Unit Fifteen

Electronic Correspondence

Learning Objectives

To describe electronic correspondence To know the format of a Fax and an

E-mail T o know how to describe your web-

site

General View With the development of telecommunication,

most of the transactions in international trade are

fulfilled through the use of various modern media of

communication. Besides letters, faxes or E-mails

have been widely used in present business world,

which shorten the distance of thousands of miles

between different countries and facilitate the expansion of trading.

General View

I. Fax

II. E – MailIII.Website

General ViewI. Fax Owing to advantage over letters or mails, Fax has been extensively used in recent years as a means of communication in negotiating business with clients

abroad. Its efficiency, accuracy and convenience play an incomparable part in business deals. Fax has obvious advantages in modern telecommunication. First, automation makes transmitting and receiving documents very easy.

Second, the transmission speed has now been reduced to a few seconds per page.

Third, unlike telex, in which simplified words are used, Fax is available for transmitting documents in plain

language. Fourth, the fax message you send is the written record and including sender’s signature, which is very

important for formal communication, especially for financial and business transactions.

General View

General View2. E - Mail Electronic mail (e-mail), widely used in modern business circles, refers to a method of transmitting message

through a computer network. Sending e-mail (letters, reports, graphics, and so on) is relatively cheap and quick. The message can be sent and received instantly at the other terminal. Another advantage of e-mail is that one message can be sent to many people at the same box.

General View 3. Website A website involves verbal and artistic design which reflects the characteristic and nature of enterprise. Nowadays many enterprises build their website, the

ultimate goal for them is to make themselves carry Internet benefits and enjoy high efficiency especially

when they engage in international trade. The Internet now penetrates into almost every corner of the world.

Enterprises can forge global relationship with their trading partners everywhere in the world. Businesses can sell goods to customer outside traditional markets, explore new markets and realize business opportunities more easily. Businesses can maintain their competitive advantage be establishing close contact with their customers and consumers at any time. through their website by providing the latest information on products

• and services round the clock

General View

General View. In practice detailed and accurate sales data help to reduce stock level and the operating cost. Detailed client information such as mode of consumption, personal preference and purchasing power, etc. can help businesses to set their marketing strategies more effectively.

Guidelines for writing1. Fax As documents sent by fax are in different forms, there is not a

fixed format for fax. The basic parts of a fax include tow parts:

Heading and Body. The fax heading usually has four basic parts.

To: Name, Title From: Name, Title

Date: Write out, no abbreviation Pages: Total number

The space under the heading is for the body. When sending an informal message, the signature can be spared.

Specimen -1 (Fax for Urging Shipment)Shanghai Steel Trading Co., Ltd.

(Fax Transmission)From: L. CraneTo: Mike WilsonDate: April 5, 2007Pages: 1Fax number: 021-62000011Dear Mr. Wilson, We are sorry to say that we have not heard anything from you about the goods under the Contract No. 345. As stipulated, the shipping date is approaching, and we should have received your shipping advice.

Our customers are in urgent need of the goods and any delay in shipping the ordered goods will undoubtedly bring about great inconvenience. It will be greatly appreciated if you would arrange and effect the shipment as soon as possible.Look forward to your reply at an early date.

Yours sincerely,L. CraneSales Manager

Specimen -2 (Fax for seeking business)

Shanghai Steel Trading Co., Ltd.

(Fax Transmission) Date: April 8, 2008

Dear Mr. Wilson,

Owing to the increase of demand, you will probably make an order. If we are right in thinking this, would you care to place your order now?

We can ensure immediate dispatch from our stock.

Yours sincerely,

L. Crane

Sales Manager

Specimen -3 (Fax for seeking business)

Shanghai Steel Trading Co., Ltd.(Fax Transmission)

Date: April 8, 2008Dear Mr. Wilson, We trust that you have received our catalogs and price-list.Now that you have had a chance to examine what we have sent to you, we are enclosing an order form for you to make an order easily. Yours sincerely, L. Crane

Sales Manager

Specimen -4 (Fax for Product Promotion)

Shanghai Steel Trading Co., Ltd.

(Fax Transmission) Date: April 10, 2008Dear Mr. Wilson, Our advertising campaign is due to begin next month.Experience shows that many orders follow these advertisements, and sales are certain to result. We strongly advise you to lay in at least a small stock.

Yours sincerely,L. CraneSales Manager

Specimen -5 (Fax for Product Promotion)

Shanghai Steel Trading Co., Ltd.

(Fax Transmission)

Date: April 18, 2008Dear Mr. Wilson, From April 1st the prices of all our products will be raised by 10%.Even with this increase the prices of our products are still slightly lower than those of our competitors.Concerning the business you are negotiating, we will charge you old prices on all orders received here up to and including April 30.We look forward to your orders.

Philip Tang

Guidelines for writing

2. E-mail Communicating by e-mail is the same as writing on paper.

Although e-mail tends to be a more immediate and personal

form of communication, the formal style, tone and language of

a business letter should still be employed. Try to avoid long

expressions and lines of text in your e-mail, keep 30 words in

a line, so as to make the message easy to read, esp.

Guidelines for writing

If viewed on other e-mail programs or a computer screen. Keep paragraphs short and use line spaces between paragraphs.

Most e-mail programs that use the Internet follow a standard format. The following specimen of e-mail illustrates each part included:

Guidelines for writing

Specimen-6 (E-mail)

Date: June 20, 2002 23:47:00To: Armstrong <mlg@bom6.vsnl.net.in>From: J. Peter <tiger123@mail.sz.gd.cn>Subject: Order No. 1234

Dear Sirs,We are pleased to received your order and confirm that all the items required are in stock. It is our pleasure to have the opportunity of supplying you our products.On receiving your credit from the bank we will make up your

order and will send shipping advice as soon as the shipment is completed. We assure you that all your orders will have our prompt and careful attention.We are looking forward to your early reply.

Cao Wei

Manager

Specimen - 7 (E-mail)

From: jimmygao@gma-mechanics.com.hkTo: jamessmith@gaoqiao-car.comSubject: AT-150 CrankshaptsDear Mr. Smith,

This is to acknowledge your e-mail dated April 15.According to our inventory records the above-referenced items are in stock subject to confirmation by our warehouse supervisor.Per your request we shall expedite this order no later than April 25. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.Best regards,Jimmy Gao

Guidelines for writing3. Website You may take the opportunity by using your website to (1) Catch the reader’s eye: it is very crucial to attractive the reader’s attention, otherwise you will probably fail to sell your products or service. (2) Describe the product or service you are trying to sell. (3) Convince your reader that you claims are accurate: back up your comments with research and facts. (4) Give the reader opportunities to learn about your product or service, provide the reader a web site address, or some way for them to seek out information on their

own.