Correct correspondence. Types of business correspondence

A business letter is a psychological picture sender, his business card, as well as part of the image and reputation of the company. How to guard yourself against the prospect of putting a bold cross on all this - in our article.

Tatyana Nikolaeva,

Leading Business Etiquette Expert at the Negotiation Training Center, Moscow

Email Rules for business people- this is a kind of tool that allows you to "keep the face" of the company and reflect its image in communication with partners. What are the key rules of business e-mail correspondence that merchants need to consider? Let's take a closer look, because it really plays a huge role.

Rule 1: Include the subject of the email

It is by this criterion that a busy person decides which letter to open first. In addition, this e-mail rule allows the interlocutor to find the desired letter among the flow of correspondence. For example, it is convenient to receive emails with subject lines that reflect different organizational aspects of the same process.

For example: “Participant’s package of documents”, “Invoice for participation in the exhibition”, “Memo to the participant of the exhibition”, “Layout of exhibition pavilions”, etc. If all correspondence was conducted with the subject “Participation in the exhibition”, find the desired letter in extensive correspondence it would be much more difficult.

Rule 2. Do not forget about the address and greeting

This is where the letter should begin. It is better to do this in this form: "Good afternoon, name (patronymic) of the addressee." The cumbersome construction of "Good day!" better not to use. It is also incorrect to indicate the following wording: "Hello, Mr. Ivanov." In a business environment, they don't talk about health. If the letter is addressed to a group of people, you can use the collective word: "Dear Sirs!" or "Colleagues!". You can do without contact only in the case of intensive correspondence in the "question-answer" mode, as when communicating on Skype.

Phrases that can not be used in correspondence

If email is an important lead generation channel for your organization, here is 11 phrases, from which the editors of the magazine "Commercial Director" recommends urgently get rid of.

Rule 3. Remember that brevity is the sister of talent

If the subject of the letter requires explanation and details, specify the necessary parameters. However, do not pour "water" at the same time, write specifically. The ideal option there will be a small letter in which you will agree with the addressee about telephone conversation or a meeting where you can discuss all the details.

Rule 4. Writing style - business, tone - neutral

Unlike face-to-face communication and a telephone conversation, where you have a script, your addressee not only does not see you, but also does not hear you. You cannot supplement your words with facial expressions, intonation, or other non-verbal cues. Therefore, strictly adhere to this rule of business e-mail. For example, in a conversation, the phrase “what else do you need from me?”, uttered with a certain intonation, will express a desire to know the entire list of duties or actions. And in writing, it can be read like this: “How much can I load? Have a conscience!

Therefore, if you are ready for further action, it is better to always use this rule of correspondence by e-mail. Write like this: “what else can I be useful / useful for?”. If you have no desire to participate in the further process, you must correctly say so. For example, like this: “Colleagues, in view of my high workload on another project, I would be grateful if you ...” and then describe your wishes: “free me from further work on this project”, “describe to me the full scope of my duties so that I can plan my work.” At the same time, it is important to take into account the subordination: if you correspond with the manager, check with him the priority of this work.

Rule 5. Dose the number of emoticons in the text

This is a fundamental rule of electronic correspondence of business people. In some companies, the use of "smilies" is strictly prohibited. If your organization is not one of them, use these icons, but be very careful. After all, “emoticons” are symbols of emotions that need to be dosed in a business environment. One icon in the letter is enough to let the interlocutor understand your emotions. This e-mail correspondence rule also applies to business communication Skype and ICQ.

Rule 6. Do not forget about the electronic signature

At the end of any (not only the first) letter, there must be a signature containing the full name and position of the sender, his work contacts, and the company logo. This is a good tone and an indicator of the presence of a corporate culture.

Rule 7. Re-read the letter before sending. Correct errors and typos

negligence is not best quality for a business person.

Rule 8. Respond to correspondence within 24 hours

If you need more time, you should write about it within a day. It will not be superfluous to contact the recipient of the letter after sending and make sure that he received it and when to expect a response from him.

Rule 9: Acknowledge emails with attachments

Check if they open correctly. Please note that company executives should not send any promotional offers or links leading to them (unless they are the subject of discussion).

It is better to send such letters on behalf of a sales manager with a corresponding notice in the body of the letter.

Rule 10. Correspondence ends with the one who started it

The last letter is sent by the initiator of the correspondence. Even if all the questions have already been discussed, write to the partner words of gratitude for effective cooperation and prompt responses. At the end you may wish Have a good mood and a productive week. However, only if you have a close and long-term relationship with the recipient. In all other cases, it is better to indicate: "Best wishes."

Business communication by e-mail is an integral part of the life of any modern man: we write to colleagues at work, management, clients, business partners, people who know us, and those who do not know us yet. What is business ethics in electronic correspondence, how much is it necessary for successful business?

Each letter is our calling card and a reflection of our business position. And if it is important for us that this business card looks decent, and the business position contributes to the comfort and productivity of communication, then knowledge of the basic rules good manners and following them in daily correspondence - essential condition success.

With regard to electronic business correspondence, the same rules and regulations apply that the business community operates in any other form of business interaction: in telephone communication, negotiation, etc. In my opinion, the ethics of business email correspondence is based on several unshakable principles:

1. Mutual respect of opponents for the personality and business position of each other.
2. Attention to the business interests of the opponent.
3. Understanding the importance of privacy issues.
4. Punctuality in the exchange of information.

Consider practical tools for implementing these principles

1. Competently and clearly designed field "Subject" / "Subject"

Specifying the subject saves the addressee's time, allowing him to immediately evaluate the content of the received letter and quickly decide on its priority when reading.

2. Greeting and personal address to the addressee/addressees

Builds trust and gives the letter a personal focus. Ignoring the name of the addressee is perceived as incorrectness.

3. Addressing accuracy

The correct filling of the fields "To", "Cc", "Bcc" is the most important tool for the efficiency and ethics of communication. To avoid mistakes in working with these fields, you need to know their purpose, which is generally accepted in the modern business environment:

• if your name is in the direct address field (“To”), this means that the sender of the letter is waiting for an answer to his question from you;
• if several recipients are placed in this field, then this means that the sender of the letter is waiting for a response from each or from any of the recipients;
• if your name is placed in the "CC" field, this means that the sender wants you to be aware of the issue, while he does not expect a response from you. You should not enter into the subject of correspondence if your name is in the "Copy" field. If you still decide to enter into correspondence, then a sign of good form will be to start writing one of the phrases: "Let me join the discussion this issue…”, “Sorry to interfere…”, “Let me express my opinion…”.

Particular attention in the aspect of ethics belongs to the field "Bcc". This is the most “vulnerable” e-mail tool from the point of view of business ethics. this field is usually perceived as an instrument of covert control and information. Recipients placed in Bcc are not visible to other recipients. Some ethically sensitive companies prohibit the use of this tool in corporate communications. An exception is mass mailings (for example, invitations). They are sent to a large number of recipients, while the email addresses should not be visible to everyone.

There are companies in which the "Bcc" field is treated more calmly, adhering to the following universal rules:

• in the "Bcc" field are placed addressees (hidden addressees) who should be aware of the correspondence, but their awareness should not be obvious to direct addressees;
• sending a letter with the field "Bcc" filled in implies a preliminary agreement or subsequent awareness of the author of the letter and hidden recipients about the reason and goals of such a form of awareness;
• the hidden addressee should not enter into the subject of correspondence from the "Bcc" field.

4. Prompt response

The response time to a letter is one of the indicators of your position in relation to the business interests of partners and customers. Companies have different standards for this. An acceptable response/response time to a letter is within two to three hours. If, after receiving the letter and reading it, you understand that you cannot give an answer to it within 24 hours, then the rule of good form will be to send the addressee information that you have received his letter and answer it: "Got a letter. I will answer today during the day" or "Got a letter. Additional information is needed to answer. I will try to answer no later ... ".

We offer

5. Correct work with information (volume, language, structure, format)

The nature and peculiarity of presenting information in the text of the letter is also a tool and an indicator of your ability and desire to correspond as correctly and respectfully as possible with respect to your addressee:

• the volume of the letter, which fits “on one screen”, maximum - in the volume of the text of one sheet of A-4 format, is most comfortable when reading;
• the volume of attachments sent should not exceed 3 MB (larger files may create problems, as they may not pass through the recipient's mail server);
• it is better to “pack” files to be sent in universal encodings: Zip or rar (other extensions may be blocked or cut off during transfer and create problems for the addressee);
• when replying to the addressee's letter, the text of your answer should be placed at the top (at the beginning) of the letter, and not at the bottom (this saves the addressee from having to “scroll” the previous text of the correspondence in search of the answer you wrote);
• you should not start replying to the addressee's letter as a new letter (without saving the history of correspondence). Such a response would force the receiving addressee to spend time searching for the original message;
• it is necessary to write in a language that is most understandable to the addressee. In each specific case, the issue of the advisability of using professional, internal corporate vocabulary, slang, abbreviations and anglicisms (borrowing from of English language in some other language).

If the use of slang and abbreviations increases the speed and efficiency of correspondence, then the use of slang is acceptable and ethical. So, internal correspondence within the company almost always abounds in slang: it is familiar and understandable to all participants in the correspondence and saves time. But in correspondence with external business partners / clients - this is a matter that requires caution.

Sometimes terminology is indispensable. For example, a company provides customers with such a product / service as online advertising, and such concepts as “media-contextual banner”, “keywords”, “negative keywords”, “ctr” cannot be replaced by anything, they must be introduced into the business context and teach the client to operate with them. In this case, it is important for both parties to be patient and willing to explain and learn.

However, there are cases when the use of abbreviations and terms can and should be avoided.

EXAMPLE:

My friend spent 2 days looking for an answer to the question: what is ASAP. She prepared materials for the publishing house and last letter wrote to her: Masha, please send all your materials asap". Masha decided that this was a designation of a format unknown to her, into which it was necessary to “translate” the text. The time Masha spent on “deciphering” and satisfying the publisher’s request took 2 days. Imagine Machine's annoyance when, 2 days later, she found out that behind the mysterious "asap" was an abbreviation widely used in the English-speaking environment " as soon as possible» – « as fast as possible».

ADVICE: do not abuse anglicisms, special terms and intracompany abbreviations in correspondence with external clients and partners.

6. Availability of signature and contact information

This is a necessary attribute that should end each of your letters. The following must be placed in the signature block:

1. Your first and last name.

This makes the correspondence personalized, which affects the effectiveness and psychological comfort of communication. Abbreviations should not be used in the signature. Instead of T.L. Vorotyntsev in my signature, I will write Tamara Leonidovna Vorotyntseva (or Tamara Vorotyntseva), so that the addressee understands how to contact me in a response letter.

1. Indication of your position.

By doing this, you let the addressee understand the limits of your authority and professional competence in resolving issues.

1. Contact details (telephone, email address, name and address of the company, its website).

This will provide the recipient with the possibility of additional operational communication if necessary.

Summarizing all of the above and having at the same time many years of experience in observing correspondence in different companies, I can confidently say the following: the norms of ethics in the modern business community are not only and not so much nominal attributes of the rules of good taste, they are practical tools brought to life that allow to make business communication correct, efficient, comfortable and, ultimately, effective.

Pay attention to the training on, which is conducted by Tamara Vorotyntseva.

Articles

Success in the activities of any organization, commercial firm or enterprise is inextricably linked with a culture of behavior and etiquette. All actions of the manager, employees must certainly take into account the rules of good taste and correspond to the situation.

One of the most important parts of etiquette is business correspondence.

It is estimated that almost 50% of the time at work falls on familiarity with papers and mail. But this is necessary, since competent business correspondence can significantly increase the company's turnover, speed up the interaction of different services and departments.

Of course, there are certain patterns here, and they will definitely be discussed in this article. The rules of business correspondence have long been standardized. The existing GOST R.6.30-2003 will help to correctly place the text on the sheet, tell you what indents, margins, fonts to make. Business correspondence is characterized by the uniformity and repetition of speech turns.

However, every letter is different. A big imprint on it is left by the identity of the sender, his position, situation and addressee. To some extent, business correspondence is a combination of creativity and painstaking work.

Types of business correspondence

Document flow is carried out on paper and via e-mail.

All correspondence in the enterprise can be conditionally divided into the following groups:

Official / unofficial correspondence;

Internal and external.

Official correspondence includes commercial offers, letters of thanks and guarantees, trade agreements, orders for the enterprise, official duties, requests, demands, claims.

Informal correspondence is various congratulations of business partners, customers, employees; condolences, apologies, invitations and thanks.

Internal documents circulate only between departments of one enterprise, while external documents go beyond it.

Business Correspondence Rules: Inside Content

The main requirement is brevity and capacity of the letter. Do not stretch the text over several pages. The best option- fit into one.

The rules of business correspondence involve the exclusion of complex, incomprehensible, foreign and highly specialized words and expressions from the text. All sentences should be short, with the main thoughts of the author and without "water".

Avoid double interpretations in the letter, otherwise, if disputes arise, it will be more difficult to defend your point of view and prove what you meant by a certain phrase.

The rules of registration of business correspondence oblige the writer to call the addressee by name and patronymic, before which to indicate the appeal "Dear (s) ...". And always on "You", even if the recipient of the letter has a good friendly relationship.

In the introduction, in addition to indicating the surname and name, the main purpose of the message is prescribed. Examples of business correspondence know enough templates and stamps for such cases: “In connection with the previous letter ...”, “We remind you ...”, “We inform you ...” and others.

Soften the answer that is unfavorable for the recipient (refusal of the offer, refusal of cooperation) with the phrases: “Unfortunately, we will not be able to use the proposed conditions ...” or similar.

External paperwork documentation

Any business letter should be written in letterhead with company details and all contact details.

Be sure to put down the exact date document.

The upper right corner of the sheet is occupied by the initials of the addressee and the address of the recipient company.

Break the text into semantic paragraphs so that it is easier for the reader to understand and perceive it. No more than 4-5 lines.

Writing all words in capital (capital) letters is a bad form.

Documents may be attached to the letter. In this case, they are listed on a separate line in the lower left part of the sheet. As a matter of business etiquette, a response to a letter must be received within 10 days. If the problem requires more time to solve it, the addressee must notify about it.

After writing, be sure to carefully check the text again for errors, both spelling and grammatical. If you have time, you should put the letter aside and return to it again later. As a rule, inaccuracies will be discovered that were not noticed at first. This advice is most important when responding to a customer complaint. You should not annoy a person even more with an illiterate letter.

When the document is written and checked a couple of times, print it out on A4 paper. This size is standardly used for any correspondence, even if the text itself takes up only half of the page.

Check the ink in the printer before printing to avoid smudges and sloppiness.

In some cases, you can attach your business card to the document, and attach the printed sheet itself to a transparent file.

A corporate envelope with the company logo is also considered good form.

The rules for conducting business correspondence in an informal plane are often more emotional than in business papers, and less stamped. Abbreviations are appropriate here, the use of colorful adjectives, for example, in congratulations: amazing, sympathetic, kind.

business emails

The fact that you do not send correspondence in an envelope through the postal network should not relax. The rules of business correspondence apply in these cases as well.

Competent and correct electronic business messages create a positive image of both the enterprise and specific person. Reputation in business is worth a lot!

Basic rules for e-mail correspondence

Use your work email address only for its intended purpose.

Pay attention to the title mailbox. Do not allow incorrect names such as "baby", "superman" when working, even if they are indicated in the English transcription.

Always fill in the "subject" column, otherwise your letter may end up in spam. Descriptions like "plan", "list", "offer", "report" will not work. There may be quite a lot of similar letters in your recipient's mailbox. Be as specific as possible about what your message is about. Do not use more than five words. Write the subject with a capital letter. You don't need to put a dot at the end.

If you are replying to an email you received earlier, be sure to remove the "Re" in the subject line.

Communication style

Keep the business letter format. Remove the threatening, begging, commanding tone.

The rules of electronic business correspondence do not allow the use of emoticons, a large number of question or exclamation marks in the text.

Be polite. A mandatory greeting at the beginning and farewell to the interlocutor at the end is a good form. For example, "With respect ..." or like this: "Sincerely yours ...".

Business email and its Golden Rule»: do not mix several different topics. It is better to send a series of letters.

An email should be twice as short as a paper one.

Working with attachments

If there is too much information to send, do not put it all in the body of the letter, but attach it as separate documents in an attachment.

For the convenience of the recipient, rename the documents you have prepared to names that are understandable to him. This will show your interest and win you over. Think about how many working folders the recipient has on his computer and how he will search for your letter among them.

Be sure to tell the recipient about the files you are sending so that he does not consider them an accidental virus. Archive large documents.

And it is best to send too large attachments (from 200 kb) in other ways, for example, via an ftp server.

Format such as COM, EXE, CMD, PIF and a number of others, some mail servers do not allow and block.

If there were several recipients of your letter, do not be too lazy to delete all evidence of mass forwarding each time. Such extra information is not needed by the addressee at all. The "blind copy" command will help you.

The rules for conducting business correspondence by e-mail involve informing the second party about the receipt of correspondence. If on this moment there is no opportunity to answer, notify the interlocutor about this. Save the history of correspondence to avoid further questions and proceedings.

If the response is important and urgent, it is allowed to additionally notify the addressee by phone, Skype or ICQ. If even after this a positive result could not be achieved, remind yourself again.

It is not uncommon for a request for a document to return an empty letter with an attached file. It is unacceptable. Examples of business correspondence require the mandatory placement of relevant information in the body of the document. For example, this: "I am sending the necessary data to your request."

Do not forget to indicate the coordinates at the end of the letter: all available ways connections, position, company website, links to social networks.

When writing the contacts of the organization, give as much information as possible - a phone number with an area code, an address with a zip code. After all, your communication takes place not only with the inhabitants of your region. If you have all the data, it will be easier to contact you.

And last rule: whoever started the correspondence must end the electronic dialogue.

Conclusion

Business writing is a delicate matter. Sometimes one glance is enough to form a definite opinion about a person and the organization he represents. Knowing the rules of business writing can go a long way in your career.

Anyone who strives in business circles to look decent always uses. And he always remembers the main thing - an e-mail should not tarnish either the addressee, or the reputation of the company of which he is a representative, or the business image.

The ability to correctly and competently conduct business e-mail correspondence is the main component of the image of a modern manager. This is both a sign of a general cultural level and an indicator of personal professionalism. In accordance with how a person is able to formulate and formalize his thoughts, one can confidently judge his attitude towards others and towards himself personally. An e-mail, carelessly written, can easily ruin the author's business reputation in the eyes of partners and colleagues.

Business Email Rules

2. Clearly understand to whom your message is addressed and to whom the information contained in it may be useful. To whom is your letter addressed? Client? Partner? Colleague? Subordinate? boss? The addressee is indicated in the column "to whom", those interested - "copy". Never send extra copies, especially to your boss. If third parties are mentioned in the e-mail, then they, as a rule, are also entered in the “copy” column.

3. For yourself, formulate the purpose of the message. What is your goal: what are you trying to achieve from the reader of your letter? What reaction do you expect? The recipient, after reading your message, should immediately understand what you need from him. Rules for conducting electronic correspondence:

If you want to bring an individual look to events - from the first person (we, I)
If your message is of a request or instructive nature - from the 2nd person (you, you)
If you are writing a letter as an outside observer and want to inform the addressee about past facts or events - from the 3rd person (they, she, he).

4. Do not leave the "subject" field empty. Most people who receive e-mail begin their study of correspondence by looking at the "subject" field. A person takes a decision to read a letter in a few seconds, so the content of the letter should be reflected in the subject line. The topic should be short, specific and informative.

5. Follow a clear content: appeal and greeting, main part, summary, signature, contacts. Every letter must contain email etiquette. Do not be lazy and do not skip any of the parts of the accepted content, a correctly designed letter is an indicator of your professionalism.

6. Appeal and greeting to the addressee - an indicator of your respect for him. Begin each letter with a personal message and greeting, if possible. It is polite to address someone by their first name. After the appeal, put a comma if you want to give the message an everyday character. And if you want to emphasize officiality and significance, then an exclamation mark, even if this letter is addressed to a colleague with whom you often communicate.

7. Stick to the principle: short and clear (KJ). One of the main rules of business e-mail correspondence is “minimum words – maximum information”. State your thoughts specifically (clearly), consistently, concisely and understandably. Sentences should be short, so it is easier for the addressee to convey necessary information. There is one email golden rule- portioned, one topic - one letter. It's better to send multiple emails (each on the same topic) than one big email with a few unrelated ideas.

8. Do not make business correspondence out of informal communication. No emotion in an email! If you want to emphasize the points stated in your e-mail emotionally, the emotional subtext must be hidden behind a neutral, outwardly calm and correct tone of presentation. It is achieved by content, not by language.

9. Stick to a clear structure for building the main text of the letter. Most often, the letter consists of three parts:

The reason for writing the letter (reason, grounds). This part is usually as short as possible.
Sequential presentation of the essence of the issue
Decisions, requests, suggestions, conclusions

10. Appearance messages should be extremely easy to understand. Divide the text into paragraphs, in which there should be no more than five to six lines. It is better to separate paragraphs from each other with an empty line. Choose one color and one font, so the text will be better perceived. It is better not to use exclamation points, emoticons, abbreviations, cursive elements without special need.

11. Write well. An illiterate letter indicates that the author is not sufficiently educated. Your business reputation is discredited by typos and errors in the text. Before sending a letter email etiquette recommends that you read the letter carefully. Many mail programs and text editors can check punctuation and spelling, and when they find errors, they offer correction options. This service is required for writing emails.

12. Think about what documentation you need to transfer to attachments. Do not include in the body of the letter detailed information, it is better to send it as a separate file. Be sure to indicate in the subject line which file you are inserting, otherwise the recipient may regard it as a virus. All files must be checked with anti-virus software before sending.

14. Postscript is rarely used in business correspondence. If you use a postscript in your message, this is an indicator that you did not think enough about the content of the letter.

15. Only in special occasions a read receipt is displayed. Usually, a read receipt should be set only for external recipients and only when a response is expected from the recipient.

16. Use the "high importance" flag only when it is really necessary. If the email contains important information that needs urgent consideration, set the importance to "high". This will highlight your email in your inbox. But it is not recommended to abuse this function in vain.

17. Reread the letter before sending it. Is everything concise, specific, clear, is there any inappropriate information and grammatical errors. Is the destination information correct? Check the consistency and logic of the presentation.

19. The one who initiated the correspondence ends the electronic dialogue.

20. Remember that email communication rules, or rather, their observance is an indicator of a modern professional manager.

Writing letters to relatives and friends is very different from letters in the business world. A well-formed letter allows the interlocutor to form a correct idea of ​​the reputation and image of the company that sends it, and also largely affects the desire for further cooperation.

Email Usage

The development of Internet technologies has greatly simplified the work with clients and counterparties of companies - business partners, suppliers, wholesale customers.

Every company now has an e-mail box and allows almost instantly sending commercial offers, reporting to partners and higher authorities, applications and contracts.

The benefits of email include:

• fast message delivery, which greatly speeds up the process of transactions and operations;
• low cost. Compared to regular mail or courier delivery, email costs much less. When mailing, you can use services that can be absolutely free and will allow you to send thousands of letters daily;
• reduction of management levels in the company - any employee of the company can directly contact the manager with a proposal of any ideas. Email thus stimulates innovation and allows organizations to grow faster. But in this case, it is necessary to ensure that e-mail does not turn into a kind of “complaint book”, when employees will write letters to the head of the company for any reason, diverting him from really important issues;
• the ability to transfer large amounts of data. All mail services have cloud services that support the storage and use of large amounts of data that are easily and seamlessly transferred from one email address to another;
• secure data transfer and the ability to back up information. Faxes or regular mail are more vulnerable;
• the possibility of a faster response to customer needs - e-mail allows you to quickly respond to complaints or suggestions from consumers.

However, this type of communication also has its drawbacks. First of all, this may be due to the incompetence of specialists who send out letters and, as a result, a violation of coordination between the company and its customers. Knowledge of the basics of business communication ethics is a basic requirement for those individuals who are responsible for mailing lists in an organization.

Rules and etiquette of formal e-mail correspondence

Communication with friends and acquaintances by e-mail is very different from business letters, where slang, addressing to "you", the use of abbreviations (only if these are not generally accepted and commonly used abbreviations) are unacceptable. The reputation of the company, customer loyalty to it and its overall image in the market in which it operates depend on how competently and professionally the letter is written.

Consider the basic rules that will allow you to create high-quality and relevant business ethics letters:

• It is always necessary to indicate the subject of the letter, which would correspond to its main content. For example, if this is an invitation to a banquet for partners, then the subject of the letter should be “Invitation for the head” (or indicate his name and patronymic). It is important to understand that organizations receive a large number of letters, and if the subject of the letter indicates who it is intended for, it will be easier for the secretary of the organization to transfer it;
• when replying to a letter, it is imperative to save the history of previous correspondence - so the recipient can, if necessary, re-read those messages that were sent earlier. Since a lot of letters come and go in a business environment, it is difficult to keep in mind all the information from partners, because such an answer to a letter will allow you to refresh your memory of what was discussed;
• addressing “You” is the main rule of business correspondence, as well as the fact that any letter should begin with a greeting and end with the phrase “Respectfully, full name, position”;
• the response should be as prompt as possible, as this directly affects the company's reputation. In the business world, it is customary to respond to emails within a few hours and not to delay the response for more than one day.

How to conduct business email correspondence with clients

Business correspondence is a whole art that has been studied for years, and only with the experience of communicating with partners a certain style of writing messages is developed.

Separately, the content of the letters should be noted: it should not go beyond the scope of the message, it should be concise. It is not necessary to lead to the main question for a long time, it is better to immediately identify the problem, which makes it necessary to write a letter.

Clients should be aware of what is happening in the company, but you should not abuse their time and make frequent mailings - this way you can easily fall into the spam category and cause distrust on the part of customers. Regular mailings can be carried out on such occasions as: a reminder of the company, its promotions and special offers, the launch of new products, changes in the organization's coordinates (location, phone, mail).

Ethics of e-mail correspondence with partners

• abuse exclamation or question marks;
• excessive use of different colors and fonts, as well as capital letters;
• insert emoticons or other funny pictures into letters.

The letter must be literate, both from a spelling and punctuation point of view.

business email examples

The following are examples of well-written letters sent by e-mail:

• Hello Ivan Ivanovich. In response to your request, we send you our commercial offer as an attachment. For all questions, you can contact the product manager: 500-50-50 (Peter);
• Good afternoon, Petr Petrovich. Ivanov & Partners is pleased to inform you that now we are located in the very center of the city - in a new modern office located at the address: Sidorova street, house 5, office 100. Sincerely, Ivanov I.I., head of the company.

Collect contacts and addresses of business people at Expocentre exhibitions

One of effective methods gathering contacts and addresses of future business partners is visiting exhibitions at the Expocentre Fairgrounds. Before carrying out this work, it is necessary to stock a large number of your own business cards in order to exchange them when meeting with businessmen. It is important not only to give and receive business cards in return, but also to develop your own questionnaire, according to which it will be better to get a general idea about the enterprise or company represented by the exhibitor. The questionnaire should contain contact details, company profile information, key points for supply and procurement, and reflect the role of the company representative in the organization.

The list of participants and the layout of the exposition can be viewed on the exhibition website. It is better to collect contacts not only from exhibitors, but also from visitors to the exhibition, because Almost all visitors in one way or another are connected with the theme of the event.