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20 Professional Ways to Say “Thank You” in English for Strong Business Relationships

Sending a thank you note to someone shows you value your business relationship with them.

But before you sit down at your computer to write an email, I have a list of 20 business English “thank you” phrases that need to learn first.

We’ll also go over how to say thank you professionally. The process is straightforward, and you can be sure that the other person will appreciate it!

Contents

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Thanking a Business Associate for Their Help or Support

We frequently rely on our business associates to help and support us in various business activities.

Thank you for your help in [business activity].

You could begin with a phrase like this to briefly include your reason for thanking them.

Thank you for your help in securing an alternative supplier when our shipping consignment was delayed recently.

We’re grateful for your support in [business activity].

We’re grateful for your support in planning the grand opening of our Manhattan store last week.

Thanking a Potential Business Associate for Their Time

After meeting with potential business associates to discuss business collaborations or partnerships, sending them a thank you note is good practice.

You’ll show that you appreciate their time and effort and leave a positive impression to strengthen your relationship with these phrases.

Thank you for meeting with us to discuss our business collaboration.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Here, “thank you in advance” is used to thank the person ahead of time when it’s clear that you’ll be dealing with them in the near future. Otherwise, you can simply leave out the words “in advance.”

This is a great phrase to end an email or phone call with.

Praising a Vendor for Their Good Service

In business, we often depend heavily on our vendors and suppliers for timely shipments, deliveries and service.

A vendor that delivers good service deserves praise and acknowledgment. So don’t forget to send them a note of thanks now and then.

Thank you for your great service over the years.

Thank you for your prompt response to our [needs / request].

Complimenting a Coworker or Business Partner for Doing a Good Job

We often work closely with others in our department and teams to achieve certain goals.

Complimenting someone for going the extra mile (an expression that means putting in exceptional time and effort) toward the team’s success can significantly boost their morale.

You could use simple phrases like:

Thank you for a job well done.

Thank you for being an invaluable part of our team.

If you aren’t sure when to give a coworker a compliment, you could look for different workplace scenarios and observe how others go about this.

For example, the FluentU program has a wide array of authentic English videos that you could use to watch how native speakers talk and compliment each other in the workplace.

You can take note of the different things they say by using the interactive subtitles available for each video, which let you click on words you don’t know to learn them.

You might even find some more thank you phrases to use in your emails and everyday workplace conversations.

Accepting an Appointment or Meeting

When a business associate accepts your invitation to meet, it’s only courteous to thank them for making the time.

Simple phrases you could use include:

Thank you for the opportunity to meet up.

Thank you for making time to see me.

Following Up on Business Networking

Sending a thank you email to someone you’ve recently met at a business networking event such as a seminar, trade show or business dinner is a great way to build a strong business relationship.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today.

Thank you for your offer to connect me with your business contacts.

Thanking a Customer or Client

We all know that our customers and clients are the most important people to our business. So make it a practice to send them an occasional thank you note to show that you appreciate them.

Thank you for choosing [your company name].

You could start with this phrase to include the name of your company.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you.

This phrase may be used at the beginning or end of an email.

Responding to Positive Feedback

It’s always wonderful to receive positive feedback from a customer or client! Be sure to write back and thank them graciously to maintain a strong relationship.

Thank you for your positive feedback.

We greatly appreciate your kind words.

Responding Positively to Negative Business Feedback

While everyone hopes for positive feedback, we should also value negative feedback to address customers’ concerns and improve our business in the long run.

Thank you for raising your concerns with us.

You could start with this phrase, followed by a brief explanation of how you plan to address the issue that’s been highlighted.

Thank you for your understanding.

This phrase is a great one for ending your message.

Thanking a Job Interviewer

If you want to stand out and leave a good impression with your prospective employer, send your interviewer a thank you email shortly afterward.

If you were interviewed by a group, the International Hellenic University suggests you send a group thank you note.

Thank you for meeting with me today.

I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you today.

You can use either phrase at either the beginning or end.

How to Write a Thank You Email in Business English

These days, thank you notes are often sent as an email. The business management expert at Ask a Manager advises sending email thank you notes instead of handwritten ones after job interviews and other business-related correspondences.

One thing to remember about thank you messages is that they don’t have to be long and complicated. Keep them short but spend some time creating a message that sounds genuine and sincere.

Plan to send your thank you email within 24 to 48 hours after a meeting or event.

Here are four simple steps to writing a “thank you” email:

  • Greeting: Start by addressing the person by name. This makes your message sound more personal and sincere.
  • Reason for thanking: State what you’re thanking this person for. It could be for their help and support, for accepting your invitation to a business event or for providing their feedback about your business. Whatever it is, keep it short and clear and express your appreciation.
  • Compliment the person or reference the future: This section of the email can be flexible. Depending on the subject of the email, you may briefly compliment the person, say something positive about the subject or even make a reference to the future such as your hopes to work with them again.
  • Closing: End with a standard sign-off such as “Thanks again” or “Best,” followed by your name on the next line.

Using the steps above, here’s an example of a thank you email to a business associate for their guidance in planning an advertising campaign:

Dear Robin,

Thank you for meeting with us yesterday. We greatly appreciate the time you took to share your experience and insights into how we should plan our upcoming advertising campaign.

Your presentation was both informative and practical, and has inspired our team to come up with some exciting ideas for the campaign ahead of our team meeting next week.

Once again, a big thank you from all of us and we look forward to having you back to review our draft.

Best,

Jamie

 

So there you have it—a list of professional phrases for expressing your gratitude to someone in business. You can’t go wrong with these phrases.

Remember, a little courtesy goes a long way in business. So be generous with your thanks, and good luck with your business English learning!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

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