Letters to customers – tips for business communication

Good reasons for a customer letter

A cover letter to your customers is a business letter that can also do some advertising for you. But: Sending your latest brochure is by no means a cover letter!

• When you write a cover letter to your customers, you have something important to tell about your business.
• For example, if you want to announce your vacation time and therefore offer a discount beforehand.
• Or maybe you have new equipment that allows you to offer more services – that’s a good reason to write to your customers.
• The same applies, of course, to business openings or reopenings after renovations, business closures and all other changes that could be important for your customers.

Your target group is not automatically your clientele

Before starting your business, you thought about which target group you would like to work with. This target group can belong to your customer group for some reasons for a cover letter, but it is usually not identical to you.

• The target group includes all the people you want to address. Nevertheless, you are guaranteed to have customers who use your services without belonging to the target group. It is therefore just as important to know the customer group exactly as to define the target group.
• A simple example: You design and produce colorful bracelets for teenagers. Their target audience are teenagers. But your customers also include the grandmothers and mothers who buy these bracelets. And even if these customers misuse the bracelets in any way.
• You know your target group, but you only know your customers personally. Therefore, a cover letter to your customers is something different than a prospectus that you send by post.
• So you should get a customer file. Just ask people if they would like to receive mail to stay informed. Or lay out a list in which every customer can voluntarily enter their name.

Formulate the cover letter

Since you can only write to your customers personally if you know their name and address, your letter becomes a personal business letter.

• You should avoid collecting addresses from telephone books and writing to all neighbors – unless you know them at all. This is misleading and also illegal as these people have not asked or agreed to receive mail from you.
• You design the customer letter in a similar way to a personal letter. You have a letterhead – or ready-made stationery – with your name, business name, address and telephone number.
• If you are using window envelopes, write the customer’s name and address in the upper left corner. The date should be left-aligned underneath. Right is also okay, but outdated. One line below you state the reason for your letter in the so-called subject line.
• Your actual letter then begins in all politeness with a personal address. It reads “Dear Ms….” or “Dear Mr….”. The salutation “Dear Sir or Madam” is not personal and sounds like a circular. You should avoid this – even if you have a thousand customers.
• Finally, with the usual writing programs, there is the possibility of automatically writing identical letters with a personal salutation. Use these functions.
• The text of your letter can be general – especially if you have a large clientele. Still, you’re more likely to reach people if you include a personal sentence. As a professional, you know, for example, when a customer has not been with you for a long time. Respond to this with: “It’s a shame that…”
• Keep your correspondence brief. Nobody reads lengthy customer letters. Formulate short sentences so that it quickly becomes clear what is at stake. And end your customer letter with a nice sentence. This makes the cover letter friendlier. Below that are the usual polite formulas such as: “Best regards” (new) or “Best regards” (obsolete). The name of your company and your signature follow.
• Sign the letters to your customers personally. For circulars to everyone you can scan the signature, but for customers it should be more personal.

One tip at the end: Many business people are uncomfortable when a customer talks about personal things. Feel free to respond by telling a little something about yourself. This creates a bond between you and the customer is guaranteed to remember you and your service or product. I wish you success!