Break those bad e-mail habits
Recent years have seen explosive growth in the number of customers gaining access to the Internet and using it to conduct business. We all know that. But did you know that the quality of service provided to these customers via email has declined over the past few years?
Many companies underestimate the value of this communication channel, because there is little direct human interaction. Moreover, the volume of incoming emails frequently overwhelms under-prepared businesses.
Customer relationships can suffer heavily
Imagine going to a store to request advice before making a purchase, but when you ask your question, the person behind the counter does not respond. This type of communication breakdown occurs frequently in the world of email inquiries.
Research performed by Transversal, a knowledge management company, indicates that nearly half the organizations surveyed (44 percent) failed to respond to customer questions escalated by email. Furthermore, an astonishing 60 percent of travel companies did not respond to email at all.
That can have its price. Research conducted by the Customer Respect Group suggests that 70 percent of prospective customers will go to a competitor’s site if they do not receive a timely response to an online enquiry.
How well do you treat customers who approach you by email? Do those who contact you through this channel receive the same level of service as those who call on the telephone or visit in person?
Improving responsiveness
Of course, one of the main benefits of email is that both sender and receiver can manage the task at their convenience. Unlike a phone call or a visit, an email can often wait. But how long can it really wait?
Expectations vary, as do the capabilities for responding. Some people spend all day at their computer and respond to emails immediately. Others, especially those who travel regularly or spend much time in meetings, could not possibly do that.
Your standards here will depend heavily on your customers’ expectations and on the type of business you do. A customer service representative for a company that receives orders online should seek to respond within minutes, rather than hours, whereas a sales representative who spends most of the day visiting customers will likely need more time to respond.
In both cases, however, companies can build long-term customer relationships by proving that they take customer communication seriously. Establishing appropriate policies and the corresponding technical infrastructure can help prevent customer turnover and improve your image as a business that your customers can rely on.
Establish best practices
While there is nothing wrong with good intentions, they won’t be enough to overcome the many barriers to successful online interaction. To be a leader in customer response time, your company needs to regularly evaluate and improve processes.
Here are a few guiding principles to follow:
- Acknowledge receipt of emails immediately. This can be done automatically with a standard response. HP and its partners can help you handle this challenge (and other Customer Relationship Management tasks) properly.
- Always respond to the content of the email within 24 hours. Most customers expect a response within this time.
- Set response targets and regularly measure your actual response times against these goals.
- Maintain an up-to-date Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on your website to reduce the number of enquires.
- Empower your sales force to respond to customer emails from anywhere by giving them wireless access to email services.
With some strategic planning and daily discipline, email inquiries can be an excellent platform to either build customer relationships or ruin them. It’s up to you.
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