Q.

1 Explain the significance of E-MAIL in today’s business context

Email is an important method of business communication that is fast, cheap, accessible and
easily replicated. Using email can greatly benefit businesses as it provides efficient and
effective ways to transmit all kinds of electronic data

Since the commercialisation of the internet in the mid ‘90’s, email as we know it, has pretty
much been the one constant business and communication tool in all our lives. The value
addition all email users the world over have welcomed is improved broadband speed and
the advent of Wi-Fi.

There’s been much talk about ‘the death of email’ but pay no attention. Email is alive
and well and going nowhere. Long live the internet! What with the way the world is
changing and technology evolving and email in our pockets and customers and suppliers
literally at our fingertips there is no better, faster and more cost effective business tool than
everyday email.

Whilst getting on with our daily grind – taking email for granted – we don’t spend
enough time considering how important email is in the world of business. You need to
understand how important it is to craft quality and professional email communications and
how it can change and improve things within your business.
Email is a powerful marketing tool and it’s necessary to understand why email still plays
such a big role in your business and commerce in general

Business email is a quick and quality means to communicate with clients, potential
customers, suppliers, staff, your bank manager and industries the world over. Sometimes,
due to language barriers, time zones, inconvenience and for record purposes the telephone
is just not a viable form of communication.

Email empowers you to connect with people from around the corner to around the
world – quick, cost effective, professional, concise, personal with the ability to ‘talk to more
than one person at the same time.’ What’re more, you don’t have to employ more people
to make use of email as a medium. Today every employee – from the receptionist to the
storeman and everybody in-between – has access to email.

Imagine if you will if every email you and your staff send carries your brand and
marketing message the inadvertent amount in advertising investment you’re saving. Make
 every email count in paying forward in building your brand while sharing relevant brand
messaging with viable, existing and potential customers.
Everyday email can be the most powerful, successful and cost effective marketing
and communications medium your business can ill afford not to put to use! It’s proven fact
that email is the most cost effective and best forms of business marketing in acquiring new
customers and new business; given 80% of new business stems from existing clients makes
email an even more powerful business tool.

85% of retailers in the USA consider email to be tone of the most effective forms of
marketing. In many aspects email has proven more successful, cost effective and targeted in
customer acquisition than social media.

Everyday email empowers you to directly engage with customers on a personal,

individual and permission basis. People tend to prefer engaging via email than other
potentially irrelevant and impersonal forms of marketing.

Q. 2 Explain the procedure for drafting a business letter.

1. Decide what type of letter you need to write. ...

2. Write a short outline. ...
3. Use the right layout and salutation. ...
4. Use appropriate vocabulary for the type of letter you are writing. ...
5. Check your spelling. ...
6. Check your grammar. ...
7. Check your punctuation. ...
8. Format your letter.

1. Decide what type of letter you need to write

Business letters have a sender and a recipient (person who receives the letter). The sender
can be a person or a group (like a company) and the recipient can be another person or
group.
Depending on the sender’s reason for writing, there are several types of letters. Have a look
at the main types of business letters:

 Letter of complaint: A business letter written by someone (a person or a company) who

is dissatisfied with the products or services offered by a company. When writing a letter
of complaint, it is important to try to keep a polite tone, even if you are very upset or
have a lot of complaints to make.

 Letter of inquiry: This type of letter is written by someone who has questions about the
activity of another company. If you are planning to write a letter of inquiry, make sure
 you try to find out as much information as you can before writing. Then make a checklist
with everything else you need to find out about, so that you don’t forget some
important points.

 Cover letters: These are written by people who are applying for jobs. They are usually
sent together with a resume. A good cover letter can get you a job, but people writing
cover letters often make mistakes or try too hard to impress the reader.

 Adjustment letters: These letters are sent

 They can be tricky to write because your reader is usually a dissatisfied customer who is
hoping to get the most out of a bad business situation.

 Order letters: This type of business letter is sent to place an order with a company.
Order letters need to include correct information, so you need to double-check all
figures before sending them. Your language needs to be accurate so that there is no
room for mistakes. It is better to use simple and clear language. Long sentences can be
ambiguous (uncertain) and difficult to follow.

 Other letters: There may be all sorts of other business situations in which people may be
writing letters. For example, a person might write a letter…
o to convince others to buy their products or services.

o to recommend employees for jobs.

o to announce their resignation.

Whatever type of business letter you are writing, read on to find out more tips and specific
phrases you can use to sound more professional!

2. Write a short outline

After you have decided what type of letter you are going to write, it is important to stop and
think. Write an outline before you start typing. If you don’t do this, you could be wasting a
lot of time. At the end, you can easily make minor changes, but big changes are more
difficult to make. If you have a good plan, you won’t need to make a lot of time-
consuming changes.
So first of all, start gathering all the information you can on the situation you are writing
about. If you are writing a letter of complaint, you should know exactly what the problem
was and what you hope to achieve as a result of your letter. If you are writing an order
letter, remember to gather all the information about the product you need.
Next, write down the main ideas you want to include. You can write down full sentences, or
just key words if you are in a hurry. For example, if you are writing a cover letter, your main
ideas could look like this:

1. What job you are applying for.

2. Why you think you would be good for the job/why the company should hire you.
3. Why the job would be good for you.

4. When you are available for an interview.

If you know the main ideas, you know how many paragraphs you are going to
write. Remember to have only one main idea in a paragraph. This will help the reader follow
your points more easily, and your letter will be structured and logical. Your reader will also
be happy (and you want to keep your reader happy) if your ideas are nicely connected.
Remember to

3. Use the right layout and salutation

Business letters have quite strict rules when it comes to layout (format and order). You need
to include the sender’s and the recipient’s addresses and follow some simple rules:

 Start with the sender’s address. You can write it in the top right or left corner. Don’t
include your name or title because these will appear at the end of your letter.

 Leave an empty line and write the date just below the sender’s address. If you are
writing to a company in the United States, remember to use the American date format:
month, date, year.

 Leave another empty line and write the recipient’s title, name, position and address. Pay
attention to titles. We use Mr. for men, Miss for unmarried women, Ms. for women we
are not sure are married and Mrs. for married women. It is always safest to just use Ms.
for women. Here is an example:
14 Bridge Street
Baviera, California 92908
March 11, 2016
Ms. Jane Smith
Customer Care Manager
Chapman and Litt
711-2980 Nulla Street
Mankato, Mississippi 96522

 Start the letter with the right salutation, depending on whether you know the recipient
and how well you know them. In American English, we use a colon after salutations in
formal business letters. In British English, we use a comma. Here are some examples:
Dear Ms. Smith: (If you know the recipient’s name.)
Dear Jane: (If you know the recipient quite well and call each other by your first names.)
Dear Sir or Madam: (If you don’t know the recipient’s name.)
To Whom It May Concern: (If you don’t have a specific person to whom you are writing. It is
a bit more general than “Dear Sir or Madam.” It is best to try to find a contact person when
writing a business letter.)

 Close the letter appropriately, depending on the salutation you used at the beginning:
(Dear Ms. Smith:) Yours sincerely / Sincerely / Sincerely yours,
(Dear Jane:) Best / Best regards / Kind regards,
(Dear Sir or Madam: / To Whom It May Concern:) Yours faithfully / Faithfully / Faithfully
yours,

 Sign your name if you are sending a hard copy and then write your name (your title is
optional) and your position:
[Signature]
[Ms.] Rebecca Smith
Director of Acquisitions

4. Use for the type of letter you are writing

Depending on the type of business letter you are writing, you can choose to use some of the
sentences and phrases suggested below.

 Letters of complaint:
I am writing to complain about…
I am writing to draw your attention to…
I recently purchased … from your company.
Not only…(did the product arrive late), but…(it was faulty as well)
As you can imagine, I was quite disappointed/upset when…
I suggest that I get a full refund.
I feel entitled to a refund.
I would be grateful if you could give me a refund.
I would appreciate it if you could replace the product.
I look forward to receiving a prompt reply.

 Letters of inquiry:
I am writing to inquire about…
Would you be kind enough to provide me with some information about…
I would be appreciative if you could help me find out…
Could you tell me whether…
I would also be interested in…

 Cover letters:
I am writing to apply for the position of…
I am writing in response to your advertisement…
I would like to apply for the position of…
I am particularly interested in this job because…
As you can see from my resume,…
As you will notice in my resume,…
I am currently employed by…
I am keen to pursue a career in…, because…
My main strengths are…
I would be available for an interview starting…
Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 Adjustment letters:
Please accept our apologies for…
We sincerely apologize for…
The mistake was apparently due to…
We are currently working on…
To prevent this from happening again,…
We understand how upset you must have been when…, but unfortunately…

 Order letters:
We would like to place an order for…
We look forward to receiving your offer for…
Could you please confirm the prices for
We are looking forward to your confirmation.

4. Check your spelling

When writing a business letter, perfect spelling is essential. If possible, If you are writing a
business letter as part of an exam, try to avoid spelling mistakes. You can simply replace
words that you are not confident about with other words. For example, if you are not sure
how to spell occur, you can use happen instead.
Another useful thing to do, especially if you are writing a cover letter or if you are trying to
impress your reader, is to consider whether they use American or British spelling. There are
a lot of words

5. Check your grammar

Grammar mistakes are a bit trickier. Of course, the safest route is to an do is to know your
grammar weak spots. For instance, do you tend to forget adding s for the third-person
singular when using the present simple? Or do you overuse the? Then it is time to double-
check for these mistakes.
Finally, here is a list of common grammar mistakes people make in English. Make sure you
understand why they are mistakes, so that you don’t make them yourself!
Mistake:
Your a valued customer and we’d like to apologize for the inconvenience we’ve caused you.
Correct: You’re a valued customer and we’d like to apologize for the inconvenience we’ve
caused you.
Correct: Your interest is important to us.
Explanation: Your is used to express possession. You’re = You are.

 Its vs. it’s

Mistake: Its important that we get a reply as soon as possible.
Correct: It’s important that we get a reply as soon as possible.
Correct: We did not receive the email and its attachment.
Explanation: Its is used to express possession. It’s = It is.

 Possessive nouns
Mistake: The employee’s lack of motivation stems from their low salaries.
Correct: The employees’ lack of motivation stems from their low salaries.
Explanation: With singular nouns, we add ‘s to express possession. With plural nouns ending
in s, we just add ‘.

 Present simple vs. present continuous

Mistake: I am working with kids and I love my job.
Correct: I work with kids and I love my job.
Correct: I am working with these kids while their teacher is on maternity leave.
Explanation: We use the present simple to refer to permanent, general actions, such as
one’s job. We use the present continuous with temporary actions.

 Present perfect vs. past

Mistake: I have read your cover letter when you sent it.
Correct: I read your cover letter when you sent it.
Correct: I have read your cover letter and would like to follow up with you.
Explanation: We use the present perfect for actions that happened in the past and still have
an impact on the present. We use the past for actions that happened in the past, when the
speaker knows when they happened.

 Than vs. then

Mistake: Our profits are lower then last year.
Correct: Our profits are lower than last year.
Correct: We analyzed your request and then we contacted you.
Explanation: We use than to form comparisons and then to refer to when something
happened.
Do not worry if this seems challenging. English grammar is complex, and even native English
speakers have difficulty with grammar sometimes. To ensure that your business writing is
free from grammar mistakes, you may want to use . This is a grammar-checking tool that
will highlight mistakes and suggest corrections for you.
It is not 100% perfect, and it may still miss errors that a human being would see.
If you are going to be sending out very important business letters, then it is worthwhile to
invest in professional proofreading services. After all, you want your writing to be perfect
when you are sending a business letter to your entire company, to a potential employer or
to your most valuable clients.
In these situations, we recommend that you seek the help of Proofreading Services, an
online team of professional editors with tons of knowledge and experience—they offer for
over 5,000 clients in 93 countries. Just be sure to give them the secret
password: FLUENTU15. This code entitles you to 15% off at

6. Check your punctuation

It is so difficult to focus on different types of mistakes all at once—spelling, grammar and

punctuation. So try to make time to proofread your letter a separate time for punctuation
mistakes.
Here are some of the most frequent punctuation mistakes to watch out for:

 Forgetting commas
Mistake: We tried emailing them but there was no reply.
Correct: We tried emailing them, but there was no reply.
Explanation: If you are not sure whether to use a comma or not, try splitting the sentence
into smaller bits: We tried emailing them. There was no reply. It works, right? If you are still
not sure, try saying the sentence out loud. If you are pausing a little, you should probably
use a comma.

 Using exclamation marks or emoticons

Mistake: I was extremely upset when I received a faulty product!
Correct: I was extremely upset when I received a faulty product.
Explanation: Exclamation marks and emoticons make your writing rather informal, so you
should avoid them when writing business letters.

 Using too many or not enough spaces

Mistake: I haven’t applied for a job before , but I’ll give it a try now . I’m not sure if I’m
qualified, though.
Correct: I haven’t applied for a job before, but I’ll give it a try now. I’m not sure if I’m
qualified, though.
Explanation: When typing, we only use one space after commas or periods and no space
before them.

7. Format your letter

Leave formatting for the end; it is less time consuming. Most business letters use a block
format, and are left-justified and single-spaced. You should use double spacing between
paragraphs to make it clear where a paragraph ends and where another one begins. The
most common font is Times New Roman 12, but Arial also works just fine.

That’s it! Business letters are less complicated once you follow these easy steps.
Remember that, whether you know your reader or not, writing business letters in a
“friendly” way means writing them in a “professional” way.
For those of you who are very dedicated to improving your English writing skills, we
recommend that you go take a look at the These have been designed to teach English
students how to improve their writing, and they might be just what you need to keep
moving forward!
Whenever you are in doubt, have another look at the eight steps above, and keep on
writing!

Q. 3 Explain the general requirements for effective telephone communication.

Phone agents should be ready to listen, with paper and pen readily accessible at all
times. A friendly voice sets a customer at ease. Be sure your phone agents convey a friendly
tone to your callers. Regardless of the subject matter, it's crucial that the phone call stays
respectful at all times.
 Telephone communication is one of the most important forms of communication
within the company. Although today its use is being replaced by other forms of
communication (such as email), phone use is one of the most common means by which to
materialize both internal and external communications. It is very important in business
because it is the medium through which the first contact with, or from the company is
made. So, before any personal contact, the usual thing is to make a phone call to arrange an
interview or to specify any matter or topic. The interlocutor at the other end of the line will
form an idea about the company depending on the impression after this first telephone
contact. In any case, beyond the business sector, it is also crucial to follow a proper
technique when having telephone conversations, as it is an essential tool to achieve our
goals in a phone call, either as its senders or its recipients. From the standpoint of business
communication, telephone use has an enormous advantage: interlocutors don’t see each
other, and this may work for solving tricky or unfavourable situations. As interlocutors don’t
see each other, the arguments provided in a telephone conversation may be more solid and
credible if we apply the proper techniques and procedures. Another advantage of this type
of communication is that we can do other things as we speak, such as taking notes, search
for something on the computer, ask something to a work mate (always with discretion), and
so on. Thus, we may say that applying the appropriate telephone techniques is essential to
get the most out of this communication tool in business. Thanks to advances in technology,
telephone communication devices have evolved generating new services and expanding its
capabilities.

Anyone can answer a phone. It’s how you answer it that determines whether the caller will
continue to engage or call elsewhere. Because of this, the person answering your business
phone is often the first interaction that customers will have with your company. It's
important to make it count!

Improve your business’s customer service by reviewing our six telephone communication
skills outlined below.

Tone of voice is one of the most important topics to focus on in a call center or answering
service. Because callers are unable to pick up on body language over a phone call, tone of
voice becomes their main method of determining the call operator’s attitude.

A friendly voice can instill comfort in your caller, and starting a conversation with a pleasant
greeting sets the tone for the whole phone call. Contrarily, answering a call in a rushed or
annoyed manner puts a negative spin on the conversation.

Imagine your caller is a patient handling a medical emergency or a homeowner dealing with
a crisis. The last thing you want is for your caller to feel even more nervous or anxious than
they already are. To prevent this, talk to your customers in a way that includes positive
language and shows compassion.
Enunciation allows the caller to fully understand what’s being said. Have you ever spoken to
a call operator who talks too quickly or quietly? If so, you can understand how frustrating a
lack of enunciation is for your callers.

When speaking to callers, you want to be aware of your rate of speech. A normal rate of
speech is 125 words per minute. Speaking to callers at this rate shows interest, and satisfies
callers. Speaking slower than 125 words per minute conveys boredom while speaking faster
can convey impatience.

When a caller is unable to understand their call operator, less time is spent on the original
purpose of the call. Clear enunciation can be the difference between a productive
conversation and one overrun by confusion.