by Leigh Goessl

Created on: October 19, 2009

The salutation is an important part of a business letter because it is a part of the introduction and sets the tone for the rest of the letter. A poorly chosen salutation can easily diminish the effectiveness of a business letter.

The salutation follows the inside address which is the name and address of the business contact you are writing. Be sure to put at least one extra space in between the inside address and the salutation, although in some cases two is more the norm.

As you choose the kind of salutation you want to use to greet your letter's recipient, it is noteworthy to consider your relationship with the person you're writing to, the level of formality the letter possesses and the name, gender and position of the person you are writing to.

The type of relationship you have with the person you're writing a business letter to is crucial. If you know the person well it is OK to use a bit more casual tone, but if this is a first time contact or someone you don't know well, it's advisable to be more formal.

*Salutations for people you don't know well

When you don't know someone very well or not at all, the general rule is to always be formal for a typed business letter. It is customary to use the word "Dear" prefacing any name. Examples of this are "Dear Mr. Karpinsky" or "Dear Ms. MacKenzie".

Keep in mind you should never address a person you don't know by their first name, instead use "Mr., Mrs. or Ms.", and follow their last name with a formal colon. If the person has a title, you can use "Dr., Senator or Major". Doctor can be abbreviated, but titles such as a government title, clergy title, military rank or a professor should be spelled out.

*Salutations for people you know well

Great salutations for people you know well or are established and close working colleagues are "Dear Sally", "Good morning Fred" or even a "Hi Dan" may be appropriate depending on how the relationship is defined. Most business salutations end in a colon, but if the letter is an extremely casual note, you can consider a comma, but the safest bet is to use a colon.

*Salutations for people you don't know their name

If you don't know the name of the person you're addressing, it is acceptable to use a salutation such as "Dear Sales Manager" or "Dear Customer Service Representative". Always follow this kind of title with a colon.

"Dear Sir or Madam" is a common one also, but over the years this has been considered to be an outdated salutation, but if in doubt can be used. In some cases you may not know the name or title of who are addressing and may have little to no options and an outdated salutation may be better than none, so weigh this out carefully.

*Salutations for people you don't know their gender

Sometimes you may come across a name of a person you have to write to where you aren't sure of the person's gender. If this occurs, it is proper to use the full name of the person you're addressing. In this case an acceptable salutation would be "Dear Jordan Franklin" or "Dear Pat Keane".

In addition to the colon, it is important to remember to always capitalize the greeting (i.e. "Dear"), the title and name of your recipient.

Choosing a salutation isn't hard, the biggest challenges are determining the level of formality you want to portray. Usually people are pretty comfortable choosing their salutation when they know the person well, but if there is ever any doubt, always choose the formal route.

The salutation you choose is important because it can make or break the success of your communication. A poorly received salutation is going to result in a negative reaction, but a carefully chosen and appropriate salutation is likely to be met with a positive response.

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