Eight Guidelines for Providing Quality Internet Responses
Communicating via e-mail is different than over the phone -- there's no tone
of voice to reveal the intent behind the words and no immediate
back-and-forth dialogue to help clear up confusion. Here are eight tips to
help you ensure your Internet responses are as effective as the ones over
the phone.
- Use the subject line to remind the customer about the theme of their
inquiry.
- Identify yourself. Let the customer know up front who is responding. If
your return address on the e-mail doesn't contain the company name, you
should include it in the first sentence of your response.
- Be clear, concise, accurate and timely. Be sure to provide a complete
response, but avoid using jargon, legalese or wordy phrases. Also, be sure
to double-check the message for spelling or grammar errors before sending
it.
- Respect your customer's right to privacy and the security of their data.
Do not ask for information such as social security numbers, credit card
numbers or other "sensitive" information.
- Remain professional at all times. Although e-mail is an informal medium,
keep in mind that you are representing your company and brand image.
- Say "thank you" only when you really mean it. The phrase is often
overused and might make customers think the company is not being completely
truthful.
- Monitor e-mail responses just as you would phone calls. Set up quality
assurance controls and review at least 50 percent of all e-mail responses
for the first six months. Also be diligent about reviewing new employees'
responses to check for accuracy.
- If you use an outside vendor to reply to your e-mail, audit them to
ensure the responses are the quality you would expect from your own
employees.
-- From Guidelines for Quality Internet Responses, by Vivian Taylor and
Marylou Ulincy
