What Are the Different Types of Written Business Communication?

The different types of written business communication include marketing and sales materials, strategic management materials, and documentmentation related to compliance issues. Written recruitment materials would be another type of written business communication. Development of training protocols entails yet another form of this type of written material.

A company's marketing efforts usually involve producing a variety of advertising and marketing materials. These generally include written descriptions of products or services. Product descriptions and draft marketing materials may be circulated among a company's decision makers before a product launch occurs. Once management approves the proposed marketing materials, the written communication may be augmented and enhanced by graphic design elements before being distributed to the public.

Management strategies may be developed, reviewed, or revised in the form of written business communication. This may include writing a business plan, detailing strategic initiatives, or distributing internal memos to staff. These internally-produced materials may serve as a corporate record of the process involved in undertaking a particular course of action.

Compliance is yet another reason businesses produce written business communication. For example, if a new law is passed requiring a commercial enterprise to increase the amount of information necessary for reporting workplace injuries, a business may subsequently develop a more extensive documentation process for recording the data required by the new legislation. If a lawsuit is subsequently leveled against a business, internal written business communication may be revised, or new written documentation may be developed to ensure compliance with the law. This may not be public information, but likely would be used for internal operations.

Recruitment and staffing issues are a major reason for written business information, as accurate job descriptions are usually deemed critical to effectively assessing employee productivity. Often, businesses document staff performance issues in documents, sharing this information internally for various reasons. Reasons for producing this type of documentation may include the need to accurately capture staff performance, or to determine competitive compensatory rates. Sometimes this type of written business communication is used for defensive purposes, such as when a disgruntled employee lodges a lawsuit alleging unfair or illegal workplace policies or practices.

Training materials are another form of internal business communications. In highly technical positions, a business may create an extensive book-length instruction manual for certain tasks and procedures. When new technology is adopted, businesses often develop and distribute user guides within the company for employees.

Public relations is another impetus for development of written business communication. Press releases that are produced internally and released to the public enable a business to control the message about what the enterprise is doing. This is in contrast to news developments generated by members of the media, which when disseminated may negatively impact a company's reputation.