Countless marketing articles have been published offering advice on how to drive qualified traffic to Web sites. Luring visitors is vital, but how do you encourage prospects and customers to keep coming back?
Do you effectively service visitors and customers by answering their e-mails in a timely manner? This is critical.
The Customer Respect Group, Inc., reported recently that most companies still have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to responding to e-mail inquiries and treating their online customers with respect.
The following are some of their research highlights: 31% of all companies do not respond to online inquiries; 84% respond to e-mails within 48 hours; 25% use autoresponse technology.
A separate study by Purdue University’s Customer Service Benchmarking Center for Customer-Driven Quality said that 25 percent of all contact between a typical company and its customers is conducted via e-mail. The study found that e-mails make a big difference to a company’s bottom line. A bigger difference than any marketing, advertising or public relations campaign conducted by a business.
The study identified the biggest e-mail problems and why they occur. Current outbound customer service e-mail is being poorly written, causing lost sales. Most often, employees do not come to the job with strong writing skills. Businesses put the burden on the shoulders of some of the least capable writers in the organization.
For example, I recently received the following response from a leading online retailer after e-mailing them about a certain product: “Please call or look at our website if you need more information. You can send a money order to [company address]. After we receive the money order, then we can send you the machine.”
Some companies also expect their service reps to keep up with a constant onslaught of customer issues and have vast product knowledge, all for a modest hourly wage. Customers often write disjointed e-mails and expect brilliant answers in return. Imperfect questions often equal imperfect answers.
How To Write Professional E-mail Copy
Successful service reps are not always great at e-mail correspondence, according to Adam Press, President and CEO St John Companies. They must, however, avoid sloppy writing (poor grammar, spelling errors, uneven capitalization, and punctuation). Representatives should qualify all e-mail inquiries before responding and determine inquiries that do and do not deserve attention.
Suggested E-mail Correspondence Format
* Thank the customer for writing (greet them by their name if possible).
* Introduce yourself (identify your department).
* Offer your assistance.
* Ask questions about anything that is not clear to you.
* If additional information is needed, ask for it and explain why it is needed.
* Give answers and assistance in a timely manner.
* Answers that merely say, “Visit our Web site” with a link to your home page are frustrating to customers. Give a deep link that goes directly to the answer to the question the customer was looking for.
* If you can’t solve the problem or answer the question, let the customer know what will happen next.
* Conclude the message in a positive manner. Think of every inquiry as the beginning of a new client-business relationship.
* Follow up on the message. Make sure that the prospect is pleased with the result and to make sure that everything you promised was delivered.
Developing excellent e-mail communication skills will give employees the best opportunity to communicate with customers in a manner that encourages better understanding, trust, increased sales, and customer retention.
Customers will perceive your business as a professional, competent organization. The incorporation of effective e-mail communication will provide you with one of the best means of communicating positively with customers and encouraging frequent visits to your Web site.
Morgan Cloward has over 15 years experience in corporate marketing and is
Director of Sales & Marketing at ABC Office (www.abcoffice.com). Cloward has
been involved with Web marketing since 1994. ABC Office is a leading online
retailer of office automation equipment and supplies.
