters to businesses for information on goods, prices, quality, etc.

Importance of Business Correspondence

Business letters serve six functions:

• Maintaining cordial relationships
• Proof of evidence
• Creating/maintaining a positive image
• Offering convenience and being inexpensive
• Providing formal communication
• Assisting in business expansion

Definition of a Letter

• A letter is a message designed to influence the reader's actions or attitudes.

Kinds of Correspondence

• Personal letters from friends
• Business letters at work
• Collection letters from the bank

Sample Letters

Below are examples of different types of letters:

• Welcome letter
• Letter of appreciation
• Apology letter
• Collection letter
• Invoice letter template
• Letter of invitation
• Marketing letter
• Letter of rejection

Welcome Letter

• Expresses happiness/gratitude to the recipient for joining a group/institution.
• Examples include employers welcoming new hires, colleges welcoming new students and stores welcoming new customers.

Letter of Appreciation

• A written expression of gratitude containing notes of appreciation for someone's kind deed.

Apology Letter

• Expresses regret/sorrow, often with an explanation and may be preferable to verbal apologies.

Collection Letter

• A business reminder of outstanding debts.

Invoice Letter Template

• A written sales transaction invoice request

Letter of Invitation

• A formal request for someone to attend an event.
• Details such as the host, date, time, and venue are included.

Marketing Letter

• Used to sell products to customers through mass production and distribution to disseminate information about new products.

Letter of Rejection

• Informs the recipient that their request was denied, a supporting explanation usually included.

Types of Correspondence

Four main categories:

• Personal (Private)
• Official
• Business
• Semi-Personal

Personal (Private) Correspondence

• Exchanged among friends, relatives, and acquaintances for social reasons, employing an informal style.

Official Correspondence

• Exchanged among governmental entities at local/national levels for official matters, employing formal language on headed paper.

Business Correspondence

• Exchanged among businesses, sellers, and buyers, to carry out transactions, using formal style.

Semi-Personal Letters

• Business letters using less formal language due to intimate, long-term relationships.

Essential Qualities of Business Letters

Inner Qualities

• Relates to the language quality, presentation, etc.
• Includes these features: Simplicity, clarity, accuracy, completeness, relevance, and courtesy.

Outer Qualities

• Refers to the appearance of the letter and includes:
  • Quality of paper
  • Color of the paper
  • Size of the paper
  • Folding of letter
  • Envelope.

Parts of a Business Letter

Has seven main parts:

• The Heading
• The Date
• The Inside Address
• The Salutation
• The Body
• The Complimentary Close
• The Signature

Heading

• Includes the firm's name, business type, street address, and town.
• It could also include the telephone number, fax, e-mail, and attractive trademark and can be placed at the bottom of the page or only include the firm's name.

Date

• Typed at the top left corner, it includes the day, month, and year.
• Spell out the months.
• Use a cardinal number.
• Order is month, day, comma, and year.

Inside Address

• Recipient's name and address with as much detail as possible.
• Located the in left-hand corner, below the date.

Salutation

• The greeting is an essential part of the letter and is typed at the left under the inside address.
• Begins with the word "Dear" (e.g., "Dear Mr. Frank").

Body

• Contains the main message, divided into short paragraphs for clarity.
• Often divided into three paragraphs to make it easier for reading and understanding.
  • Opening: Introduces the letter's purpose and helps the reader connect it to previous communication.
  • Second Paragraph: Contains facts about the important details.
  • Closing: Ends the letter and refers the reader to future action, such as the early reply in the business letter.

Complimentary Close

• Functions as a polite ending before the signature (e.g., "Sincerely," "Cordially").
• The initial word is capitalized, and followed by a comma.
• Choice of the proper way to close depends on the formality degree.

Signature

• Includes the sender's handwritten and typed name, title, and company.

Enclosure and Attachment Notations

• Indicate contents included with the letter, typed two lines below the signature block:
  • "Enclosure", "Enc.", "Encl.", "enc.", or "encl."
• For multiple enclosures, note the number of enclosures.
• The letter, followed by the check if you're paying, follows any enclosures.
• In e-mails with attached documents, use "Attachment" rather than "Enclosure"
• The enclosures are numbered in order of importance, one per line, with any indication of if it needs to be returned, such as "please return".

Writing a Cover Letter

• A cover letter accompanies a resume when applying for a job.
• It introduces the applicant to the hiring person since it highlights education.

Before Writing

• Gather needed job information, especially qualifications, from the original job ad.

Body of a cover letter

The body of a cover letter has four parts:

• Opening
• Focus
• Action
• Closing

Cover Letter Content

Opening

• States the job being applied for and source.

Focus

• Explains suitability for the job.

Action

• Details any plans to action to be taken.

Closing

• To be written with a positive attitude.

Explore the vital role of business correspondence in exchanging ideas and maintaining relationships. This lesson covers the importance of business letters, defining what constitutes a letter, and different kinds of correspondence, including sample welcome, appreciation, and collection letters.