LETTERS MEMO EMAILS RESUME

ULTIMATE PURPOSE:
To sustain existing business relationships or to create and establish a new business relationship/partnership.

Other varied Purposes:

To inform (new business, new product, launching

etc)

To sell (product/service/scheme) To enquire (corporate info, details on

product/service, delivery date, status of order etc) To order (place an order for product/service) To request (pricing, specifications, type of model, donation of money or time etc) To collect dues (amount, mode of payment, type of payment, pass due accounts etc)

To ask for credit (requesting for loan etc) To complain (product faulty or damaged, wrong item sent, late delivery, unsatisfactory service rendered, ask for remedy etc) To make adjustment (reply to complaints or inform how to go about rectifying the problem etc) To congratulate (new opening, award for best product etc) To apply for a job (job employment, also called cover letter + resume)

INFORMATIVE

PERSUASIVE

ORDER INQUIRY CLAIM ADJUSTMENTS INFORM

CREDIT COLLECTION SALES FUNRAISING JOB APPLICATION

Either ask for info or provide info for further action

Attempt to persuade or motivate readers towards a desired action

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HEADING/LETTER HEAD SENDERS NAME & ADDRESS DATE RECEIVERS NAME & ADDRESS SALUTATION SUBJECT HEADING I. INTRODUCTION D DETAILS R RESPONSE/ACTION C CLOSE

HI Tech Graphics 613, Circular Road, Bangalore 560001 Phone: (080) 2335618 Fax: (080) 2335710 Email: 9080) sales@hitechgraphics.com

Mr Hendry Joseph Sales and Purchase Department 23 January 2009 The General Manager Sales and Marketing Department Corporate Communication Inc 3456 Grant Chicago, 1L 60611 USA

Senders name/dept/add

Date Receivers name/post/add

Dear Sir

DAMAGED CONSIGNMENT ORDER NO. TT/472

Thank you for promptly delivering 200 mattresses in response to my order no. TT/472 on 10 January 2009. But we are sorry to state that on checking of consignment, we found that 65 of the 200 mattresses sent are badly soiled and faded.(INTRODUCTION) I had placed this order for your high quality affordable products, based on the recommendation by one of our partners. We propose to sell these mattresses at a winter sale in our area, five days from now. Advertisements for the same have already been made through the local media. The condition of the mattresses received have been due to the water seepage in recent rains during transportation. Therefore, I request you to replace these 65 damaged mattresses immediately. We have very little time left to arrange it from elsewhere. The damaged products will be sent back to you within two days at your cost by transport on receipt of the confirmations about replacement. (DETAILS) Kindly send us the replacement within two days of receipt of this letter. (RESPONSE/ACTION) We thank you in advance for your cooperation. (COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE) Yours sincerely ________________________ (Sales & Marketing Manager)

RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES:
Thank the customer for bringing the mistake to your notice Tell him/her how you will remedy the problem Apologize for the problem occurred but not too overly Explain how the mistake has occurred Admit your companys fault carefully. Be tactful. Explain what action you would take to avoid such occurrence in future Remind the customer how you are honouring the claim Encourage the reader to look favourably on your company or the product in question in the future Clarify any action that your customer must take
Example of letter on page 304

Claim letters Adjustment letter Sales letters Job application letter

Using the IDRC format

What?

Why?

Brief written communication Circulated within an organization (internal)

Arriving at some quick decisions Solve problems To circulate information To take action Use less paper Enable vertical, horizontal & diagonal flow of information Anytime

When?

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ANNOUNCEMENT MEMOS of events/data/ideas INSTRUCTION MEMOS a subordinate/staff/carry out duty REQUEST MEMOS for information AUTHORIZATION MEMOS meetings/important points TRANSMITTAL MEMOS like covering letter; accompanies a document i.e report

Note: Memos provide a permanent record for future reference.

Thus, copies should be kept.

Heading segment To : From : Date : CC : Subject : (in capital letters) Introduction segment
the context is the event, circumstance, or background of the problem you are solving or the topic you are handling

Details segment
To state your purpose; requesting for info/summarizing data/seeking for help etc

Supporting Details
Specific info dates/venues/model no./amount of goods/statistics etc

Action segment
With a courteous ending that states what action you want your reader to take

Digimax International
MEMO
To From Date CC Subject : : : : : Ariff Ahmad Ibrahim, Personnel Manager Tuan Haji Bujang Bin Senang, Vice President (initial) 22 January 2009 All Managers DETAILS FOR SALES MEETING

As we discussed in my office today, please get the necessary details pertaining to the expenses for holding our annual sales meeting at the JWW Marriot Hotel, Singapore. As we are planning to begin the meeting on the morning of 20 February, we should reach the venue on 19 February. We will leave after a short morning session on 22 February. Thus, I would like to request the following information in order to confirm the overall budget: Travel costs for 25 participants, including air travel to Singapore and travel between the airport and our lodge. Room and board costs for the three day period, including cost with and without dinner. Costs for recreational facilities at the hotel. Costs for meeting room and necessary equipment such as projectors, computers etc. I would like to have the information by 30 January. You can contact me at Ext 4841 or BuSe@gmail.com for any further clarification. Thank you

Email is simply the shortened form of electronic mail, a protocol for receiving, sending and storing electronic messages.

Email has gained popularity with the spread of the Internet. In many cases, email has become the preferred method of communication, especially in business organizations.

ADVANTAGES
Quick communication Easy to send mailing list Access vast pool of information from the Web Easily save thousands of email messages Paste all or part of an email Access to printer-friendly versions Speedy replying systems Send attachments i.e drawings, videos, sounds, files, pictures etc Asynchronous communication Eradicates shyness Low cost/minimal monthly fee

LIMITATION
Editable Anonymous Cannot be retracted once sent Cannot be tracked Not necessarily private- could be intercepted Some emails can only receive or send text files Possible to forge e-mails, especially the address May receive too much unwanted emails i.e spam May get an incorrect impression of the sender if not known Decreases face-to-face interactions with colleagues

Millions of emails circle the globe every day. So, you might be thinking, Oh, writing emails is easy. True, writing an email is straightforward enough. But, if your message is not clear, it's a quick trip from the inbox to the recipient's trash.

Thus, it is important to consider the guidelines below:

E-mail messages should be brief, ideally under 200words, as short messages are likely to get your points across clearly. Lenghty messages demotivates the readers to finish reading the text. You must carefully consider your audience by checking your tone i.e formal tones for messages to the top management and informal/friendly tones to colleagues. Also consider the purpose of writing the email so you do not go astray and confuse the reader Must be competence in writing skills should have no errors in spelling grammar and punctuation.

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Answer swiftly within 24 hours or immediately for urgent response Use reply to All only if you need Use proper Structure and Layout Identify yourself and the Topic- use full name rather than just your e-mail address. Knowing whom the message is from helps the recipient put the message into context. Answer all questions addressed to you, and pre-empt further questions to save time. Be Concise and Straight to the Point- for clear messages Use Proper Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation Do not write in CAPITALS IF YOU WRITE IN CAPITALS IT SEEMS AS IF YOU ARE SHOUTING this might trigger misinterpretation or flame mail Avoid Long Sentences- keep to a max of 13-20 words. Use Active instead of passive voice sounds more personal

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Keep Language Gender-Neutral- important to be gender sensitive; use he/she instead of only he. Maintain Coherence - must include original mail in your reply for easy and quick reference if you receive many emails. Do not overuse High Priority option- it will lose its function if you overuse it Do not attach unnecessary files/folders. Sometimes they can be too heavy and may bring down the e-mail system or stream in viruses. If you have to, compress the attachments. Read the e-mail before sending it to check the content, spelling, grammar so as to avoid misunderstandings and inappropriate comments Take care with abbreviations and emoticons BTW or LOL are not suitable in business e-mails. Be careful with formatting use a colour or font which is easy to see and read.

18.Take care with HTML messages sometimes the recipient may receive a txt.attachment. 19. E-mails are not for personal/confidential messages be careful never to make libellous or discriminating comments, even as a joke. 20. Do not reply to spam- if you do you will be generating more spam. Therefore just hit the Delete button.

_____________________________________________________________________ SAMPLE of e-mails can be seen on pages 351 356 (Technical Communication - Principles and Practice)