Your company’s letterhead is essential to making your business known and respected to clients, customers and vendors. Here are the key elements of your letterhead’s design. We’ll also explain why these elements are considered key to a good business letterhead design.
Logo
Some people will tell you it isn’t necessary to include your logo in the company letterhead. In reality, you should do this. One reason is that it builds brand recognition. The recipient may not remember the company name but will recognize the logo on the product. It also reinforces brand identity. They may not recognize the full legal name of the firm, but the presentation of the logo connects the two for the reader. Another reason to include the logo is that it makes the letter stand out, and it is less likely to get lost in generic correspondence. Putting your slogan under the logo is optional.
In general, the logo should be on the left while the address and contact information should be on the right. It is unnecessary to put a colored stripe down the side of the page or embed the company logo in the background of the letter in 99 percent of cases. The rare exception involves legal correspondence and similar documents where you want to essentially watermark copies of the document.
A side benefit of leaving out the colored stripes and decorative elements is that it lowers the printing costs. The other benefit is that these elements are prone to poor print quality, so you get a cleaner, more professional letterhead when you leave it off.
Company Name
A logo may be eye-catching, but it provides little in terms of content. After all, logos may look like that of another brand. And the logo can be stamped on a letter by anyone. This is why you must put your business name on the letterhead and include it in every letter. Use the legal name of the business. In the case of sole proprietors, you may want to put both your personal name and legal business name so that the recipient knows who they are dealing with.
Contact Information
The most important aspect of business letterhead design is the contact information for your business. Your business’ address, phone number and other contact information give someone the information they need to contact you. If you have a registered physical address for the firm that is separate from the postal address, include the postal address. Then specify in the letter where correspondence should be sent.
Provide multiple channels for them to reach you such as a fax number, main phone number and website URL. If you have a 1-800 toll free number, include it here if it will take them to whomever they need to speak with. For example, a vendor being sued should be directed to the billing department, not the general customer service department.
Don’t provide unnecessary information. For example, your business’ social media profiles shouldn’t be in your company letterhead unless you’re sending promotional materials and the social media profiles are your artistic portfolio.
