In addition to providing top-quality products and services, many businesses also rely on customer service. Although you can ensure customer satisfaction through sales, customer service should not end there. Each of your communication channels needs to provide stellar customer service.
Although it might not seem like the most viable option, email marketing is probably the most affordable and effective customer service channel. In fact, 72 percent of adults prefer email over other forms of communication.
As such, entrepreneurs can use email to maintain personalized contact with their customers. Even so, proper use is key to getting the best out of email marketing. Here are five tips to help maximize your benefits, improve your electronic correspondence and encourage brand loyalty.
Always follow up
Though following up may seem obvious, it’s the first step to ensuring your email marketing campaigns improve customer service and brand loyalty. It’s important for your client to know that his/her complaint will be addressed because they matter. If you don’t have a solution to the queries, following up might not be a priority at the very beginning of your customer service process.
However, your clients should never have to check in to know how their problems are being resolved. Instead, you’ll want your customers to be updated on their service ticket’s status. For many clients, little or no information often leads to frustration. Start by following up as soon as your client reaches out and let them know how much time it will take to give them an update.
Respond quickly
Customer emails should never go unanswered. If need be, use an auto-response email to let your clients know you have received and will respond to their queries. While personal contact is usually preferred, this is not always possible. As such, setting up an auto-response as a backup is necessary even if your standard process involves an immediate personal answer.
Make sure your initial responses go out in less than an hour. For many consumers, waiting to find out what they need is not a preference, which means you can encourage brand loyalty by responding to their issues immediately.
Use appropriate etiquette
Aside from using professional terminology, all of your emails should utilize proper spelling and grammar. Your customer service reflects upon your business as a whole, meaning professionalism is of uttermost importance.
According to a study on email marketing, 65 percent of customers prefer casual-toned interactions, and this is probably because formal tones can sometimes come across as condescending, particularly in the form of text. Additionally, consumers prefer emails that are short and focused on the point.
If you use email templates, make sure you review the emails first to ensure each applies to the client’s situation and offers a clear answer to the question asked. Check all your procedures for clarity and competence.
Personalize
Personalization is the new golden rule of email marketing, customer service, and sales. This is because personalization shows that you are paying attention to your clients and their queries. As a result, personalization engenders brand loyalty. On the other hand, stock responses can affect your client’s trust negatively, especially if they are unrelated to the customers’ queries.
Survey
Research shows that on average, a customer’s complaint represents about 26 clients who felt the same but left instead of doing something. You can encourage brand loyalty by fixing the problems they encounter, which is where customer service emails can come in handy. You can use emails to get a feel of their temperatures and prevent the loss of those 26 customers.
