Emails for Administration

Emails for external correspondence: making enquiries

An enquiry is an act of asking for information. It is of paramount importance in the business world since obtaining the correct information enables a company to know how to deal with its business appropriately. Such information may include asking for the price lists, details of products or services, information about booking a venue, etc. The reasons for requesting information are numerous.

The following are different sections in an email of enquiry and also other points to note when writing this type of email.

1. Subject

Remember to write a clear subject to show the recipient what the email is about in a precise manner. You should use as few words as possible so as not to make the subject of your email too long.

e.g. “Enquiry for the price list of your computers”

2. Salutation

As usual, there are two types of salutation: when you know the name of the recipient and when you don’t know his/her name.

If you know the name of the recipient, you begin with his/her surname.

e.g. “Dear Mr Lee”, “Dear Ms Chiu”, etc.

Remember not to write the full name such as “Dear Mr Gordon Yip, “Dear Ms Margaret Tang”, etc.

On the other hand, if you don’t know the recipient’s name, you have to write “Dear Sir/Madam”.

3. Introduction

Introduce yourself and then state the purpose of your writing by using phrases such as “I am writing to”, “I am emailing you to”, etc.

e.g. “My name is Johnson Choy and I am a Marketing Trainee of Faithful Company Limited. I am writing to request the price list of your computers.”

4. Body paragraph(s)

In this section, you may give the information of your company. After that, you need to write the details of your request, so that the other party will know how to meet your requirements.

e.g. “We are an import and export company and we have to store a large amount of data about various shipments. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of our customers. Therefore, we are in urgent need of computers for our staff to enter the necessary data.”

In this example, the person writing the email will give the details of the configuration requirements of the computers they need.

You may continue by mentioning how you have heard of the company you are writing to.

e.g. “We have heard of your company from one of our clients, Easy Technology Limited, which has been in business with you for a long time, and they speak highly of your service.”

5. Ending

In the last paragraph, give a deadline to the recipient and also your contact information. You may use expressions such as “Could you please”, “We would greatly appreciate it if you could”, etc.

e.g. “Could you please reply to us with the price list within one week? If you have any questions, please contact me at 87654321 or email me at johnsonchoy@faithfulco.com.hk. Thank you very much for your attention.”

6. Complimentary close

The same as the other emails, write “Yours truly” instead of “Yours faithfully, and “Regards” or “Best regards” instead of “Yours sincerely”.

Then type your full name with your job title and the company name.

7. Specify clearly what you want, when and why

Tell the recipient exactly what you want, when you would like to have it and the reason(s) for making the enquiry so that he/she will know what to do.

8. Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation

Proofreading your email is a very important step to ensure that there will not be any mistakes in grammar and spelling. Check these carefully, including the punctuation marks. Don’t rely on the “spell check” function since there may not be any spelling mistake in a word but that may not be the word you want to use. Besides, check the spelling of the recipient’s name carefully.

9. Be concise

In this fast-paced world, people don’t want to read long emails spending a lot of their time. Therefore, make sure what you write is necessary and do not include any redundant information.

Exercise

Read the following situation and fill in the blanks with suitable words.

Stephen Chui works as a Marketing Trainee in a company called Top Clothes Limited which sells clothes to retail shops. The Manager of the Supply and Purchase Department has asked him to write an email to the Sales Manager of Forward Garment Factory, which is in Dongguan in the Greater Bay Area, requesting the price list of various types of clothes.

Dear ______________________

My name is ____________________, a Marketing Trainee of ____________________________. I am __________________ to ________________ the price list of the clothes which you ____________________.

We ________________________ various types of clothes to a number of ___________________ in Hong Kong for ten years. We would like a copy of your ______________________ including T-shirts, polo shirts, knitted sweaters, sweat shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, casual pants, jeans, knitted hats, baseball caps and scarves.

We ________________________________________ from one of our partners, Global Garment, which has been ____________________ with you for _____________________, and they speak highly of your service.

We would _________________________________ if you could send us your price lists ______________________. If there are any questions, please _____________________________ at 9876543 or email me at stephenchui@topclothes.com.hk. Thank ______________________ and we look forward to your reply.

Best regards

Stephen Chui

______________________

Top Clothes Limited

Further References

1. How to write a business inquiry email with examples

This webpage tells us what a business inquiry is and how to write it. There are also best practices for writing a business inquiry with examples.

https://www.flowrite.com/blog/business-inquiry

2. Enquiry Letter Sample, Format – How to Write an Inquiry Letter

This link provides samples and formats of enquiry letters for your reference.

https://www.lettersfree.com/enquiry-letter-sample/

3. How to Write Business Inquiry Email and Samples

There is information about different sections of a business inquiry email with best practices. Useful samples are also provided,

https://www.woculus.com/write-business-inquiry-email-samples/