Nowadays, business collaboration is becoming more and more important. However, the product’s quality or the terms of the sales are not the only things you should pay attention to. Beside them, the way you respond to your partner’s request also plays a big role in making a successful deal. Here is our guide on how to write an inquiry response email in the most effective way!
What is an inquiry response email and who is receiving it?
1. The definition
Firstly, before getting to an inquiry response, you need to know what an inquiry email is. Inquiry emails are emails used to ask for information. We often use a business inquiry email to ask a company to give more details about their product or service. In case you need to know more, we also have a guide on inquiry email.
So, an inquiry response is simply the email you write in response to an inquiry you received earlier. Your main goal while writing them is to meet the sender’s request. They may need you to provide information, set up a call or send a sample product.
You can see these kinds of email as the first step to a potential partner in the future. Therefore, they are really important. This is your first impression and touchpoint. That’s why it is vital that you learn how to write an inquiry response nicely!
2. The recipient
The one you send your inquiry response to is surely the same person who contacted you earlier. They are very likely to be your company’s future customer or client.
The fact that they sent you an inquiry shown their interest in your product or service. Hence, this is their first stage: get more information to consider doing business with you.
When a company puts an inquiry into your mailbox, it means that you are given a promising, valuable business opportunity. As they said, you never know what the future may bring. This one single inquiry email can be the way for your company to a new level of success.
So, you get it now. A poorly written inquiry response would be a terrible threat. It can leave a bad impression and cause you to lose the chance. That’s why you should treat each and every inquiry with care and respect.
But you haven’t know how to write it yet? Follow our guide below on how to reply to an inquiry email for the best response. It also comes with plenty of useful phrases, examples, and notes!
Before we dive into some great examples if you’re on the way to learning English, especially for practical purposes such as writing emails, preparing presentations, etc., eJOY Epic is an excellent app for you to boost your English through personalized courses with real-life situations and AI technology that helps you remember new words deeply.
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Inquiry response email format with examples
1. Opening
Firstly, open your inquiry response with appreciation. You must always remember this rule.
Show the potential partner your gratitude and thank them for their interest in your product or service. There was this saying: Well begun is half done. Likewise, giving your customer a pleasant feeling at first can help the business go smoothly.
After that, mention their inquiry in the former email so that they know the matter you discuss here.
So, here are some phrases you can use in the opening:
- Thank you for your inquiry regarding our product or service.
- Thank you for your interest in our product or service.
- We would like to thank you for your letter inquiring about our product.
- We truly appreciate your letter asking for information about our service.
- It was a pleasure to receive your inquiry about the product of our company
2. Body
Secondly, create a fairly useful body for your inquiry response. Remember that the most important thing you need to do here is to provide the information needed.
Don’t be complicated. Don’t make your customer wait. Go straight to the main points. You should clarify the name and amount of information you are sending according to their request. Tell them how you send it as well: attached in the mail, synthesized in a link below, etc.
Besides, you can give additional details if suitable. However, you need to explain how it may be of use to them. Never send extra items for nothing.
You can find below some simple yet effective sentences to use in the body part:
-
To provide requested items:
- According to your inquiry, we have enclosed ___.
- In response to your inquiry, please find attached in this email ___.
- To answer your question, here are ___.
- To address your request, here are ___.
- We are pleased to satisfy your demand with the attached information.
-
To give additional stuff:
- In addition to the information above, we also attached ___.
- Besides the given information, we also enclosed ___.
- In order to fully answer your request, we would like to give you some further details.
- There is some other information we believe may be useful to you.
- You can find some relevant items below.
3. Closing
Finally, end your inquiry response in an open manner.
After providing the requested stuff, you should save some spaces for future contact. Use a warm, fairly enthusiastic tone in this closing part. It helps make the customer feel your hospitality while still remain comfortable.
Kindly suggest a call or a meeting if needed. Let them know you welcome any request. Show them you are always ready to help in case they have any problem. Don’t forget to mention your contact details as well, so that they know where to find you.
Last but not least, express your sincere hope for further discussion as well as a partnership between the two companies. This will complete your effective inquiry response.
Here are some classic, polite closures you can use for a response to an inquiry:
-
Suggest a call/meeting:
- I hope you are satisfied with the information above.
- Hopefully, the information attached is sufficient for you.
- We hope that the details mentioned were useful to you.
- In case you would like to have more information, we are happy to arrange a call and a meeting for our further discussion on this matter.
- If necessary, we always welcome a call or a meeting at a convenient time for you to understand more about our product/service.
- We also look forward to welcoming you to our office for a better understanding between us.
-
Show readiness to assist:
- Should there be any further inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us.
- If you require further information, feel free to contact me.
- If you have any questions or need more details, we are always ready to help.
- It would be my pleasure to know how more can we assist you.
- Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
- We look forward to doing business with you in the future.
Besides the content, the way you present your email is also an important factor. Focus on the etiquette to make sure you have a nicely written email. It will show your professionalism and create a credible image as well.
For example, you can check out our email etiquette guide. Follow the post for a flawless response!
Useful notes while writing an inquiry response
Besides the basic format, there are some crucial notes you should remember while replying to an inquiry email:
1. Understand the request precisely
After all, it doesn’t really matter what you write in your inquiry response. The most important thing is that you are able to provide your customer with the information they need.
That is the first and most vital priority for this email type. You must send them the exact information. Wrong, insufficient, and useless data will completely shut down your chance of doing business with them.
So, whenever you receive an inquiry, take your time and read it thoroughly. After that, respond with the same carefulness. Understand what they want, how they want it and send it to them.
You can also make a checklist of the requested items. It will help you prepare the stuff as well as check the accuracy of your response later.
2. Reply as soon as possible
Nobody wants to be kept waiting. Your customer, likewise, doesn’t.
You should give proper priority to your customer’s inquiry. If possible, try to reply to them right after you read their email. The sooner you respond, the more professional and the better impression they have for you.
Furthermore, this action also saves time for both you and your customer. You can quickly get rid of another to-do task, while they don’t have to wait too long!
3. Know what you are sending
While replying to an inquiry, make sure you know first-hand what information is in there. If the customer explained in detail the thing they want, your response should assure to satisfy all their requests.
Many people tend to just attach the company’s brochure to the email and then click ‘Send’. However, that is so careless. The brochure simply doesn’t have anything. That’s why checking the items you send is so, so crucial. You need to know not only which information the brochure has, but also which information it doesn’t have.
If the brochure didn’t mention the data your customer need, you can insert it somewhere. If you don’t have the item, be honest, and tell them you will send it later. (In this case, set an expected deadline. Don’t make them wait.)
4. Don’t overdo with added data
You tend to want to give your customer as much information as possible. It’s easy to understand. However, the secret that creating an effective inquiry response is nothing more than being right and enough.
Too much of information will just make them become excessive. Most of the time, it will just leave your customer confused as well as irritated.
If you really want to add more, make sure you really understand the customer’s request. Think carefully about what would truly be useful to them, and attach these only. Nothing more, nothing less!
Business inquiry response sample
Finally, here we have a short inquiry response sample. This email is a response to the inquiry email sample earlier.
You can use this sample to figure out how to reply to an inquiry email properly:
Subject: Re: M Company | Product inquiry: Frozen mango puree
Dear Ms. Vu,
First of all, we would like to express our thanks for your interest in our frozen mango puree product.
Regarding your inquiry, we are happy to provide you our Frozen mango puree product brochure and our Wholesale price list. Please note that the brochure included all the information you asked for. Both items are attached at the end of this email.
In addition to the items above, we have also enclosed a Frozen mango puree catalog (presenting different types of mango available) and our Logistics guidelines for this product. We believe that this will be of help to you.
We hope our response has satisfied your request. Should there be any questions, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Mia Nguyen.
Sales Department | A Company.
So that is our guide on how to reply to an inquiry email in the most effective way. Hopefully, this article can help you write a better response to an inquiry. And furthermore, win greater partnership in your working life!
For more posts on different email types, you can check out our Business English blog. I also recommend you use an extension such as eJOY to search for words meaning while reading. It is handy, instant, and helps enrich your vocabulary:
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For those who are more likely to use smartphones, eJOY Epic is a great app for learning English with step-by-step courses generated from authentic videos.