Sample Memo – How to Write it Properly
A professional memo is an effective tool of communication within organizations and is used to spread the information or for a call to action. It is used to address the people in general or the departments. So you have to be experienced in writing as well as the subject in order to effectively communicate the message.
There are certain rules and standards for memo writing like other business communications and documents. If you are already aware of those rules and standards, it will be relatively easy for you to write a memo. However, it will be helpful to have a look at some successful memos written for different purposes.
Essential parts of the memo
Before we look at the example memos, let’s have a quick overview of the memo format to understand how to write a successful memo and when to use it.
The heading and subject line
This part contains the basic details like the sender’s name and designation, recipient’s name and designation, the date on which the memo is written and a strong subject line that makes the purpose clear to the audience.
Opening part
This section contains the purpose and context of the memo that gives your audience the idea of what will be there in the main content part of the memo. It’s like a brief overview for the audience that can give them a reason to read further. If written properly, it will also ensure your audience that the points and information discussed in the memo are relevant to them and address their needs.
The context part
In this section, you will connect the memo content with the context by providing the background of the problem. You can mention the circumstances or events that have created the situation or the problem.
Task or action part
After you have addressed the background of the event or circumstance, you can describe the steps or actions you are going to take to solve the problem. You will see how this part is written in the writing example of a memo on tea break timings given in this article.
Discussion part
This part is the longest part and contains the detailed information on the subject. It can be the key points and arguments in support of the background, problem and the solution. You should write the most important ideas and steps first and then write arguments and facts to support them.
Conclusion or summary
A summary is a brief overview and contains key information in the memo. It depends on the memo style and generally written when the memo is longer than one page. Your audience can quickly know what the memo is about. You can also include the reference to the sources of information used to support your ideas.
Closing statement
Like other communication documents, you should close your memo with a warm sentence. It can convey the benefits your audience will be getting from the solution to the problem.
Attachment if any
If your memo contains the information for which your audience may need to refer to the other documents like graphs, tables, charts, and images, you can include them as an attachment and mention about it below the closing statement.
When to use a memo
A memo should be used when you want the communication to be formal and actionable. It should be used when the information is large and can’t be covered within the email body. It should be used when the memo will be referred multiple times during the solution process or meetings. It should be used when your audience needs it to be stored and printed when needed. And it should be used when the information is confidential, classified and/or to be used for legal proceedings.
It should be fairly clear on when and how to write a memo now. Please see the memo examples given below to have more understanding on how to write it.
Sample memo for using digital marketing campaigns for toys
Memorandum
To: Martha Watson, Chief Marketing Executive
From: John Smith, Digital Marketing Expert
Date: August 14, 2018
Subject: New Digital Marketing Campaign for Toys
As per our market survey and analysis, parents are becoming more open to online shopping. In order to leverage this trend and make the most out of our online shopping website for kids toys, we need to launch a new digital marketing campaign. Online advertisement and promotions will help us reach more population within our country and convert potential customers into successful orders.
People are no longer relying on the traditional ways of shopping and turning towards the online shopping websites and mobile applications. So we need to use the internet to reach our potential customer at the mass level and increase our revenue.
Digital Marketing
According to a recent survey, around 35% of parents in the urban area are doing a job and have very little time for shopping in the traditional way. On the other hand, they spend more time using mobile internet and order things from grocery to ready to eat food and clothes to electronic items. They spend more hours on the internet surfing various websites. Following are the most popular sites among them.
- YouTube
- Amazon
Focusing on paid ads and promotions on these platforms will be beneficial in boosting the awareness, targetting potential customer base and increasing the demand for our toys in the market. By using Google’s large search and display network and YouTube, we will target specific demographics and leverage the power of online marketing.
If you need additional help with writing, choose one of the services listed below:
Marketing campaigns on Search and display network of Google
Since the rise in the internet usage and mobile app technologies, people are becoming more dependent on e-Commerce platforms. So this is the right time to start focusing on online business rather than local sales and delivery method. Apart from the wholesale marketing, we can start using giant online shopping websites like Amazon and eBay to improve our sales and revenue. These companies provide an easy and hassle-free delivery service which will make it easy for us to start benefiting from retail sales.
Marketing campaigns on Social media and online video platforms
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube are very popular among the people and can be used to promote our toy products. People spend 1 hour on an average on these sites and can be effectively targeted with our ad campaigns. Social media has become an important part of the life and companies are taking benefits of this trend. So we should also concentrate our efforts on social media marketing.
Same way, people often watch videos for information and fun, and we can use online video platforms to promote our toys by using paid ads. Video ad types like in-stream, Pre-Roll and Bumpers are very effective modes of advertisements. We can use them depending on our goals and desired results.
By using digital marketing, we will be able to attract a large customer base, increase our market share and boost the sales and revenue.
Note: The statistics and numbers given here are fictional and are used for the example purpose only.
Sample memo of implementing new tea break timings
Memorandum
To: All Staff
From: Steve Tailor, Production Manager
Date: August 14, 2018
Subject: Changes in Tea Break Timings to Reduce Non-Productive Time
Dear Co-workers,
Based on production reports and in-out time reports from past three months, we have observed that the Tea break timings are not being followed strictly. It has affected the overall productivity and discipline level on the production floor.
Current tea break time is of 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening, but employees are taking 30 minutes in each break. From the reports, we have observed that average employee is spending 30 minutes more in tea breaks (15 minutes in each tea break) resulting in 10 non-productive hours per employee per month. We have 250 employees, so the total non-productive hours are 2500 hours per month. You can imagine how much lose the company has to bear due to this practice.
Therefore, it has become very necessary to revise the break timings and implement the new Tea break rules. It will help us achieve more productivity by reducing the non-productive time. New rules for the Tea break will be as follows.
- Tea breaks will be only for 15 minutes.
- The production staff will be going on a Tea break from 10:05 AM to 10:20 in the morning and 4:05 PM to 4:20 PM in the evening.
- The process quality group and quality assurance group staff will be going on a Tea break from 9:45 AM to 10:00 PM in the morning and 3:45 PM to 4:00 PM.
- The employees will be going for the tea break in two groups, i.e. all quality testing staff will be going for a break first. All production staff will be going for a break after the quality testing staff is back from the break.
- All staff will be using Time-In and Time-Out system to ensure that the time is not logged as productive time while they are in a tea break.
These rules will be helpful in curbing the improper practice of taking longer than stated tea breaks and will improve the overall production. Sending the staff for the tea break in two groups will ensure that the production and quality testing are not stopped at the same time.
It will also help utilize the tea break area in a comfortable way as it will reduce the rush at the same time.
I look forward to all staff for the cooperation which will help improve their productivity and ultimately the growth of the company. It will enable the company to pay more bonuses and pay raises in the long term.
Thank you,
The Production Manager
We hope these examples will be very useful in understanding the memo. However, you can also have a look at a memo template on https://www.vertex42.com/WordTemplates/memorandum-template.html
