It is possible to make a mistake with your business letterhead beyond having half of it flow off the edge of the page. However, some mistakes are worse than others. Here are the worst mistakes you can make with your company’s letterhead.
Failure to Proofread
The biggest mistake you can make, According to Consumer Epic, when crafting letterhead is failing to proofread the end result. Transposed digits in the phone number mean the clients you’ve warned of impending lawsuits can’t call you. A typo in the company name makes your letter look fake. Errors in the address mean people can’t send payments or returned product to you. Every customer service failure hurts your reputation and probably costs you money, too. Always proofread your business forms.
Note that the letterhead should be reviewed periodically, too. This ensures that you keep the letterhead up to date when you change area codes, mail processing centers or 1-800 numbers.
Leaving Out Critical Information
When you’re creating business letterhead, don’t make the mistake of focusing on the font, color and logo placement and leave out the contact information that is the most important part of the letterhead. Your letterhead should contain your business’ name, address and phone number at a minimum. Include mailing addresses and the business registered address if they are separate. Make it clear which is which so that bills and legal notices go to the right place.
Provide the phone numbers and if necessary fax numbers if the customers need it. A generic phone number may be good enough for a small business. If there are separate phone lines for the customer service, tech support and legal departments, list and identify each. Ensure that the phone number you want the letter recipient to call is on the letterhead.
Ignoring Readability
Don’t overlook the importance of readability. Don’t choose decorative elements that are difficult for someone to read. Don’t make the letterhead so small that it isn’t easily read. Ensure that the font is readable if someone makes a copy, fax or scan of the document.
If you put watermarks in the paper to help give the correspondence authenticity, ensure that the document’s contents are legible if scanned, faxed or copied.
Putting in Too Much Information
A common mistake people make with letterheads is putting too much information in the letterhead. For example, they don’t just put the company’s name and logo on the page but include taglines and more. The company makes a mistake when they put several different addresses on the letter, causing confusion for the customer. It is fine to include the company’s main website address in the letterhead, but it is a mistake to put multiple social media profile links under it. You could put the main company website in the letter head and include a bill payment URL in a letter demanding payment, but be clear regarding which URL is which.
Making the Letterhead All Purpose
A subtle mistake businesses make with preprinted letters is trying to pre-print as much as possible. A letterhead that starts with “Dear Customer” will fall short when you’re sending letters to job applicants or vendors. Avoid universal formal introductions like “to whom it may concern”. Invest a little time and effort to have an appropriate introduction at the start of each letter, assuming it isn’t going to be fed from your customer relationship management software.