Writing a Formal Business Email
IntermediateWork
A senior staff member trains a newly hired intern on how to properly write and send a formal business email to a customer.
L
LiW
WangL
小王，今天我来教你怎么给客户写一封正式的商务邮件。
Xiǎo Wáng, jīntiān wǒ lái jiāo nǐ zěnme gěi kèhù xiě yī fēng zhèngshì de shāngwù yóujiàn.
Xiao Wang, today I'll teach you how to write a formal business email to a customer.
W
太好了，李姐。我一直不太清楚开头该怎么写。
Tài hǎo le, Lǐ jiě. Wǒ yīzhí bù tài qīngchu kāitóu gāi zěnme xiě.
Great, Sister Li. I've never been quite sure how to write the opening.
L
开头一定要有称呼，比如“尊敬的张经理，您好”，这样才显得有礼貌。
Kāitóu yīdìng yào yǒu chēnghu, bǐrú “zūnjìng de Zhāng jīnglǐ, nín hǎo”, zhèyàng cái xiǎnde yǒu lǐmào.
The opening must have a form of address, like "Dear Manager Zhang, hello," so that it comes across as polite.
W
明白了。那正文部分要注意些什么呢？
Míngbái le. Nà zhèngwén bùfen yào zhùyì xiē shénme ne?
I see. Then what should I pay attention to in the body of the email?
L
正文要简洁明了，先说明目的，再写具体内容。
Zhèngwén yào jiǎnjié míngliǎo, xiān shuōmíng mùdì, zài xiě jùtǐ nèiróng.
The body should be concise and clear—first state the purpose, then write the specific content.
W
如果我要向客户道歉，语气该怎么把握呢？
Rúguǒ wǒ yào xiàng kèhù dàoqiàn, yǔqì gāi zěnme bǎwò ne?
If I need to apologize to a customer, how should I get the tone right?
L
道歉的时候一定要诚恳，不能推卸责任，还得说明你的解决方案。
Dàoqiàn de shíhou yīdìng yào chéngkěn, bùnéng tuīxiè zérèn, hái děi shuōmíng nǐ de jiějué fāng'àn.
When apologizing, you must be sincere, can't shirk responsibility, and also need to explain your solution.
W
原来如此。那结尾一般怎么写比较好？
Yuánlái rúcǐ. Nà jiéwěi yībān zěnme xiě bǐjiào hǎo?
I see. So how is it best to write the closing?
L
结尾可以写“期待您的回复”，然后落款写上你的名字和职位。
Jiéwěi kěyǐ xiě “qīdài nín de huífù”, ránhòu luòkuǎn xiě shàng nǐ de míngzi hé zhíwèi.
For the closing you can write "Looking forward to your reply," then in the signature write your name and title.
W
那在点发送之前，我还需要检查什么吗？
Nà zài diǎn fāsòng zhīqián, wǒ hái xūyào jiǎnchá shénme ma?
Then before clicking send, is there anything else I need to check?
L
一定要检查收件人地址对不对、附件有没有漏掉，还有有没有错别字。
Yīdìng yào jiǎnchá shōujiànrén dìzhǐ duì bù duì, fùjiàn yǒu méiyǒu lòudiào, hái yǒu yǒu méiyǒu cuòbiézì.
Be sure to check whether the recipient's address is correct, whether the attachment was left out, and whether there are any typos.
W
谢谢李姐，我这就去写一封练习练习，写好了拿给您看。
Xièxie Lǐ jiě, wǒ zhè jiù qù xiě yī fēng liànxí liànxí, xiě hǎo le ná gěi nín kàn.
Thank you, Sister Li. I'll go write one right away for practice, and show it to you when it's done.