Good customer service is integral for any business, and a huge part of customer service is e-mail management. Many people choose e-mail as their method of communication for its convenience, making e-mail management solutions that much more important. Managing e-mails effectively can help you identify customer concerns and give you the information you need to further improve your customer service experience. To learn more about the importance of managing e-mails for your organization and for helpful tips on customer service e-mail management, keep on reading.
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What Is Customer E-mail Management for Your Business?
Customer e-mail management for your business isn’t as simple as you might think. Reading and responding to e-mails may sound like an easy task when you’re just starting out, but you’ll quickly find out how overwhelming it can be when multiple customers e-mail you everyday, and some send you more than one message. In addition, customer e-mails are pretty easily forgettable—it’s not like there’s an irate customer on the phone that you have to deal with immediately, or face their wrath. E-mails are perceived as being a little less timely, and some think they can get away with putting it off for a day or two, but those few days can easily turn into weeks and months. As such, a customer e-mail management system should be put into place to ensure that you always respond to consumer e-mails and provide timely solutions to their issues. Business owners can take advantage of software that automatically sorts customer inquires to increase efficiency when responding to them, and will allow you to manage all e-mails and collaborate when needed. These programs are designed with companies in mind to help them manage the barrage of customer e-mails that are bound to come their way.
Importance of Customers E-mail Management for Businesses
Now that you know what customer e-mail management is, we can get into why it’s important to manage e-mail for your business. E-mail has become one of the most common methods of communication for consumers seeking customer service because of its immense convenience—customers don’t have to wait while they’re on hold or drop everything to focus on the phone call once they’re finally greeted by a customer service agent. They can simply send off an e-mail at anytime that’s convenient to them, and await a response. However, just because those who choose e-mail are willing to forego an immediate response, that doesn’t mean they don’t want a prompt reply. Delivering customer service online is just as important, if not more so, than in-person. Representatives should always reply to e-mails within a specified timeframe, and provide an appropriate response. All too often, e-mails are overlooked and forgotten about, which really takes away from the quality of your customer service.
Another reason you should be diligent with your managing e-mails for your business is to ensure the proper storage of your customers’ contact information. Communicating over e-mail is a terrific way to connect with consumers that you’d otherwise never hear from again. An efficient organizational system for your e-mails will guarantee you keep track of all their contact information including their address, phone number, and e-mail.
Depending on your geographic location, there may be laws that require you to retain certain e-mails and keep them for your record. To manage your archived e-mails and determine which should be saved, you’ll have to classify their information and digitally file them accordingly. An archiving software can help you do this without overloading your inboxes.
Tips to Provide Exceptional Customer Service Through E-mail
Customer service through e-mail can be complex, and there are a few extra guidelines you should keep in mind when using this avenue to communicate with consumers. Check out these helpful tips that’ll help you provide premium customer service through e-mail.
Let Them Know You’ve Received Their E-mail
It’s a good idea to set up an automated response telling senders that their e-mail has been received and will be responded to in X amount of days. Giving individuals a timeframe will give them peace of mind, and let them know how long they should wait before reaching out again through e-mail or via phone. This will help prevent multiple e-mails regarding the same issue—when clients know that you’ve acknowledged the receipt of their message, they’ll be more inclined to patiently await your response, even if it takes a little longer than they expected.
Be Professional, and Conversational
One’s tone can easily be construed differently over e-mail, which is why customer service representatives should strive to maintain a conversational attitude in their message. It’s important to be professional because you’re representing the entire company during your communication, but it’s also okay to be a little causal and conversational to portray a warm, friendly persona. Be sure to follow standard grammar and punctuation rules, but don’t be afraid to throw in a smiley face here and there.
Make It Brief
Try to make your message as succinct as possible. It’ll be harder for customers to understand a longer message that has information that isn’t necessarily pertinent—and those who have a hard time understanding your e-mail are more likely to become frustrated as the interaction goes on. Do your best to make your e-mail simple and easy to read.
Customer E-mail Management Service
Ensure you customers have a positive customer service experience every time, whether they e-mail or call you. From help desk services, customer retention, live chat services, e-mail management, and more, 3C Contact Services can help you manage all of your customer support services. Our trained representatives will provide a streamlined experience for your clients, to ensure they always choose your company over the competition. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help improve your customer support services, and introduce a sense of consistency.
