A good deal of business communication takes place through email, especially if you do business online. Customers and prospects will expect to be able to reach you by email and will expect a timely reply. Making the effort to deliver the business image you wish to portray will pay off in customer satisfaction.
Of course all of your email communication must comply with the law and your email service company’s terms of use, but also be aware of your customers’ perceptions of unsolicited email (spam). With so much spam already coming to our inboxes, people are intolerant of anything they define as spam, even it doesn’t meet the legal definition. Adhere to a privacy policy regarding contact information, always use permission based email marketing, and include opt out instructions in every mailing.
Written communication is more easily misinterpreted than face-to-face communication because all the non-verbal cues we use to communicate in person are missing in email. Choose your words carefully, use the appropriate tone, and use proper spelling and grammar to help make sure your meaning is clear.
One of the most common complaints about email communications is the lack of timely response. While it used to be acceptable to take up to three days to reply, now most people expect a response within a day. If you are unable to regularly respond within 24 hours, consider using an autoresponder to acknowledge receipt of email and to indicate when you expect to be able to respond. It might be wise to provide an alternate means of reaching you for more immediate response. To help reduce email inquiries provide an FAQ section on your website to answer the most commonly asked questions.
Another problem with email communication is that messages don’t always get through. Be certain that the filters you use and those used by your email service aren’t filtering out legitimate email. Additionally, avoid words and practices that trigger spam filters so that your messages aren’t blocked on the receiving end. Always ask for an alternate method of contacting customers and prospects, so if it becomes clear that your email isn’t getting through, you can still make contact.
Customers and prospects often may not even notice the extra effort taken to deliver the perfect email. But they will be quick to react negatively to errors and poorly written emails. Taking the time to carefully develop your email protocol will result in a more professional appearance, higher customer satisfaction, and better relationships with your team.
Resources:
- My favorite email spam filter is MailWasher Pro
because it works really well, gives me a great deal of control, and adds an extra layer of protection by filtering email before it’s downloaded.
- My favorite autoresponder service is AWeber
- And my favorite email client is Mozilla Thunderbird because it’s easy to use and supports multiple email addresses.
Affiliate link (Why tell?)Next in the series (in a few days):
Phone Etiquette
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