Email is one of the many solutions available for customer service. It offers a convenience factor that many customers and support agents appreciate. People can reach out to a company when it makes sense for them and a representative can reply from behind the screen.
If a response may take time (i.e. a few hours or a day) you could have an automated reply go out to the customer letting them know that you’ve received the message and that someone will be reaching out to them shortly.
Once the agent does reply, it’s important to have a positive and friendly tone. The way emails are worded makes a difference, and tone can speak volumes even when written down.
An agent should start out the conversation with a greeting, introducing who they are and saying hello to the customer by name. It could be something as simple as “Hello, I’m Greta. It’s nice to meet you, Aaron. Thank you for reaching out to us…” Notice the “thank you”? This is an important thing to include in any email because it shows appreciation for the customer.
If your support staff is unable to reach a solution immediately, make sure that the customer knows you’ll be back in touch as soon as the issue is resolved. If it takes a while, make sure you’re touching base with the customer so they know you haven’t forgotten. It’s important to be as timely as possible.
Customer service agents should always make sure that they understand the issue or question at hand. An agent should ask for clarification if they’re at all unsure. It’s important that the agent clearly understand what the customer needs to best resolve the issue.
Automated or canned responses can be helpful for customer service agents as well. These responses reduce the chance of spelling or grammatical errors and make the service interaction go faster. But they should be carefully drafted so that they sound personalized.
When providing instructions or additional information to a customer, it’s essential to make sure they have a clear understanding. Important details shouldn’t be skipped and an agent shouldn’t make assumptions. Give instructions in a step-by-step format. It’s best not to make emails too lengthy, so have a section on your website with resources. That will allow you to provide URLs with the additional context if needed.
If you’re looking for experienced customer service representatives to handle your email solutions with care, please reach out to us at Zedd. It’s just one of the many services we provide businesses.