Communication in today’s corporate world has become rigid. There are various reasons and occasions when employees in the company need to communicate with each other. And not only internally, but company personnel also require communicating with people outside. But this need for connection with others resulted in various formal formats circulated within the employees and outside to convey professional messages.
You might have known about the ways of formal written communication such as Emails, memoranda, reports, proposals, and others. For example, a business newsletter is one of the ways of written communication used in an organization.
Let’s know what these business newsletters and more are!
What are Business letters?
Business letters refer to a type of written communication that includes salutation in the beginning and ends with a signature and comprise of content or text which is professional. Earlier, the business letters were sent via courier or postal mail, as “letter” denotes. However, with the rapidly changing scenario and digitalization, business is also altering the way of communication.
These are the indispensable tool for business communication and are used for –
- Selling products
- Seeking advice or information
- To get insights about customers or the price of products/services
- Sustaining better public relation
- Enhancing goodwill and other business functions.
As commerce and industry are enhancing, the significance and usefulness of business letters are also increasing.
Categories of Business letters
Business letters have been categorized in different formats according to usage and needs. Some of these are –
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Order letters
Traditionally order letters’ senders are consumers, businesses, retailers, or wholesalers to a manufacturer or to order goods/services, respectively. These letters must include information
- Name of product
- Model number
- Quantity desired and quoted price, etc.
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Sales letters
It involves letters with the factual statement as the ultimate strategy is for capturing the interest of readers. Since the main aim is to provoke readers to make a purchase, it includes a sturdy call to action, making readers think about the apparent need to purchase and load the information they are looking for!
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Adjustment letters
Adjustment letters are helpful in the case of responding to a claim or complaint. It is started by mentioning the customer’s claim settlement if it’s the primary information. If it’s a complaint letter, make sure that the tone is factual and get the customer’s grievance.
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Complaint letters
Complaint letters should comprise appropriate words and tone as they should ascertain whether the complaint will be entertained or not. Using a professional tone is advised if you tend to gain the attention of the company.
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Letter of recommendation
You might have needed this one when you wanted to get employment in the company you’ve applied in,
Or to get admission for higher studies in a desirable college!
Yes, it’s the letter of recommendation.
It is generally written on behalf of previous employers or professors for their employees or students, respectively. It demonstrates the verification of a candidate’s qualification and work ethic.
Additionally, a letter of recommendation strengthens the prospect’s employment application and signifies that they are worthy of being recruited.
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Follow-up letters
As the name suggests, these letters are sent after some initial communication. Sometimes they may be a combination of a sales letter and a thank-you note. The reasons follow-up letters suffice maybe –
- Reviewing results of a meeting
- Employment seeker inquiring about the status of their application
- Sales department thanking a client for placing an order
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Announcement letter
These letters are sent out to vendors, employees, customers, or the press to declare something on behalf of the company, like a policy change, the management or an employee change, a takeover, a merger, any event or product release.
The tone should be kept formal as it’s typically short.
All these newsletters are used according to the occasion and need.
Advantages of Business letters
Have we aroused the curiosity to know the implications of newsletters to a business? Let’s dig deep and know how it’s going to benefit organizations –
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Building trust and maintaining the relationship with clients-
Business newsletters are a way of creating communication between an organization and its clients or vendors. With every edition of the newsletter, you can establish a trust factor with customers as you share more and more about yourself.
So, if a customer is going to make a purchase decision and is stuck between your products and your allies, he might give you a shot. Thus newsletters initiate a sense of building trust and maintaining n relationships with new and existing customers.
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Boosts website traffic through newsletters-
You, as a business person, might think about boosting your online presence.
Right?
Establishing a business website by spending huge bucks and not getting expected outcomes seems like pouring all your money down the drain. Instead, a well-crafted newsletter keeps the audience hooked and acts as bait to lure them. If readers like the newsletter, they might consider visiting your website and might end up purchasing.
Make sure you put your website’s address on newsletters so that readers find it convenient to go through your website.
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Contributes to your marketing goals –
Marketing is a continuous process. No business bestows profits right off the bat. You need to work your ass off and leverage all the available resources to contribute to business success. So, using appropriate marketing tools for business ensures its broad exposure.
A newsletter is one of the tools that keep your readers informed and entertained through its quality content.
An excellent business newsletter helps in the achievement of your marketing goals.
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Flaunts your expertise in the subject matter –
Issuing newsletters at regular intervals shows that your organization is well informed and keeps up with the market trends. In addition, it contains all industry-related interesting information and pieces of content on relevant topics.
You can showcase your intelligence through proficient newsletter writing and hold on to industry trends that might impress your audience.
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Enhances the rate of referrals –
Asking your readers to share it with your friends and family is no biggie. You can enable “Share with a friend” and gain more and more readers who might convert into leads.
Referral traffic is a vital cog to build the clientele as people tend to act when their peers advise them.
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Strengthen public relations and sales –
Newsletters are insightful, entertaining and loaded with information. As a result, you can easily promote your products effectively, and this, in turn, strengthens public relations.
It also boosts sales and, ideally, more profit by bringing in more traffic or potential leads to your website.
How to write a good business newsletter?
You might be thinking about how to craft a good news business letter.
Well, it’s not a hard nut to crack!
Follow these simple steps while creating a business letter-
- Never choose an outdated and unprofessional letter template. The template should always be acceptable and professional before customizing the content.
- Ensure an area for the recipient’s name and letter subjects.
- The introduction should depict the intention of writing the newsletter.
- Notify the customers or employees about the good news.
- Inform them about the advantages of news
- Explain about the celebrations whether you want to celebrate them or not.
- Conclude by praising their work or supporting customers for always believing in your brand.
- Support the mentioned news by getting the CEO’s signature or logo to keep the professionalism intact.
Typical Structure of Business letters
- Opening – It includes your email address, full date, recipient’s name, company, and address. Keep one line blank between your address, date, and recipient’s information. Avoid repetition of address if your letterhead already has it.
- Salutation – Use the salutation “Dear” along with their title and last name. If you don’t know the recipient’s gender, use their full name like “Dear Jake Harper.” And put a colon at the end of salutation.
- Body – The first paragraph includes your introduction & the reason for your newsletter. Continue the details in the middle, conclude with the letter’s aim, and enable a call to action if necessary.
- Closing- Formal closings include ‘Sincerely”, “Yours truly,” and for adding a personal pinch, use “Cordially” or “Best regards.” Add a comma at the end of the phrase.
- Signature – After closing, leave four lines blank and then type your name. Leave one more line and write your job designation and company name. In submitting a hard copy, sign your name in the space with black or blue ink.
- Enclosures – Do mention here if you include documents with the letter.
Tip – Every time you write a business letter, use the layout “block format,” making your content look clean and aligned.
Wrapping Up
Witnessing the usage and advantages of business letters, it can prove to be one of the most robust marketing tools in your arsenal. From boosting sales to public relations to website traffic, it is an all-in-one tool.
So, if you haven’t included newsletters in your marketing strategies till now, it’s time to get the ball rolling!
