Business Correspondence

 Correspondence means communication by letters.

 In other words, correspondence is communication

in writing between two persons on matters of
personal, official, and business interest.
Types of Correspondence
Correspondence can be divided into 3
types:

 Personal Correspondence

 Business Correspondence

 Official Correspondence
Personal Correspondence

 It relates to communication in writing between

friends, relatives etc. on matters of personal interest
and welfare.

 As such there is no hard and fast rule for writing

personal letters.
Business Correspondence

 It relates to the communication in writing between

business houses on matters of trade, commerce and
industries.

 Letters dealing with matters relating to purchase

and sale of goods, transportation, banking,
insurance and other trade matters come under this
category.
Official Correspondence

 It relates to the communication in writing between

government and semi government offices, local
bodies, Municipal Corporation, panchayats etc.

 On matter of general administration and other

allied subjects connected with various departments.
Purpose & Uses of Business
Correspondence
Sometimes correspondence becomes necessary
even though personal contact is possible because of
the purpose and uses of correspondence.

They are as follows:

1. Ideas can be put more clearly in writing.
2. It becomes a record.
3. It becomes a legal document.
4. It can be used for future reference.
1. Ideas can be put in writing more clearly and
understood more easily:

 If something is put in writing, it becomes very clear

and easy to understand than oral communication.

 Anything, which is written, can be read any number

of times for understanding it.
2. A letter becomes a Record:

 Copies of letters exchanged between the two

parties can be kept by the sender as well as by the
receiver.
 Copies kept in the relevant file can become a
record and can be kept safely for as long as
required.
 This is not possible in oral communication.
3. Letter may serve as legal document:

 Any record, which is maintained safely, can be used

as a legal document as a proof or evidence if need
arises.
 Many letters, which contain vital information about
a purchase transaction like an order letter, can
become legal documents.
 They can be produced in courts if need arises.
4. Letter is useful for future reference:

 Any letter kept in the file as a record can be referred

to any time in future for knowing the past dealings.
 This is one of the reasons why letters are kept at
records.
 Without knowing the past, future dealings cannot be
planned and carried out.
Essential Characteristics Of a Good
Business Letter
1. Clarity & Conciseness

Version 1: I am extremely sorry to have to point

out to you that we do not have these brands in stock
at the present moment of time.
Version 2: These brands are presently out of stock.
 Which one gives you the information clearly and
precisely.
 Lack of clarity & conciseness is mainly because
of the following reasons:

 Long involved sentences

 Sentences revealing over-emphasis
 Verbosity or wordiness
 Redundancy or use of low Information Content
(LIC) words.

“Let us see some examples”

4. It will be noted that  The records for the
the records of the earlier years show a
earlier years show a steady increase in
steady increase in special appropriations.
special
appropriations.

(Redundancy)
2. Correctness & Completeness

Suppose you enquire from a company about the

mode of payment for the equipment you have
purchased from them and they reply like this:

“Send your payment by demand draft as soon

as possible.”
 It does not give you the complete details about
payment, i.e., the name on which the draft has to be
taken.
 It does not specify the deadline for sending the
draft.
 We need a large office  We need at least 10,000
space. square feet.
 A number of customers  Ten customers filed
filed their returns their returns today.
today.
 We are submitting a  We are sending a
cheque in the amount cheque for Rs. 20,000
of Rs. 20,000.
3. Positive Approach
 We regret to inform you
that we may not be able to
grant you request for
credit.
 It is impossible to repair
your car in two days.
 We cannot send you the
shirts until you tell us what
colour and size you want.
 For the time being we can
serve you on cash basis
only.
 Your car will be ready by
Thursday.
 Please check your size &
colour preferences in the
enclosed order form &
send to us so that you may
receive the shirts.
4. Courtesy & Consideration
Given below is a business message received by a
candidate a week after submitting an application
for a job:

“Your application for the post of Purchase Manager

cannot be considered by our company.”
Thank you very much for your application
dated……… for the post of ……… in our
company.
We are sorry that we are not able to offer you this
position at present. However, we have noted down
your credentials & have filed your application for
future use. Whenever an opportunity arises in
future, we shall consider your application.
We appreciate your interest in working with us.
Our best wishes to you.
 Your indifferent
attitude has caused a
great loss.
 If you do not respond  We hope that you will
to this letter also, we do
not have any option
other than lodging legal
proceedings against
you company.
 Had you been a bit
more careful, we could
have avoided this 20%
loss.
certainly respond to
this letter at least so
that we can avoid
taking any legal action
against your company.