Writing business letters and memos
Writing business letters
Business letters are used for external written communications. They may be used, for example, in selling and marketing to let customers know of special offers, to confirm a meeting with a client, to answer an enquiry about a delivery from a supplier, or to deal with a complaint from a customer. Most business letters are typed or word-processed using a computer word-processing program on the business’s printed headed letter paper. The printed letter head should show The name of the business (and any trading name) The address of the business Telephone and fax numbers Email address if appropriate Names of the proprietor, partners or directors of the business
Printed letter heads often contain a logo, or visual device, which identifies the business and links the letter with other documents produced by the business. Sometime some of the information is put at the bottom of the headed letter paper, where it is called a footer. All business letters should follow certain conventions of layout and structure. This helps to ensure that the letter is neatly and attractively laid out and contains all the basic information needed by the reader, including the date the letter was written, the intended recipient, and the name and title of the sender. The content of the letter should be appropriate to the message and kept short and simple to make it easy to read and understand.
Writing memos
Memos (short for memoranda, singular memorandum) are used to communicate internally with other people in the business. They are used for giving instructions and information, making requests, asking for information and guidance, and so on. As with letters, memos should follow certain conventions of layout and structure. They are usually written, typed or word-processed on printed memo forms which may contain the name or logo of the business. Since they are communications between people in the same organisation, they may be written with less formality than a business letter. However, the person writing a memo should always consider the level of the person to whom the memo is addressed. A memo to the managing director or chief executive should be more formal than a memo to a junior clerk in another department.