chapter 12 - business letters, memorandums, and e-mails


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Business Communication for Managers

Payal Mehra

Chapter 12: Business Letters, Memorandums, and E-mails


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Components of a Business Letter

Composing a business letter requires attention to the following details:

•The purpose

•The audience

•The context

•The technique


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Process of Writing a Letter

•State your purpose in the opening sentence.

•Add evidence in the middle section, supporting your point.

•Close with a few complimentary sentences.

•Reread your letter. Check for tone. Correct spellings and grammatical errors.

•Get a second opinion (optional, but strongly recommended).

•Revise.


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Steps to Writing a Letter

Once you know to whom you are writing and why, you have to actually start writing the letter. The following steps might be useful in getting started:

•Start with the audience.

•Use strategic formats.

•Create empathy.

•Identify the main idea.

•Start writing.


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Components of a Business Letter

•The date•Inside address •Salutation and complimentary close•The title•Subject line•The body•The signature •Enclosures•Cc•The writer’s address


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Business Letter FormatsBlock FormatHere, all the text is flush against the left margin. The margins are justified.

The Modified Block FormatIn the modified block format, if letterhead is not being used, the sender’s address, date (the date can go on either the left or the right side), the closing, signature, and printed name are all indented to the right side of the page.

The Indented Block FormatIn the indented block format, the first line of each paragraph is indented.


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Example of a Business Letter in Block Format


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Example of a Business Letter in Modified Block Format (Partial)


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Example of a Business Letter in Indented Block Format


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Kinds of Business Letters

•Cover letters: for resumes, proposals, and reports

•Letters of enquiry

•Sales letters

•Offer letters

•Request letters

•Good news letters

•Bad news letters


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Example of a Cover Letter


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Example of a Letter of Replying to an Enquiry


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Example of an Online Sales Letter


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An Example of a Joining Letter


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An Example of a Good News Letter


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An Example of a Bad News Letter


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Sales Letters

A strong sales serves functions such as:

•Enhancing the brand image of the company.

•Emphasizing the sales message.

•Getting a “foot in the door”.


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Categories of Sales Letters

Introduction LettersThese introduce the company to a prospect and initiate an appointment.

Follow-Up LettersThese reinforce a point made during a previous meeting.

Cover LettersThese are sent as part of a larger package and alert the reader to important deals or offers.


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Sales Strategies

•Referrals, testimonials, and endorsements: These help build credibility. •Point out loopholes in the competitors’ offerings. •Free trials: These entice the client. •Guarantee returns at ten times price: This refers to assured guarantees, extended warranties, services, and add-ons. •Create a sense of urgency (“Act now to avail the best price!”) by asking customers to contact you by a specific deadline. •Bundle a premium as a reward for acting before the expiry of the deadline. •Unit price: Sell at the smallest unit (not INR 650 for a carton, but instead INR 6.50 for one unit).


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Sales Strategies (Continued)

•Postscript: This re-states the benefit and urgency of the offer.

•Envelope: It is the envelope that acts like the real salesman. Make the envelope look professional and official in appearance. Companies sending sales letters use teasers (“Open the envelope for a never-before vacation offer!”) and labels (“Important. Urgent. Express.”) to denote the urgency of the offer. Include a return address to make the letter appear less like junk mail.

•Colour schemes: These add attractiveness to the offer.


Other Kinds of Business Letters

• Warning letters

• Welcome letters

• Farewell letters

• Increment letters

• Transfer letters


Structure of a Typical Memorandum


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Types of Memorandums


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E-mail Communication•It facilitates instant contact.

•It transcends geographic boundaries.

•It is impersonal in nature; it lends itself to anonymity.

•It is typically used in situations where an instant response is not required.

•It helps to form/create/define a “persona” of the sender.

•It is less expensive to send an e-mail than to hold a face-to-face meeting or circulate a notice in hard copy.

•It can be used to send a message to a large number of internal/external customers simultaneously.

•There is no expectation of privacy with work e-mail accounts.

•E-mails have a long shelf-life.


Format of a Typical E-mail


Good Opening and Closing Lines in E-mails


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Tips for Effective E-mail Communication

•Treat subject lines as headlines.

•Put one theme at a time.

•Use the direct approach.

•Clean the inbox daily.

•Be formal.


Example of an Office Circular


Example of an Office Order


Example of a Notice

chapter 12 - business letters, memorandums, and e-mails

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