What if you could have improved customer trust and loyalty at your fingertips at all times?
Businesses frequently spend many years attempting to earn the trust and loyalty of their customers. Unfortunately, many businesses fail to recognize the most effective method of accomplishing this goal: crafting a prompt response to each and every customer e-mail.
Quickness in responding to emails can save the day and help to put your company (especially a local business) on the map. Continue to be unconvinced? Continue reading to learn more about why a prompt e-mail response is so important in today’s business world.
Simple courtesy goes a long way
Sometimes the most compelling reason to do something is also the most straightforward. And when it comes to the reasons why each customer e-mail requires a prompt response, a lot of it boils down to simple courtesy on our part.
It is common knowledge that when someone does not respond to an email, it can be extremely frustrating. And pretty soon, you’ll be inferring a great deal of meaning from the lack of response you received. You may believe that the other party is being rude, disrespectful, and dismissive of your ideas and opinions.
If we’re talking about personal e-mails or intracompany e-mails, this is a major problem. However, when it comes to customers, they are unlikely to be patient for an extended period of time. The likelihood is that they will instead choose your competitor for their business.
Even if your e-mail is brief and to the point (more on this later), acknowledging customers as soon as possible is a nice way to show them that you appreciate their business.
Clean Inbox
Let’s face it: there’s nothing more stressful than discovering how many unread e-mails you have in your inbox at any given time of day.
If you don’t pay attention, these e-mails will just keep piling up on you. Not only will this hinder your productivity, but the mere sight of your inbox numbers increasing will only serve to increase your level of stress day after day.
What’s the short version of a long story? It’s important to get into the habit of responding to e-mails (especially those from customers) as soon as they arrive. Customers are accustomed to receiving shorter responses, so writing an instant response will not take much time. In addition, you’ll keep your customers happy while achieving every employee’s dream: an inbox that contains no new messages!
Appearance of Reliability is important
The fact that your reputation is everything when it comes to your business and your brand is not an exaggeration. In order to build their brand and improve their reputation, businesses invest millions of dollars in elaborate marketing campaigns. A quick response to every customer email, on the other hand, is one of the most cost-effective ways to build your reputation, and it is completely free.
Anyhow you respond and how much (or how little) you write, a prompt response tells customers much about you and your company…. It demonstrates to others that you are both punctual and dependable. Customers who notice your prompt customer service will eventually come to regard your company as extremely dependable and trustworthy.
And it wasn’t a costly marketing campaign that earned the trust of the public. The key is to hit the “send” button as soon as possible instead of delaying the process.
Increased Accountability
Much of our discussion has centered on the benefits that a quick email response can provide to your customers. However, it is also advantageous to you because it assists you in accomplishing something you may have previously considered impossible: it eliminates procrastination.
“I’ll do it later,” is the essence of procrastination, and it boils down to four simple words: “I’ll do it later.” However, when it comes to customer e-mails, saying “later” is extremely dangerous. By that point, your reputation has already been tarnished, and the customer may have decided to go with another vendor rather than you.
If you send a quick response such as, “Thank you for taking the time to write to us,” what happens next is anyone’s guess. I’m going to look into your question and get back to you as soon as I possibly can.”
Your customer will be grateful that you responded so quickly to his or her inquiry. But, perhaps more importantly, you have now committed to looking into their situation further. Instead of dismissing the e-mail or disregarding their concern, you have made it a point to make resolving their issue one of your top priorities for the day.
Simply put, you have defeated the enemy of your time: procrastination. A prompt response can help you increase your accountability while also re-focusing your priorities on improving customer service and satisfaction.
Buy Yourself Some Time
What is the most significant impediment to writing a quick response to each and every customer? When dealing with customers who have complex questions or serious issues, it’s natural to be concerned about how you’ll handle the situation. Because it will take some time to craft the response that they deserve, I’m asking for your patience now.
However, as previously stated, one of the most advantageous aspects of providing an instant response to consumer e-mails is that it can be brief. Remember that being brief does not imply being indecisive. As our example above demonstrated, you can simply thank the customer for writing and promise to respond as soon as possible.
These types of brief acknowledgement e-mails assist the customer in feeling seen and understood. The quick response also effectively buys you some time to look into more comprehensive responses to any customer questions or concerns, which you can then implement.
Defusing Volatile Situations
Whenever you’re dealing with customer questions or concerns, here’s a simple truth: your happiest and most satisfied customers are the ones who will send you the least amount of email. More often than not, you will hear from customers who have had a bad experience.
As a result, one of the most important reasons to respond to customers as quickly as possible is to assist in defusing a potentially volatile situation. At its most basic level, this strategy works because, when a customer is already agitated, making them wait an excessive amount of time for a response will only make them even more agitated and frustrated.
To ensure that your initial response is appropriately neutral and respectful, you may want to create an email template and then modify it as necessary to fit your needs. And whether you use a template or not, your e-mail should demonstrate your appreciation for the customer and your desire to resolve their issue with them.
Ultimately, you may not be able to satisfy everyone’s needs and desires. However, responding to customer concerns as quickly as possible and with courtesy and respect is the cornerstone of providing high-quality customer service.