IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS LETTERS

IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS LETTERS

(1) Role of Written Business Letters

Letter messaging is a significant form of business communication. It also constitutes the major component of written communication and forms the backbone of a successful enterprise. A good letter message:

 Can pacify an angry customer (and a bad letter can annoy a customer)
 May sell a new product (or spoil the sale of an established product)
 May collect debt without hurting customers‟ feelings (or lose both money and customer)
 May refuse a request yet win respect
 May grant a request yet incur ill will

(2) Need for Written Business Letters

(i) Every business has to maintain contacts with suppliers, customers / prospects, government agencies, employees, bankers, investors etc. Most often these happen through business letter.

(ii) Companies have to correspond with other enterprises for varied reasons:

 Placing orders for goods & services required from other firms
 Acknowledging and executing orders for other firms
 Granting credits to other parties
 Negotiating credits from other parties
 Securing credit facilities etc from banks
 Sending statement of accounts for debtors
 Receiving statement of accounts from suppliers etc

(iii) Letter messaging may be of less importance for small businesses but it is not dispensable. In fact, a certain amount of letter writing is essential for day to day living in the modern knowledge society.