Never use the first personal pronoun "I" when writing as Blank Company. "We" is the proper pronoun. Where a personal reference is necessary, "the writer" may be used; but even this should be avoided wherever possible.
Don't forget that certain small words are in the language for a purpose. "And," "a," "the," are important, and their elimination often makes a letter bald, curt, and distinctly inelegant.
Carefully avoid such words and stock phrases as "beg to acknowledge," "beg to inquire," "beg to advise," etc. Do not "beg" at all.
Do not say "kindly" for "please."
Do not say "Enclosed herewith." Herewith is superfluous.
Do not "reply" to a letter; "answer" it. You answer a letter and reply to an argument._
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In determining a uniformity in policy and quality, the rules may be grouped in three classes: those which determine the attitude of the writer; those that relate to the handling of subject matter; and then there are specific rules, such as the style of paper, the salutation, the subscription, signature, and so forth.
The attitude and policy of the house must be determined according to the nature of the business and the ideas of the management. The same rules will not apply to all houses but this does not lessen the desirability of an established policy. For instance, one large corporation, selling entirely to dealers and to large contractors, forbids the use of the first person singular. Under no consideration is the correspondent permitted to say "I". And if a personal reference is absolutely necessary, he must refer to "the writer". The rule is to say "we" and the correspondents are urged to avoid this personal pronoun, using the name of the company, as, "It has always been the practice of the Workwell Company," and so on.
Most mail-order houses, on the other hand, get just as far away from this formal attitude as possible. Here it is the policy to get up close to the reader by a "you-and-me" attitude. Some mail-order houses have letters written in the name of the company, signed by the writer as department manager, sales manager, or other officer. Then there are other houses that omit the company name entirely in order to get away from the "soulless corporation" idea as much as possible, and letters to a customer are always signed by the same individual to get a personal relationship that is considered a most valuable asset. This does not mean merely the matter of the signature, but the entire attitude of the letter. "Address your reply to me personally" is the spirit of these firms—a policy that has been adopted after tests have demonstrated that it is the one appeal most effective with the average mail-order customer.