Business Correspondence PDF

2. OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE  WHAT ARE BUSINESS LETTERS? A business letter is a letter from one company to another, or such organizations and their customers, clients, or other external parties. We need to write a business letter to maintain contacts with the external world...

2. OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE  WHAT ARE BUSINESS LETTERS? A business letter is a letter from one company to another, or such organizations and their customers, clients, or other external parties. We need to write a business letter to maintain contacts with the external world including other businessmen, customers and government departments. Making and/or soliciting enquiries; placing orders for goods; acknowledge and executing orders; granting or applying for credit; sending statements of accounts to debtors; requesting for settlement of accounts; complaining about delay or mistake in supply of goods, making adjustments for customers grievances; canvassing for the first new lines of goods or ideas; and a lot of such matters require communication  ELEMENTS / STRUCTURE OF A LETTER 1. Name and Address- Heading 8. Words of Honor/Salutation 2. Date of the Letter 9. Starting sentences 3. Reference Number 10. Body part 4. Telephone/Fax/E-mail Numbers 11. Closing sentences 12. Complementary close 5. Address-Inside 13. Signature of Sender 6. Attention to Someone (if necessary) 14. Identification mark 7. Subject of the Letter 15. Enclosure if Any TYPES OF BUSINESS LETTERS Inquiry letter Order letter Sales letter Quotation letter Grievance letter Goodwill letters  INQUIRY LETTER Inquiry letters are written by individuals or companies to other individuals or companies to inquire about their products or services. An enquiry letter should clearly state what the information required is. The buyer should word the letter cautiously so that the seller, under some misperception, does not treat it as an order. He should indicate at the beginning itself that it is just an enquiry. Examples: a) We will be glad if you can send us the catalogue / brochure / price list…. b) We require some information on… c) We are planning to buy…… d) Please provide us with information on…  ORDER LETTERS These letters are generally written after the inquiries are done. They are written to place the order for the products or services by an individual or a company  LETTERS OF EXECUTION OF ORDER: (REPLY TO ORDER LETTER) These letters are written when the orders are executed. These letters can be of various forms and can have various reasons, like late execution or part execution of orders.  SALES LETTER Sales letters are generally written by companies to advertise and promote their products or services. They can be addressed to individuals or companies. They can be personalized or general. They are written in detail and in a way that catches attention. Sales letters are part of the publicity – cum – advertisement campaign for a product or service.  QUOTATION LETTER A quotation is a specific offer for sale. It is sent in response to an inquiry from a particular person or business house. Thus it is a reply message to an inquiry from a potential buyer. A quotation includes details about the prices of specific goods selected, terms of payment, and conditions of delivery while writing such a letter, the seller should clearly state everything as inquired by the buyer.  COMPLAINT LETTER A Complaint Letter is a type of letter written to address any type of wrong- doing, offense, grievance, resentment arising out of a product, service, etc. It is used to raise your concern about unfair things and seek a productive outcome. These are written to bring the mistakes committed during delivery of goods or rendering of services to the notice of those who must own the responsibility for them.  REPLY (ADJUSTMENT) LETTER TO COMPLAINTS These letters are written as adjustments to the complaints sent by the clients. They are written in polite language and if any adjustment is possible, it is made  CONDOLENCE LETTERS The letter which is written to communicate your feelings and express your condolences to the person who has suffered this loss is called a condolence letter. A condolence letter is a way to express your sympathy and offer support to loved ones after someone dies.  GRIEVANCE LETTERS A formal grievance is a complaint to your employer about a serious issue which is likely significantly to affect your ability to do your job. It is much more important than simply complaining about something which annoys you, but which is relatively trivial and could easily be resolved informally.  CIRCULARS Circulars are meant to convey the same information to a large number of people. Such information is usually of general nature and not confidential. Circulars can be used for the following purposes: To emphasize certain aspects of office conduct, To give information about new procedures and policies, To intimate changes in the working hours of the office, canteen, library, etc., To invite applications from the employees for promotion tests, etc.,  NOTICE Before calling a meeting, it is essential to notify all the members about it. This information must be sent to all the members who have a right to attend the meeting. The proper circulation of the information has to be ensured by the secretary in consultation with the Chairperson of the meeting. Such a notice must mention information about the day, date, time, and venue of the meeting.  AGENDA A meeting agenda states the activities that will take place during the meeting. An agenda provides a guideline for the members to think and prepare about issues to be discussed. It steers the meeting towards completion. An agenda also ensures that no issue is left unattended during the meeting. *Sign* Rakesh Sharma Secretary  MINUTES Meeting minutes are the written record of a meeting or hearing. Minutes are usually structured and formal so that they can be shared after the meeting and serve as historical documents in the future. For those who could not attend the meeting, minutes bring them up to speed.