For online businesses especially, written correspondence is a daily part of their life and they will never actually meet their clients. This makes excellent correspondence skills essential. Here are some correspondence tips for small business:
Have a clear goal: Whenever you make written contact with a client, have a quick think beforehand about what you want to achieve with the message you are sending. After you finish writing, read the message and evaluate whether you have accomplished this before sending it.
No jargon: Don’t use technical language or industry terms when speaking to a client. Just assume that they probably won’t know what you mean, even if it is a term that you regularly use in your working life.
Choose an appropriate tone: You need to carefully consider the recipient when writing to them. A formal tone is always best when dealing with clients and you should try to avoid using humour in these situations just in case they misunderstand or take offence.
Proofread: Make sure that you carefully check for spelling errors or repetition in the message. Nothing looks less professional than a badly worded email with a lot of simple mistakes.
Keep it short: All email correspondence should be short and snappy. Aim to get the point across in just a few short sentences. Delete any lines that seem unnecessary or redundant.
Tags: correspondence tips, Online Address Book, Small business tips
