Finished.

In business, there's nothing more important than building strong relationships with clients. A simple deed can create a loyal customer for life, and the holidays are the perfect time to share your gratitude and warm wishes with the people who do business with you all year long. And whether you own a small company or run a large corporation, a business holiday card is one of the best ways to express appreciation towards clients and colleagues for their continued support.

When it comes to holiday business greeting cards, to send or not to send is the question. Once you have decided to send, you then have to determine who to include on your list, what kind of business greeting card to choose, and how to address the envelope.

Business greeting cards can:

· enhance your current business relationships

· attract new customers

· remind old clients that you exist

· show appreciation to supportive clients

· Use proper business greeting card etiquette. What is a well-meaning gesture can offend the people you want to impress when it is not done properly.

· The 8 Rules of Business Greeting Card Etiquette

· Buy Quality Cards: Start with a good quality business greeting card to show that you value your clients and colleagues. Skimping on your selection can be interpreted in a number of ways. Your recipients might take it as a sign that business has not been good or that they aren't worth a little investment.

· Update Your List: Make sure your list is up-to-date with correct names and addresses. If you do this on a regular basis, it does not become a dreaded holiday chore. As you gain new contacts throughout the year, take time to add them to your database for your business greeting card group. This way you won't embarrass yourself by sending the card to the old address.

· Sign Cards Personally: Even if you have preprinted information on the business greeting card such as your name, you need to add your handwritten signature.

· The most elegant business greeting cards should have your personal signature and a short handwritten message.

· Handwrite the Address: If you are ready to throw up your hands at this point and forget the whole project, then have someone else address the envelopes for you. Don't use computer-generated labels. They are impersonal and make your holiday wishes look like a mass mailing. You may save time and even money, but can lose a client in the process.

· Mail to Home Address: Mail your business greeting card to the home if you know the small business owner. Be sure to include the spouse's name. The card is not sent to both husband and wife at the business address unless they both work there.

· Use Titles: Whether you are addressing the envelope to an individual or a couple, titles should always be used. It's " Mr. John Doe, " not " John Doe, " or " Mr. and Mrs. John Doe, rather that " John and Mary Doe."

· Be Sensitive to Traditions: Find out whether your business greeting card recipients observe Christmas, Hanukah, or Kwanzaa. Make sure your message is appropriate for each individual. If you decide to go with one card, choose a generic one that will not offend. " Season's Greetings" and " Happy Holidays" are safe bets.

· Avoid the Mail Rush: Mail your business greeting cards in time to arrive for the designated holiday. If you find yourself addressing the envelopes on Super Bowl Sunday, keep the cards until next year and send out a high-quality note thanking people for their business during the previous year instead. To avoid the last minute greeting rush is to have all your envelopes addressed before Thanksgiving. Then during December you can leisurely write a short message - one or two lines are all that is necessary on each card, sign your name and have them in the mail with a minimum of hassle.

Abbreviations used in formal letter writing

In business correspondence a number of abbreviations are used, some of which are only suitable for informal communication, some even for electronic communication only (e.g. emoticons). In formal business letters, a clear, formal writing style should be used, however, there exist some instances in which the use of abbreviations is appropriate to save both space and time.

Formal widely used abbreviations:

· ASAP - as soon as possible

· attn - attention: to show that a letter is for the attention of a particular person

· BYOB - bring your own bottle: used on invitations to show that you should bring your own beverage to a party or get-to-gether

· cc - used on a business letter or e-mail to indicate that a copy of a given letter is being sent to the person mentioned

· c/o or c/- - care of: used in the address on a letter or parcel that you are sending to someone at another person’s house

· encl. - enclosed or enclosure: used at the top or bottom of a letter to show that an attachment has been included in the letter

· FAO - for the attention of: written in front of someone’s name on a document, letter, or envelope to show that it is intended for them

· FYI - for your information: written on a business letter or e-mail to show that it is being sent to someone for their information only; they are not expected to reply or take any action

· pp - on behalf of - written in front of someone’s name when you are signing a letter for them

· PPS - written before a note at the end of a letter, after the PS note

· PS - postscript: used for introducing some additional information at the end of a letter after you have signed your name

· PTO - please turn over: used at the bottom of a page to indicate that there is a second page (informal)

· RE - used in business letters to introduce their subject matter

· ref. - reference: used in a business letter when you are giving the numbers and letters that show exactly which document or piece of information you are writing about

· RSVP - used on written invitations to ask the invited person to confirm their attendance

Abbreviations in titles:

· Mr. - Mister - used when adressing men

· Messrs. - used when addressing two or more men, as in Messrs. Smith and Wesson

· Mrs. - Misses - used for women if you are sure that they are married and for those who do not prefer another title

· Ms. - used for women, regardless of their marital status. Usually the safest bet

· Dr. - Used with addressees who you know have earned a doctorate, not only in medicine

Abbreviations in time and date:

· a.m. (am) - ante merediem = before midday - used with a 12-hour clock

· p.m. (pm) - post merediem = after midday - used with a 12-hour clock

· BC - Before Christ - used to denote years prior to the birth of Jesus of Nazareth

· AD - Anno Domini - used to denote years after the birth of Jesus of Nazareth

Other often used abbreviations in business letters:

· a/c - account

· appar. - Apparently

· bus. - business

· cf. - compare (Latin: confer)

· comm. - commerce

· Corp. - Corporation

· dt - date

· e.g. - for example (Latin exampli gratia)

· et al. - and other people (Latin et alii)

· etc. - and so forth (Latin et cetra)

· i.e. - in other words (Latin id est)

· ibid. - in the same book, chapter, page, etc. (Latin ibidem)

· Ltd. Limited

· nb. - nota bene

· NOO - not on original

· P& P - postage and packing

· pdd - probable date of delivery

· PIN - postal index number or Personal Identification Number

· SAE - stamped (self-) addressed envelope

· yr - year

· ZIP (code) - Zone Improvement Plan (used in US addresses after the state designation to assure delivery)

An abbreviation is a short way of writing a word or a phrase that could a lso be written out in full. So, for example, you might write Dr Kinsey inste ad of Doctor Kinsey. Here Dr is an abbreviation for the word Doctor. Likewise, the phrase for example can sometimes be abbreviated to e.g.

Abbreviations must be clearly distinguished from contractions. The key difference is that an abbreviation does not normally have a distinctive pronunciation of its own. So, for example, the abbreviation Dr is pronounced just like Doctor, the abbreviation oz is pronounced just like ounce(s) and the abbreviation e.g. is pronounced just like for example. (True, there are a few people who actually say " ee-jee" for the last one, but this practice is decidedly unusual.) A contraction, in contrast, does have its own distinctive pronunciation: for example, the contraction can't is pronounced differently from cannot, and the contraction she's is pronounced differently from she is or she has.

Abbreviations are very rarely used in formal writing. Almost the only ones which are frequently used are the abbreviations for certain common titles, when these are used with someone's name: Mr Willis, Dr Livingstone, Mrs Thatcher, Ms Harmon, St Joan.

Otherwise, however, you should try to avoid the use of abbreviations in your formal writing. The frequent use of unnecessary abbreviations will make your text irritating and hard to read. So, you should write four ounces (not 4 oz.), 80 miles per hour (not 80 mph), the Church of England (not the C of E), the seventeenth century (not C17 or the 17th cent.) and the second volume (not the 2nd vol.) It is far more important to make your writing easy to read than to save a few seconds in writing it.

There is one exception to this policy. In scientific writing, the names of units are always abbreviated and always written without full stops or a plural s. If you are doing scientific writing, then, you should conform by writing 5 kg (not 5 kilogrammes, and certainly not * 5 kg. or * 5 kgs.), 800 Hz (not 800 Hertz) and 17.3 cm³ (not 17.3 cubic centimetres).

Summary of abbreviations:

• Do not use an abbreviation that can easily be avoided.
• In an abbreviation, use full stops and capital letters in the conventional way.
• Do not forget to punctuate the rest of the sentence normally.

Attn

abbreviation

attention: used for showing that a letter is for the attention of a particular person

BYOB

abbreviation

bring your own bottle: used on invitations to show that you should take wine, beer, or something else to drink to a party

c/-

abbreviation

australian

care of: used in an address on a letter or parcel that you are sending to someone at another person’s house

Cc

abbreviation

used on a business letter or email for saying that a copy is being sent to the personmentioned

C/o

abbreviation

care of: used in an address on a letter or parcel that you are sending to someone at another person’s house

Enc.

abbreviation

enclosed

Encl.

abbreviation

enclosed or enclosure: used at the top or bottom of a letter to show that something else is being sent with it

Fao

abbreviation

for the attention of: written in front of someone’s name on a document, letter, orenvelope to show that it is intended for them

F.i.o.

abbreviation

for information only: written on a business letter or email to show that it is being sent to someone in order to give them information, and they are not expected to reply or take any action

Pp

abbreviation

business

british

written before someone’s name when you are signing a letter for them

PPS

abbreviation

written before a note at the end of a letter, after the PS note

PS

abbreviation

postscript: used for introducing some additional information at the end of a letter after you have signed your name

PTO

abbreviation

please turn over: used at the bottom of a page when there is more writing on the other side

Re

preposition

used in business letters for introducing the subject that you are going to write about

Ref.

abbreviation

reference: used in a business letter when you are giving the numbers and letters that show exactly which document or piece of information you are talking about

RSVP

abbreviation

used on written invitations to ask the person invited to say whether they can go to asocial event or not