BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

What is Business Correspondence?

In businesses, written communication is an important medium for passing information. This form of written communication used for business purposes is termed Business correspondence. The correspondence in business communication can happen within the organization, between different organizations, or between client and organization.

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. Business correspondence happens daily in the lives of businessmen in the form of letters to suppliers, letters of inquiry, complaint letters, job application letters, and a few other forms.

The Importance of Business Correspondence

Business correspondence is essential in realizing organizational goals.

Meeting people personally can be quite a time-consuming job hence business correspondence helps businesses with:

Maintaining Proper Relationships – The significance of business letters is governed by the fact that it facilitates effective communication which does not cost the business much. It strengthens the business by making communication, within and outside the organization, clear and concise.

Acts As Evidence – The importance of business correspondence is further solidified as it lets businesses keep records of facts that can serve as evidence at a later point in time.

Creating Goodwill – A company’s growth increases due to business correspondence. It creates goodwill between business and clients since any letter like a complaint, feedback, or suggestion promotes a healthy relationship.

Costs Very Less – Business correspondence is an inexpensive mode of communication in terms of money as well as time. This method of correspondence in business communication is very convenient for businesses. Removes

Ambiguity in Communication – It is a formal correspondence between the involved parties which helps in unambiguous communication.

Helps Businesses Expand and Grow – A business can have a seamless flow of information regarding any product or resources through business correspondence. This helps in the proper utilization of manpower and time management, which in turn leads to expansion and growth in business. 

Types of Business Correspondence

A business typically uses many kinds of business correspondence in its day to day activities.

There are six most common kinds of business correspondences in the business community as defined below:

Internal Correspondence – The flow of information between employees, departments, branches, and units of the same company is termed internal correspondence. They can be formal or informal. 

Some examples of formal internal correspondence are

Promotion letters

 A formal request for approval,

A memorandum, etc. They are mostly printed on paper.

A routine or informal internal correspondence can be a quick instruction between a manager and subordinate, which are mostly in the form of emails.

External Correspondence – The communication between 2 different organizations or between an organization and a client comes under external correspondence.

This type of correspondence in business communication is usually made to suppliers, existing and prospective clients, government offices, etc.

Examples of external correspondence

Letters: Letters can be used for a variety of purposes, including questions, orders, answers, invitations, and more. 

Emails: Emails can be used for a variety of purposes, including asking a boss to get off early. 

Advertising: Advertising can be used to communicate the benefits of a product or service to potential customers.

 

Sales Correspondence – Any communication related to sales is called sales correspondence. It is not only concerned with the sale of a product or service but encompasses many other activities. It includes marketing letters, invoices, discount letters, statements of accounts, etc.

Routine Correspondence – Such correspondence happens routinely like orders, inquiries, invitations, replies, etc.

Personalized Correspondence – This involves personal and emotional factors.

Some of the examples of this type of correspondence are letters of gratitude, congratulation letters, appreciation notes, letters of request for a recommendation, etc.

Circulars – This type of correspondence is used when a business has to convey a common matter to a large audience.

A few examples are notices of tenders, change in contact information, etc.