Inquiry Letter
is a letter written to request information and/or ascertain its authenticity. A
letter of inquiry deals with various matters like job vacancies, funding,
grants, scholarships, projects, sales, pre-proposals and others. The term is
common in various business setups as it implies fund request or pre-proposal
information. Owing to this usage, the term may be considered exclusive to these
setups alone. But that is not the case, to this effect the below definition
offers a justified meaning.
1. Inquiry
Letter Definition
A document requesting information
sent on behalf of an individual or an organisation for their own respective
purposes, which can be mutually beneficial to the recipient and the sender.
The term ‘Inquiry’ is same as
‘Enquiry’. The former is more commonly used in U.S. and the latter one is
more common in U.K. There are some other terms which represent the
letters; these are Letter of Intent, Letter of Interest, Query
letter, Prospecting Letter, Pre-proposal Letter and Concept
Paper. The term ‘Cover Letter’, ‘Business Letter’, ‘Request Letter’ and
‘Sales Letter’ is also applied to an inquiry letter especially when the
objective is same as that of letter for inquiry.
A letter of inquiry serves to
facilitate business operations and satisfaction of the sender. Inquiry letters
remove any misunderstanding and are time savers, especially when two parties
want to reach an understanding. The communication towards this effect resolves
the issue without any delay. With relation to it being a ‘Pre-proposal letter’,
the inquiry letter is also termed as a ‘Condensed Version of a Proposal’.
It is the outcome of the purpose of the letter which highlights the points of a
proposal instead of a full-fledged proposal.
On an individual’s basis, these
letters are sent to companies that are willing to hire but haven't advertised
job openings. It can also be a letter addressed to editor in-charge of a
publication proposing certain literary work. It can be a letter from a student
who is vying for a seat in a college or a business that provides an internship.
So, the objective of an enquiry letter is same but its projections and
audiences are different. Same goes for its method of delivery, it can be sent
via paper mail or electronic mail.
2.
Example
of Inquiry Letter
Prien Novita Ayu
12 Purple Street
Tangerang
October 14, 2016
Ladies Fancy Fashion
09 River Street
Jakarta
Dear Madam,
Yesterday, I saw
the dresses of your boutique at Jakarta Fashion Week and made me interested to
become your distributor in Tangerang. I should be glad if you could send me the
latest catalogue and the pricelist of your boutique.
I hope you can
send them all and we could be a teamwork
in this fashion field. Because I really loved the dresses of your boutique that
you perfomed yesterday.
Sincerely,
Prien Novita Ayu
Owner of Sparkle
Fashion
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