What's a Business Letter and What Qualities are Necessary? Realize the Points Which Make Business Communication Unique and Derive Results!

Abstract:

There are several types of business correspondence, including business letters, e-mails, instant messages, and memos. Writers should consider the purpose and audience of the communication to select the appropriate type of correspondence to use.

When a business produces written communication, the resulting document is called business correspondence. The message or body of the document is the most important component of business correspondence. Other components include the document's date and the sender and receiver's identifying information. Typically, this identifying information includes name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address. Certain types of correspondence may also use a salutation, such as "Dear Dr. Smith." When enclosures are included with the correspondence, writers note that enclosures are a part of the communication. If a person other than the sender has typed the correspondence, the typist's initials are also shown. However, some types of business correspondence do not include all of these components.

Keywords

Business Letter, Correspondence, Qualities of Business Letters, Impression, Ambiguity, Purpose, Language, Accuracy, Concise

Learning Outcomes

After undergoing this article you will be able to understand the essential Qualities of Business Letter

What's the Business Letter?

What's the importance of business Letter 

What's the types of business Letter?

What qualities are essential in a Business Letter?

General format of Business Letter?

How to write the Starting, Body and Ending of a Business Letter?

Some great examples!

Tips to develop good business letter.

Conclusions

FAQs

References 

1 . What's the Business Letter?

A business letter is a written document you share with your clients, investors, potential hires, and other companies. It addresses the issues or agenda at hand and suggests ways to complete it. Business letters have a specific format and are written in formal language.

2 . What's the importance of business Letter ?

The importance of business correspondence lies in the fact that it is the formal way of exchanging information by which professional relationships are maintained between organizations, employees, and clients. Since it is in a written form, it can serve as a future reference for the information being communicated.

Businessmen must establish contact with the people and then only they can develop their organisations. Importance of communication is very great in business life (Ref. 3.44). There was a time when the size of business was normally small and varied means of communication were not available, direct meetings or face-to-face communication was practised by the businessmen. Later on, the policy of sending representatives for direct contacts was introduced. All these methods have their limitations.

The importance of business letters as the cheapest and most extensive form of communication was first realised in USA and UK and now this method has been accepted as the best method of communication all over the world. This has been possible with the introduction of ever growing postal services. In the meantime standardisation of the form and the style of business letters have made them more popular and acceptable by all.

The commercial correspondence has a language of its own which is markedly different from personal letters. Day by day improve­ments are being made in the form and the style of business letters making them more impressive, meaningful and compact.

3 . What's the types of business Letter?

Here are some of the most common types of business letters and when to use them:

The types of letters show their purposes by their name(s). 

Sales

Complaint letters

Cover letters

Letters of recommendation

Letters of resignation

Adjustment letters

Thank you letters

Memos

Offer letters

Order letters

Request letters

Announcement letters

Business letters

Letters of commendation

Business Invites

Termination letters

Welcome letter

Acknowledgment letters

Appointment letter

Block

Modified block

Semi block format

Appraisal letter

Circulars

4 . What qualities are essential in a Business Letter?

Essential Qualities of Business Letter

A person should always maintain the quality of the business letter. The qualities of a business letter make it presentable. It becomes easy for a person or an organization to imprint an impression onto the others. The qualities of a business letter can be classified as

A. Inner Quality

B. Outer Quality

Let us discuss each of them in detail.

A. Inner Quality

It refers to the quality of language used and the presentation of a business letter. 

They are

1. Clear

The language used in the business letter must be clear. It helps the receiver to understand the message immediately, easily, and clearly. Any ambiguity will lead to the misinterpretation of the message stated.

2. Simple

The language used in the business letter must be simple and easy. One must not write a business letter in difficult and fancy words.

3. Concise

The message written in the letter must be concise and to the point.

4. Concrete

The message is written must be concrete and specific. By using concrete language, a reader will have a clear picture of the message.

5. Accuracy

One must always check for the accuracy of the business letter. Accuracy generally means no error in grammar, spelling, punctuations etc. Correct personnel should be targeted for communication.

6. Coherent

The language used in the business letter must be coherent. The message must be in a logical way for the clear understanding of the message. The flow of the message must be consistent.

7. Complete

One must write a complete message. It helps the reader to know about the issue and the solution to be taken. It should provide all the necessary information. One must also keep in mind that the message should be concise and short along with the complete details.

8. Relevance

The letter should only contain important information. Irrelevant information should not be included and avoided in any business communication.

9. Courteous

The language used in the business letter must be courteous. A writer must always use open, friendly, and honest wording in his letter. It does not mean that one must use slang and abusive words. One must always add the words like please, thank you etc.

10. Neatness

A business letter must be neatly typed or handwritten. Proper spacing, indention, and use of paragraph should be used.

business letter

Learn more about Parts of Business Letters here in detail.

B. Outer Quality

The outer quality of a business letter means the quality of its outer appearance. The outer look of the letter must be catchy and impressive. Some of the outer qualities are

1. Size of the Paper

The standard size of paper should be used. An A4 paper is the most used paper for writing a business letter.

2. Quality of the Paper

The quality of the paper used must be good. It is not always possible for a firm to use the costly paper. One must use good quality paper for original copy and ordinary copy for the duplicate copy.

3. The Color of the Paper

Sometimes it is very useful to use the different color of paper for different types of letter. The receiver can clearly understand the intention and the purpose of the letter by its color.

4. Folding of Letter

One must fold the letter properly and uniformly. The folding must be done to fit the letter in the envelope. It is noticeable that one must not over fold the letter. It will have a bad impression on the reader’s mind.

5. Envelope

The envelope used must be of good quality. Special attention must be given to the size of the envelope for fitting the letter.

5. General format of Business Letter?

Essential Elements To Include in a Business Letter

Your Contact Address

If the contact address is already included in the letterhead, skip it. Otherwise, include these in your contact information:

Full name

Job title

Company

Address

City, state, ZIP Code

Phone number

Email address

Date

This is the date when you are writing the letter. If your contact information is included on the letterhead, your business letter starts with the date.

Recipient Address

The address should include:

Full name

Job title

Company

Address

City, state, ZIP Code

Salutation

The salutation that you use depends upon how familiar you are with the recipient.

Use “To whom it may concern” if you’re not sure about who will receive and read your letter.

If you know the recipient formally, use Dear [last name].

If you know the recipient informally, use the salutation Dear [first name].

Letter Body

This is the meat of the business letter. Use single line spacing for readability. You can use extra lines between paragraphs, after the salutation and above the closing salutation.

Closing Salutation or Valediction

Again, the closing salutation depends upon how formal or informal your relationship is with the recipient. Some of the most commonly used closing salutations in business  include:

Sincerely

Cordially

Best

Kind regards

Regards

All the best

Your Signature

You should always end with a handwritten signature even if the letter is typed and printed using a computer. Handwritten signatures help in establishing a rapport with the recipient even if this is your first communication. Always write your full name and title below the signature

Optional Things To Include

If you are including any additional documents pertaining to the letter, make a list of those enclosures after your signature and name. 

If you are sending a sales letter, you may consider including a call to action (CTA) at the bottom of the letter.

So summarily, most business letters must include 

A return address (letterhead or your name and address), 

Reference No and Date, 

An inside address (receiver's name and address), 

A salutation, 

Body paragraphs, and 

A closing.

Enclosures, if any 

6 . How to write the Starting, Body and Ending of a Business Letter?

A business letter must be formatted for clarity and ease of understanding. Here are some points to consider while formatting the letter:

Block or indent. In the block format, all elements of the letter are left-aligned. But, if you want to use an indented format, right-align your address, date, closing salutation and signature. The rest of the elements will be left-aligned.

Font. Use a professional font such as Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, Helvetica, etc. The size must be from 10 to 12.

Margins. A one-inch margin on all four sides of the page is the standard. You can increase it to one-and-a-quarter inches to differentiate it from other types of letters.

Spacing. Use a single line for the body of the letter. Use extra lines after your address, date, recipient address and salutation. Also, leave an extra line before the closing salutation.

7 . Some great examples of Business Letters!

[Your full name]

[Professional title]

[Company]

[Street address]

[City, State ZIP Code]

[Phone]

[Email address]

[Date]

[Recipient full name]

[Professional title]

[Company]

[Street address]

[City, State ZIP Code]

[Phone]

[Email address]

Dear [Recipient’s Last Name],

[Introductory paragraph]

[Explanatory paragraph]

[Closing paragraph]

Sincerely,

[Written Signature]

[Full name Last name]

8 . Tips to develop good business letter.

10 tips for effective business writing

Know your Customer.

Discover your message. Before typing a word, decide what you're trying to achieve. 

Think like a reporter. 

Banish buzzwords and clichés. 

Junk the jargon. 

Keep it tight and to the point politely

Make it plain and simple. Write a clear subject line for your e-mail (“Read this now” doesn’t cut it) or a clear headline for your article.

Put deadlines and other vital points in bold.

Break up messages with descriptive subheads.

Put lists—like this one—in bullet format.

Make sure the most important information is at the top.

Leave the symbols and abbreviations on your phone. 

Get active.Putting sentences in active voice is a quick way to brighten your writing. 

Sentences in active voice are often shorter and usually clearer than those in passive voice, and inspire more trust in readers. 

Everyone wants to know who is doing what.

Proof read and make it perfect before despatch.

9 . Conclusions

Depending on the situation, you can use formal ways to conclude a business letter:

Faithfully.

Sincerely.

Best regards.

Thank you.

With appreciation.

With gratitude.

With sincere thanks.

Sincerely yours.

10. FAQs

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