| In this digital day and age, communicating through | | | | confirmation immediately. |
| email is getting more and more important. This is | | | | 5. Choose your subject wisely: |
| of course also true for customer service and help | | | | Customers are getting lots of email every day. |
| desks. | | | | They scan the subject field and from field to see |
| Looking at the incoming stream of calls I see a | | | | what's of interest. So make sure your subject line |
| growing trend of email communication. | | | | attracts the customer, and doesn't look like a load |
| Most companies have a protocol for handling | | | | of SPAM. So, do not use ALL CAPS or overuse |
| telephone calls, but taking care of business email is | | | | exclamation points!!!! |
| clearly underestimated. I have assembled 12 | | | | 6. Proper salutation: |
| valuable tips you can use directly to improve how | | | | Think of your customer: would he rather be |
| you or your company is handling email. | | | | greeted with "Hi Erwin!" or "Dear Mr. Steneker"? |
| 1. Keep your customer in mind: | | | | Don't fall in the trap of the fact that email feels |
| As with everything you do, keep your customer | | | | informal. Choose a salutation that fits your |
| firmly in mind: Is this info appreciated? Is the tone | | | | customer. |
| of voice appropriate for this customer? Could the | | | | 7. Spell the customer's name correctly: |
| customer be offended? It is best to place | | | | OK, I know this is an open door, but so many |
| yourself in front of the customer, as if you are | | | | folks don't take the time and effort to properly |
| face-to-face, talking to each other. Choose your | | | | spell the name of the customer. And a misspelling |
| words wisely. Format your email professionally. | | | | puts down customers FAST. Think how you feel |
| 2. Canalize your business email streams: | | | | when your name is spelled incorrectly. |
| Customers are emailing you for many different | | | | 8. Introduce yourself: |
| reasons; they may have a sales question, or just | | | | Remember tip #1? You have to put yourself in |
| wants some info, or have a complaint. By creating | | | | front of the customer. So what is the first thing |
| different mailboxes for the different streams | | | | you do when you meet a customer? You |
| customers can help you by selecting the most | | | | introduce yourself! Don't let your customer guess |
| appropriate mailbox for their request. And they | | | | who he is "talking" to. |
| will do it, if you tell them that it will speed up the | | | | 9. Format your email: |
| process (for them). | | | | Email is mostly read on screen, so format your |
| 3. React quickly (within 8 hours): | | | | email accordingly. Use short sentences and plenty |
| Email is a fast medium. Customers expect a quick | | | | of white space. Also make sure that your text |
| reaction when they use email. Same day | | | | lines are a maximum of 60 characters wide, |
| response is the ABSOLUTE minimum, but to | | | | otherwise they may strangely be truncated, with |
| make a good impression you should make every | | | | one or two words flowing over to the next line. |
| effort to react within 8 hours. All the time. No | | | | 10. Emails and Emotions: |
| exceptions. | | | | Emails are notoriously bad for conveying emotions. |
| 4. Use auto responders: | | | | If you feel it is appropriate for your customer, |
| Don't make customers guess whether the email | | | | you can make use of so-called emoticons. |
| they sent has arrived at your company. Make use | | | | Emoticons are combinations of letters and |
| of auto responder technology to send a | | | | punctuations that are designed to show emotions. |