Types of Business letters

Prepared and Compiled by:

Mrs. Amabel C. Palangyos
 Types of Business Letters

1. SALES LETTER
2. LETTER OF
TRANSMITTAL
3. LETTER OF INQUIRY
4. ORDER LETTER
5. LETTER OF
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
ORDER
6. LETTER OF COMPLAINT
7. LETTER OF ADJUSTMENT
8. LETTER OF REFERENCE
9. LETTER OF COLLECTION
 1. Sales Letter
It is a marketing tool that promotes
a product or service. Its objective is
to persuade the reader to buy what
the letter offers.
Its scope must describe a particular
benefit the reader will gain by
making the purchase, such as a
problem solved or a need fulfilled.
Guidelines in Writing a Sales
Letter:
1.Identifying your reader - It
should be addressed to a group
prospective buyers who meet an
established set of criteria.
2.Target Market is a specific
audience, a group of people
carefully selected for the traits,
they hold in common.
 Frequently used market
segment identifiers:
1. DEMOGRAPHICS
includes quantifiable or
measurable facts such as
age, income, gender,
marital status, religious
affiliation, and ethnic
background.
2.
PSYCHOGRAPHICS
includes personal
choice, tendencies,
or leanings such as
all jazz lovers, pet
owners, or country
dwellers.
3. USAGE-BASED
includes behavioral
information related to
the frequency or
regularity of personal
lifestyle practices such as
backpacking, motorcycle
riding, dining out, or DVD
renting.
4. GEOGRAPHICS
includes both broad and
narrow physical location
information such as
country, or region within
a country, right down to
the street addresses, area
codes, and zip codes.
 Objectives of a Sales
Letter
1.To attract attention
2.To generate interest
3.To induce a purchase
 Determining your Scope
A sales letter must identify one
or more of the following:
1.A problem that can be solved
2.A need that can be fulfilled
3.A desire that can be satisfied
4.A pleasure that can be gained
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL a.k.a. COVER
LETTER
It accompanies items or documents enclosed or
shipped in a single package and it identifies what is
being sent, the person receiving it, and the reason
the item or document is being delivered to the
recipient. It has the same function with the preface
of a book.
Objectives:
to identify each of the items that are included
to provide a paper trail for both the sender and the
receiver
The scope should be limited only to the information
that will help the reader recognize the contents of
the package and the reasons for receiving them.
to help your reader to identify those
items and why they are being sent.
Note:
1.The cover letter should be addressed to
the person receiving the correspondence
or a package in which a number of items
have been included.
2.It should provide the reader a record of
the items and documents sent.
3.It should contain a brief description of
the items included in a package.
123 Incorporated
Hi- way, Balanga Bataan

March 03, 2013

Dr. Manuel Cruz

Manager
ABC Incorporated

Dear Dr. Cruz:

It was a pleasure talking with you today. I have enclosed a brochure which
discusses your major concerns about variable annuities. Investments can
be a complex and overwhelming topic. This brochure reduces the subject
to its essential points. Particularly enlightening is the comparison of
variable annuities to mutual funds on page 5. I also determined that the
surrender charge in year six is 4% instead of 3%. I will give you a call in a
week or so to see what you think.

Sincerely,

Amy Tan
 Purchase order letters
also known as PO purchase order
Objectives:
to provide the vendor with detailed instructions
for fulfilling an order
It also serves as a legal record of the transaction.
The scope should include only the information
needed to fulfill the order only according to your
specifications, and your satisfaction will largely
depend on your accurate instructions.
 LETTER OF INQUIRY
Considered as the simplest
business letter. It is written to
seek information about people,
services, products, prices,
catalogue, policies, personnel and
the like of a certain agency which
demands some specific response.
LETTER OF REPLY TO AN INQUIRY
Since this answers a letter of inquiry, one
should:
express appreciation for the interest shown by
the sender.
state cheerfully the information requested.
add additional important details if necessary
mention an enclosure if there are any.
 Purchase Order letter (PO)
Business can also be done through mail. This
happens when customers write a letter of order
which contains the products they need to purchase
satisfactorily.
Important Things to be Included in a Purchase Order
Letter:
Data regarding the product
The mode of payment (COD, check, cash, money
order)
Mode of delivery(include date of shipment)
Complete description of
merchandise as to:
Color
Size
Style
Brand name
Quantity
Price, etc.
Letter acknowledging an order
This is written in response to the
order letter. It should contain:
The confirmation of the order
Appreciation and pleasure of
being of service to the reader
Restatement of the order and
necessary details
 Letter of complaint

A letter written for any grievance

regarding goods and services. Its
primary purpose is to settle or
solve a problem.
According to Romero (1997),
claims made by customers
generally involve the following:
1. Merchandise which involve orders
incorrectly filed, merchandise whose quality
is unsatisfactory or goods damaged and
delayed in shipment.
2. Amounts of money claims which involve
errors in statement and invoices and
misunderstanding with regard to price or
terms of payment.
3. Service claims which include delays in filing
orders or request for service, discourteous
treatment by employees and failure to follow-
up an earlier incomplete service.
 Letter of adjustment
It is written in response to a complaint letter.
Tips in Writing an Adjustment Letter
Thank the writer for writing you by making a
conciliatory statement.
Assure him that he did the right move.
Express regret over the incident.
State the policy of the company when it comes
to complaints.
Explain briefly the possible reasons.
specify the action to be done to solve the
 Letter of recommendation
It contains an honest and truthful
evaluation of the integrity,
intelligence, abilities, and
performance of an individual who
needs people who can attest of
who really he is for reasons like
employment and scholarship
grants.
 In writing this letter, one should
mention:
-the number of years you have
known the person.
-the nature of your relationship
-specific recommendation and
summary of impressions stated
earlier
-remark that your words are
confidential
 Collection letter
As the word collect implies, this letter aims
to collect payments from customers who
forget, overlook or ignore their financial
obligations with your company without
sacrificing confidence and goodwill of the
customers.
For the first offense, just remind the customer
of his accounts. This is 30 days after the
billing.
If there is no response, this time, write
 News Release
It is a written or recorded communication
directed at members of the news media for
the purpose of announcing something
ostensibly newsworthy.
They can announce a range of news items,
including scheduled events, personnel
promotions, awards, new products and
services, sales accomplishments, etc. They
can also be used in generating a feature
story.
Steps in Writing a Press/News Release
1.Write the headline - It should be brief,
clear and to the point.
Bad Press Release Headline:
NEW WEBSITE THAT OFFERS HERBAL
WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS LETS TEENS
SPEAK OUT ABOUT WEIGHT ISSUES
Good Press Release Headline:
TEENS: ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS
SET BAD EXAMPLE
 Bad Press Release Lead
Recently on theplace4vitamins.com, an online store dedicated to
selling the best herbal products, teenagers had the chance to say
what they thought about weight loss and whether a society that
pressures young people to be thin is a good thing or a bad thing
Good Press Release Lead
America's teenagers are angry at Hollywood for glamorizing ultra-
thin bodies, and many girls say they feel too self-conscious about
their bodies as a result of watching TV, movies and music videos.
The findings are gleaned from more than six months of ongoing
discussion and debate at the website theplace4vitamins.com.
According to theplace4vitamins.com President John Smith, anger
and resentment toward the Hollywood ultra-thin runs deep,
particularly among teenage girls.
2. Write the body copy. The press
release should be written as you want it
to appear in a news story.
Next, a quote will help put in some
perspective:
"I was surprised by the level of anger
expressed in these messages," Smith
said. "Teenagers are far more clued into
this issue than most people would
imagine."
 Or, you might ask an expert for a quote:
"This demonstrates once again the need to teach
young girls and boys about how to develop a positive
self-image," said Jane Doe, author of "I Like My Body
Just As It Is". "theplace4vitamins.com has done a true
service by bringing these attitudes to the public's
attention."
Finally, spend a sentence or two describing your
company and what you do:
theplace4vitamins.com was founded in 1997 to
provide consumers with a wide choice of vitamins,
supplements and herbal products. The site offers a
range of articles, research materials and message
forums for the health conscious consumer.
3. Communicate the "5 Ws" (and the H) clearly. Who, what,
when, where, whyand howshould tell the reader
everything they need to know.
4. Include information about the company. When a journalist
picks up your press release for a story, he or she would
logically have to mention the company in the news article.
Journalists can then get the company information from this
section.
5. Tie it together. Provide some extra information links that
support your press release.
6. Add contact information. If your press release is really
newsworthy, journalists would surely like more information or
would like to interview key people associated with it.
7. If possible, include a link to an online
copy of the same release. It is good
practice to keep a log of all of your press
releases housed on your own website.
This can make providing such a link easier
to produce, as well as keeping a record
for historical purposes.
8. Signal the end of the press release
with three # (hash) symbols, centered
directly underneath the last line of the
release. This is a journalistic standard.