In this article, learn about:
How focusing on your email composition skills can help your business
How to write a successful, results-driven email
Examples of both good and bad professional emails
The relationship between suppliers and merchants is frequently fast-moving. Between seasonal shifts in product demand, changing lead times, supply chain disruptions, and promotional campaigns, things can change incredibly quickly—and as a result, effective communication is crucial.
So how can both suppliers and vendors ensure that they’re emailing with maximum clarity and with minimum miscommunications?
How Can Writing Better Emails Help My Business?
Written communication is often an important first impression, and a main driver of decision-making. In the course of a relationship with your suppliers and/or your retailers, you might exchange dozens, if not hundreds, of emails. Each of those emails contains within it a potential business cost—or a potential opportunity.
The clarity and the brevity of your emails have a direct impact on your ability to turn routine communication into an opening for furthering your business relationship. On the flipside, if you don’t pay attention to how you’re communicating, you might unintentionally sabotage relationships that otherwise would have been beneficial.
Remember: Your communication style is going to be the first, and possibly most impactful, impression you’ll make on potential business partners.
Consider Your Audience
No matter whether you’re a vendor or a retailer, an essential step to composing a clear and understandable email is to consider your audience. Different audiences can interpret the same email in different ways, depending on their role and the context. An email that’d be appropriate for senior leadership might, for instance, come across as overly solicitous and formal if sent to someone lower in a company’s hierarchy.
Think about it this way: With a long-term client you've worked with for years, you might simply say: "We're running about a week behind due to some supply chain hiccups. New delivery date is March 15th." But with a brand-new client you're still building trust with, the same delay requires much more comprehensive communication: "I wanted to reach out immediately regarding the project timeline. Due to unexpected delays with our primary supplier (steel components are backordered industry-wide), we're looking at a revised completion date of March 15th instead of March 8th."
This is just a small example of the unconscious ways in which we consider our audience every time we communicate. By explicitly tailoring your communication to the specific, intended audience, your emails will feel more comprehensive and personal.
When considering the audience, ask yourself:
Is this email internal (sent to recipients within your organization) or external (meant to be seen by partners, customers, or buyers)?
Which recipients are copied (i.e. cc’d) on the email? Why these specific people?
What’s the most effective tone, level of detail, and approach for the relevant stakeholders? This might include peers, cross-functional teams, leadership, or other organizational roles.
What is the current state of the business relationship between me and the intended recipient? Is this email intended to address a specific issue?
What outcome am I attempting to achieve with each specific recipient?
Additionally, retailers might want to:
Consider that suppliers might lack the internal context for your communication. Make sure that the context is explicit, and that you spell out all quantifiable expectations and timelines.
Avoid internal jargon or acronyms that your suppliers might not be familiar with. If such terminology is necessary, consider providing your supplier an acronym cheat sheet for easy reference.
Frontload important logistical information, such as order quantities, delivery windows, or quality specifications. This will help ensure that the supplier sees all relevant information, helping to avoid costly shipping delays or unsaleable products.
On the other hand, suppliers should:
Be clear about how your proposed changes could impact the buyer’s operations, timelines, or revenue. If a buyer and/or retailer feels as if they can't anticipate the consequences of proposed changes, you could be hit with costly deductions or post audits, which require, at a minimum, an investment of time and energy to dispute successfully.
Provide your recipients with concise and relevant data points to aid quick decision-making. For most types of selling, numbers and hard facts are more convincing than a well-structured argument that lacks evidence. The more concrete facts and evidence you can bring to the table, the more compelling your communication will be.
Proactively communicate potential delays, quality issues, or capacity constraints before they become critical problems. This will help to keep the buyer on your side and avoid potential deductions.
Related Reading: What Is Supply Chain Resilience?
Best Practices for Results-Driven Emails
No matter if you’re a supplier, retailer, or buyer, there are some best practices to follow that’ll immediately improve your email communication skills.
What to Do:
Lead with clear value propositions
Start your emails with the benefits to the recipient. Immediately articulate the business benefit of your communication—be it increased margins, faster turnover, or operational efficiency.
Use specific data and metrics
Replace vague claims with concrete numbers. For example, instead of "great sales potential," say "similar products show 23% higher margin than category average" or "trending 40% above last year in comparable markets."
Structure your emails for scannability
Busy retail buyers and suppliers will often scan an email quickly, trying to absorb the important information without reading the details of every sentence. Use bullet points, short paragraphs, and headers. Additionally, you can highlight or bold key information. The most important details of the email should be contained in the first two sentences.
Include clear next steps
End every email with a specific, actionable request. "Can we schedule 15 minutes next Tuesday to discuss shelf placement?" is better than "Let me know your thoughts."
Personalize beyond names
Reference details such as specific market challenges, recent company news, seasonal trends, or past successful collaborations. This can help to show that you understand the recipients’ business context, and that you aren’t sending out multiple copies of an identical email to many recipients.
Frontload the most critical information
Since some recipients will be scanning the email instead of reading it in depth, it’s often best to put critical information such as delivery dates, pricing tiers, minimum orders, and deadlines early in the email. Don’t bury operational details that could affect the recipient’s decision-making process.
What Not to Do:
Don’t lead with the company story
Avoid starting your emails with lengthy company backgrounds or mission statements. Your recipients care about solving their problems, not the corporate journey of your organization.
Avoid industry jargon without context
Terms such as “velocity,” “EBITDA,” “SKU,” or hundreds of other similar words might confuse newer team members and result in miscommunications. If you need to reference these concepts, try to either briefly explain your jargon or rewrite with a more general vocabulary.
Don’t send generic mass emails
Both suppliers and retailers can spot form letters from a mile away. Even a small personalization, like referencing your recipients’ recent business successes, can significantly improve response rates and engagement.
Don’t overwhelm with attachments
Multiple large files can be difficult to parse for busy professionals. Instead, it’s often better to provide a brief overview of the necessary information in the body of the email, followed by an offer to send detailed materials upon request.
Don’t ignore mobile formatting
Remember, it’s likely that some of your recipients will be checking their emails on their phone in between meetings or during their commutes. Keep your subject lines short—ideally under 50 characters—and check to make sure that your message reads well on smaller screens.
Don’t be too aggressive with your follow-ups
It’s important to make sure that you’re receiving a timely response from your recipients. However, an overly aggressive follow-up can make the recipient uncomfortable and actually work against its intended purpose. Make sure that you’re considering your recipients’ decision-making timelines. One follow-up email after a week could be appropriate; daily emails could appear desperate and damage professional relationships.
Example: A well-crafted, results-driven email
From: Sarah RealPerson, Category Manager – Lost Peak Beverage Co.
To: Mike ActualHuman, Beverage Buyer - Southwest Regional Markets
Subject: Q1 Energy Drink Expansion: 42% Margin + $180K Revenue Opportunity - Peak Beverage Co.
Hi Mike,
Your Q4 energy drink sales jumped 28% across Southwest stores—congratulations on that performance. I have a proposal that could help you capitalize on this momentum in Q1.
The Opportunity
Our new Peak Focus line is outperforming category averages by 42% in test markets similar to your demographics. Here's what this means for Southwest Regional:
Financial Impact:
42% higher margin vs. current energy drink average ($2.40 vs. $1.69 per unit)
Projected Q1 revenue: $180K across your 23 locations
ROI timeline: Break-even within 6 weeks based on comparable market data
Consumer Demand:
73% purchase intent in focus groups (vs. 51% category average)
Zero sugar + natural caffeine aligns with your wellness trend initiatives
Millennial target: 67% of your energy drink buyers based on your loyalty data
What We're Offering Southwest Regional
Exclusive 90-day launch window in your territory
Free promotional displays for all 23 stores (valued at $840 each)
Staff training program to maximize sales conversion
Performance guarantee: If velocity doesn't meet projections by week 8, we'll buy back 50% of unsold inventory
Next Steps
The category review window closes January 15th, and production slots are filling quickly.
Can we schedule 20 minutes this Thursday or Friday to walk through the full marketing support package and discuss shelf placement? I'm also happy to arrange a store visit to show you the display setup.
I'll call your office Wednesday morning to confirm your availability.
Best regards,
Sarah RealPerson
Category Manager, Lost Peak Beverage Co.
Direct: (555) 123-5678
sarah.realperson@lostpeakbeverage.com
P.S. I've attached a one-page profit calculator showing potential returns for your specific store mix. Happy to send the full market research deck once we connect.
What Works About This Email:
Value proposition up front: Immediately states the financial benefit and connects to recent successes.
Specific data: Uses concrete percentages, dollar amounts, and timelines instead of vague promises.
Scannable structure: Bullet points, clear headers, and short paragraphs make it easy to digest quickly.
Personalized: References specific Q4 performance, store count, and customer demographics.
Clear next steps: Specific meeting request with a timeframe and follow-up commitment.
Mobile-friendly: Short subject line and concise formatting that works on any device.
- Professional urgency: Creates appropriate urgency with the category review deadline without being pushy.
Example: A Bad Email (What Not to Do)
From: Bob GenuineGuy, Sales Rep - MegaCorp Industries Inc.
To: Multiple Recipients (BCC)
Subject: New Products Available!!!
Dear Valued Customer,
Greetings! I hope this email finds you well and that you're having a fantastic day!
Let me start by telling you about our amazing company, MegaCorp Industries Inc. We were founded in 1987 by visionary entrepreneur Harold Megacorp with a simple dream: to revolutionize the beverage industry through innovative solutions and unparalleled customer service. Over the past 36 years, we've grown from a small family business in Ohio to a multi-million dollar corporation with facilities across the Midwest. Our mission is "Empowering Tomorrow's Beverages Today" and our core values include integrity, innovation, excellence, synergy, and customer-centricity. We believe in creating win-win partnerships that drive mutual success through best-in-class solutions.
Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility utilizes cutting-edge technology and follows strict quality assurance protocols. We're ISO certified and have received numerous industry accolades including the 2019 Beverage Excellence Award and recognition as "Supplier of the Year" by Regional Grocery Monthly magazine.
I'm reaching out because we have some exciting new products that I think might be interesting for your stores. Our new energy drink line has some great features and I think your customers would love them. They taste good and are priced competitively. The products are selling well in other markets and getting positive feedback.
Our innovative solutions leverage best-in-class formulations to optimize category performance through strategic assortment planning and planogram optimization. We utilize advanced analytics to drive velocity and maximize GMROI while enhancing the overall customer experience through value-added propositions.
I know you're probably busy but I wanted to touch base and see if you might be interested in learning more about these products. We have a lot of different SKUs and variations available. I've attached our complete product catalog (47 pages), price sheets for all regions, nutritional information, marketing materials, case studies from other retailers, our company brochure, and some photos of the products.
Please let me know your thoughts when you get a chance. I'll follow up again soon to see if you had any questions. Actually, I'll probably call tomorrow morning, and then maybe send another email later this week, and I might stop by your office next week if that works. I'm really excited to work with you and I think this could be a great opportunity for both of us.
Thanks and have a great day!
Best regards,
Bob GenuineGuy
Senior Sales Representative
MegaCorp Industries Inc.
Phone: (555) 123-4567
Email: bob.genuineguy@megacorp.com
"Empowering Tomorrow's Beverages Today!"
This email was sent to 847 recipients
What Doesn’t Work About This Email:
Generic subject line: Vague and unprofessional with excessive exclamation marks.
Company-focused opening: Entire paragraphs about company history instead of actionable statements or requests.
No personalization: Obviously a mass email (visible BCC count) with "Dear Valued Customer" as an opener.
Jargon overload: Buzzwords like "GMROI," "planogram optimization," and "value-added propositions" are included without explanation.
Vague claims: Using phrases such as "selling well" and "positive feedback,” with no specific data or metrics.
Attachment bombing: Multiple different attachments including a 47-page catalog.
Poor mobile formatting: Massive walls of text that would be unreadable on a phone.
No clear value proposition: Never explains the benefits for the buyer or their customers.
Weak call-to-action: "Let me know your thoughts when you get a chance" instead of specific next steps.
Aggressive follow-up warning: Threatens multiple touchpoints including an unscheduled office visit.
Information overload: Way too much irrelevant information about certifications, awards, and social media.
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