Optimizing Your Email Responses in an Era of Interactive Customer Service

Social customer support is the new way to retain customers today. Brands are realizing that customers want a more interactive experience.

And entrepreneurs who are quick to up their game are already enjoying retention rates to the tunes of 90 percent. But some traditional tactics like emails are still invaluable tools in today’s customer service activities.

Emails are still central in Digital Customer Service 

Emails are old school, but they never fade away because of the critical role they play in the customer-retailer relationship.

Furthermore, everyone has an email address; they are not only safe but also the most common official means of long-distance communication. Email allows you to explain things in ways you can’t in other contact points.

Most customers see email as the most comfortable means of interaction when digital customer service.

But like every other strategy, emails require some level of perfection if you are going to enjoy its full benefits. You must optimize your email approach. Ensure you send only well-thought-out emails that will fix matters in the shortest time.

How to Tone Your Customer Support Emails

Are your emails making or breaking your customer service activities? Shifting to the right approach can help you create satisfying emails that will ensure you improve your support experience.

Discover some of the best ways to hone your email support so that you end up with happy customers every time they reach out through this avenue.

Personalize Your Emails 

Customer-centric support is training businesses to give a human touch to the support they offer. You must recognize your visitors and customers and give personal service.

Customers want to be recognized by their favorite brands. It is the simple things that matter; if you are going to address any of their issues, start by saluting them with their names.

Today’s technology has given merchants multiple resources and tools to depend on. You can mine as much data as possible about your customers and use it to customize emails to suit their interests.

Incorporate Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software in your customer service activities to ensure a personalized email engagement for every shopper.

Data from these tools can help you offer personalized engagement. Nothing makes a customer happier than recognition. If you can trace their last order or ticket and refer to it in the email, then customers will be assured you are on top of the matter.

Another approach proven to build brand reputation is to send emails with company logos, signatures, and the name of the service agent. Don’t forget to secure your email domain with DMARC to increase the deliverability rate and promote brand credibility.

Implement Canned Responses to address common issues

No matter how detailed your self-help base is, you’ll never stop receiving some FAQs in your inbox.

Addressing too many FAQs through email can be time-wasting. Frequently asked questions are the reasons self-service systems were built— to help customers address simple concerns without having to reach out to a support team.

But what of customers who do not know about these self-help articles and choose email as the first point of inquiry? You must respond to them as well. But writing emails one by one can eat up all your time.

Canned responses can save the day for you. Prepare answers for FAQs and review them for accuracy. Support staff can send these to customers with such requests by a few clicks.

These responses should feature clear titles to tell the customer what the email is all about at first glance.

Train your agents to send only relevant emails; canned responses can be annoying if you send the wrong message. Include links to other resources that could help the customer address their issues.

Include links to Detailed How-to Resources 

Your canned responses should not be too long or too detailed. Why? Because you already did all the hard work and included those in your knowledge base.

Create a short solution to address the customer’s issue and include links in the email to the correct article with more details.

In other words, your email should contain short instructions in point form and links to more detailed self-help content.

Emails should not include technical vocabulary. They should be simple and straightforward.

Use the simplest language 

It is common for businesses or support agents to assume that customers understand everything they say or mean.

But that is not always the case. Terms that sound common to you may not make sense to a buyer, especially if it is their first time.

Train your digital customer service agents to explain concepts in the simplest terms possible. Do the same with your canned responses; make the clear and straightforward.

Difficult terms frustrate customers; that’s why you want to remain as simple as possible in your support emails.

Double-check Your Email before You Click ‘Send’ 

Mistakes in support emails can threaten the reputation of a business. Yet agents are prone to errors; they are not always accurate all the time.

Use online grammar tools to check for spelling, tone, punctuation, and any other errors that may compromise the accuracy of your message.

Do not include fluff or unnecessary content in your email. Customers love it when you keep it nice and straightforward.

Conclusion

Emails are not only useful in offering customer service. Follow-up emails are also a great way to introduce your clients to new products.

The best approach to emails is to keep it simple and straightforward and add a personal touch to the service.

Use customer relationship management tools to gain as much data about your client as possible. Send meaningful responses that can solve issues as soon as possible and not lead to a series of to and fro messages.

Most importantly, train your crew on the best practices when handling customer requests through email. Explaining the critical role of emails in customer service is an excellent place to start.