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Tips For Effective Customer Service Via Email

By: Art Gib

Keeping customers happy is a tricky business! One of the ways to guarantee a grumpy client is to let any kind of communication with your company become difficult or unpleasant. Customer service employees who work in contact centers may need to brush up on their written communication skills in order to keep things positive and productive. Here are some tips to help keep your business in good standing with your customer base.

-- When replying to emails, always say hello and use your client's name. Anything else will appear impersonal and a little bit cool. Customers who take the time to email a question or comment take a degree of risk: they don't know if anyone will read what they've written, let alone respond.

Imagine how glad they will be to not only receive a message back, but to get a personal greeting to boot. Personalization of service makes clients feel like one of the family and that what they have to say is important to your business.

-- Be the last person to send an email. When you acknowledge a customer's thanks for fixing a problem or answering a question, they are reassured that their issue has been taken care of. It's just another way to reinforce that the company you represent has their best interests at heart, and it leaves them with a very positive impression.

-- Don't let emails pile up and keep customers waiting. To them, theirs is the only problem in the world which matters! Your being busy or having 100 written responses to write is not their concern. All your clientele knows is that their needs are not being met in a timely manner. It reflects poorly on your business, and they will be likely to go elsewhere next time. Nothing, nothing, nothing, is more important than a customer's happiness.

-- You gotta be nice. No matter what. No matter when. No matter who. This can be extremely difficult when dealing with a surly customer, but it's vitally important to keep your cool and treat everyone with kindness. The written word is very powerful, and the choice of words you use can carry a negative tone if you are not careful. No business can afford to have surly customer service reps that treat clients with disdain and impatience. Take a few deep breaths, then respond to an angry customer with sunshine.

-- Sometimes a phone call works better. Back and forth emailing can become unproductive after awhile, especially if there are questions on both sides. It's perfectly OK to kindly ask someone with whom you've been working if there would be a good time to call and take care of business that way. In fact, customers will be impressed that you care so much about their issue that you suggested an alternate way to resolve it faster.

Great communications skills are essential to providing the best in customer service. Take the time to treat your business's client base with the respect and promptness it deserves.

Article Source: http://blogticles.com

Information about the Author: For greater efficiency in providing excellent customer service, find out about the latest in contact center software at Syntellect (syntellect.com). Art Gib is a freelance writer.

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