Customer Service E-Mail in a "Do Not Call" World
By Marilynne Rudick and Leslie O'Flahavan, E-WRITE

The national "Do Not Call" list and likely anti-spam legislation are changing the e-mail marketing climate.   If prospective customers are saying loud and clear that they don’t want you to call and don’t want you to send them e-mail, how can you market your products and services? What's left?  Customer service e-mail. 

Now's a good time to take a second look at customer service e-mail, to recognize that it offers many marketing opportunities.  Yes, millions of people have cut off marketers’ access by saying, "Don't call me." But at the same time, a growing number of customers are e-mailing companies for support, help, or information.  In doing so, these customers are giving permission— sometimes begging companies— to contact them. When a customer e-mails you, he's initiated a dialogue. Okay, maybe he's e-mailed you to complain. But any communication from a customer gives you an opportunity to strengthen your business relationship.  Too many companies still act as if answering e-mail from customers is a nuisance rather than a marketing opportunity. But customer service e-mail may be the last wide-open channel companies have for communicating with customers. 

How is responding to customer service e-mail a marketing opportunity? 
We are not suggesting that you respond to your customer's e-mail complaint about poor dial-up service by upselling your new DSL option. The last thing an unhappy customer wants is a pitch for another product. But an e-mail from a customer, even a complaint, represents a golden opportunity to create a customer for life.  So, instead of calling and e-mailing people who don't want to hear from you, spend your resources satisfying and nurturing your relationship with customers who, by sending you e-mail, are saying, "Please e-mail me."

Here are five tips for transforming routine customer service e-mail into e-mail that markets a relationship … with you.

1.    Solve customers' problems quickly and completely. They'll be grateful! And grateful customers will tell their friends about your company’s great products and services. "Do you believe it? They sent me the part I needed for my laptop by 10 a.m. the next day!"  Great customer service e-mail can be the foundation for the best kind of viral marketing.                                                                          

2.   Strengthen your relationship with your customer.  After delivering service by e-mail, send  a follow-up message to see if the customer is satisfied with the service he received, or the product or information he asked for.  Ask “Was your problem satisfactorily resolved?”  or “Did you get the information you requested?”                                                                                    

3.   Offer relevant information. You could close your e-mail with something like this:  "We’re glad to have solved the problem with your laptop battery.  And we thought you’d like to know that we have a way to protect you from unanticipated and expensive repairs.  Check out our service agreement..."           

4.   Ask permission to contact the customer again. Customer service e-mail gives you the opportunity to ask customers to opt in to other kinds of e-mail communication.  For example, ask “Would you like to subscribe to our free newsletter for laptop owners?  It  features trouble-shooting tips you can use right away.”                                                        

5.   Add offers to customer service e-mail. Reward customers who have communicated with you by e-mail.  Include relevant special offers in your customer service e-mail response:  a discount on the next purchase, a two-month product trial, a valuable research report for free.  Be sure your offers are targeted to what you know about your customer’s buying history and interests.  Your customer will keep reading—and buying—when your customer service messages contain valuable offers.

A Customer Service E-Mail That Goes The Extra Mile
Here's an example of a customer service e-mail response that goes beyond the traditional and works hard to build a relationship with a potential customer.

To: Linda@webfriend.com
From: CustomerService@wildduckinn.com
Subject: Re: Request for two rooms on Dec. 27-28

Dear Linda,

Thanks for your e-mail asking us whether you could book two rooms on December 27 and 28 for our New Year's Champagne Weekend.  We're sorry to tell you that we are fully booked for that weekend.

However, our affiliate property, Highland Inn, has a similar New Year's Champagne Weekend, and they are still taking reservations for that package. Many of our guests have also stayed at Highland Inn and have been very happy there.  If you'd like to make a reservation at Highland Inn, please call them at 1-800-629-3042. 

We have special events and packages all year. Our quarterly newsletter gives advance notice of these events. That way, you can make reservations early, so we won't have to disappoint you again. May I sign you up for this newsletter?

We hope you'll be celebrating the New Year at Highland Inn and that you will join us for Valentine's Day—or one of our other special weekends.

Sincerely,

Jim McKee
Wild Duck Inn 

So, we’ll wrap up this article with a bit of advice from an October 2003 Quiris report: How Email Practices Can Win or Lose Long-Term Business: A View from the Inbox. The report says, “Focus on long-term.  The real winners with email will be those who view it not as a direct   marketing channel, the mandate of which is often to drive the highest possible click-throughs each campaign, but those who view email as a customer retention vehicle, the objective of which is to keep customers engaged and loyal over time.”

E-WRITE teaches people the new rules for writing quickly and well in the electronic age.  We develop and teach writing courses, write the content for web sites, and translate print to online writing. 

Leslie O'Flahavan and Marilynne Rudick
E-WRITE
leslie@ewriteonline.com 
http://www.ewriteonline.com
Tel. 301.989.4655
Fax. 301.989.9583