How do most of your customers enter your business? Through
the front door? By phone? Via the web? By email?
Chances are some of your business comes to you by email.
Or If it doesn't initially, you will probably have email
contact with many of your customers during their
relationship with you.
Is your email service as good as your face-to-face or phone
service? For example, do you have some standard policies
and protocols that all employees must follow? Are you
taking the marketing opportunities provided by email
contact?
1. Make sure your email message is as good as your
face-to-face message
I recently visited a provedore store in Lyon, France where
we were met at the front door by a sales person. He asked
whether we would like to look by ourselves or could he
assist. We took his assistance and he proceeded to show
and explain some of the items we were interested in. Once
we had selected our items, he escorted us to the cash
register. As we went to exit the front door, he was there
to show us out, thank us for our business and wish us well.
Our visit lasted no more than 15 minutes. Yet it was one
of the nicest retail shopping experiences I have ever had.
Buying should be an experience, not merely a purchase.
Every email exchange with a customer should be as good as
your face to face service.
2. Make sure your email message is clear and based on
reason and logic, not emotion
Emails lack the non-verbal cues we use in our face to face
discussions. As a result, often the intended message is
miss-perceived. Emails are also like no other form of
written word. They are not books, newspapers or such where
a great deal of thought has gone into the written word (and
which is often accompanied by a picture or image). Nor are
they read that way, but keep in mind, that they can be
re-read by the receiver many times over!
To illustrate how the written word can be misinterpreted,
read the following statement:
"I did not say she stole the money"
What is the meaning of this statement? What did you
interpret from this written statement?
Did you think that:
- "I" did not say she stole the money..., or
- I did "NOT" say she stole the money ..., or
- I did not "SAY" she stole the money..., or
- I did not say that "SHE" stole the money..., or
- I did not say that she "STOLE" the money..., or
- I did not say she stole the "MONEY".
You see, whenever we put words on paper (or in this case in
emails) they can be interpreted in many different ways -
and often are! In fact the legal profession (with
apologies to anyone of a legal nature reading this) have
built an entire industry on the interpretation of the
written word. Signed any contracts lately? Notice that
they almost never have punctuations and even when they do,
they can still be interpreted by two independent people,
quite differently.
3. Use the phone and face-to-face contact to supplement
emails
Many of you can probably remember the time before emails
and it wasn't that long ago. A very far sighted colleague
could see both the advantages and potential pitfalls of
emails when they were introduced. At the time, he
instituted his own email rule which he told everyone about
- "I will only respond to your emails every Friday".
Could that rule still be valid today? Well, for him, it
is. He is an extremely popular and successful consultant,
so much so, that he has so much work he has to regularly
pass on work to colleagues. So, how do people contact him?
Guess what, they phone. And he's not overloaded with
phone calls either. You might ask, "What's happening
here?" What he's done is to train us, his colleagues,
customers and others, to really think about "Why?" we want
to contact him and "What?" our message will entail.
4. Save valuable time - have an email free day!
Now, it maybe a bit late for you and I to start a similar
rule with our key people (unless you're just starting out
in business of course). However, there is a small but
growing number of organisations around the world who have
realised the loss of productivity caused by the over
emphasis on emails. For example, to help overcome the
problem, Scott A. Dockter, CEO of PBD Worldwide Fulfilment
Services, has instituted a "No email Fridays" policy. He
is reported to have told his employees to use the phone on
Fridays for all their communication (internal and external)
and to reduce email use the rest of the time. Not only has
this reduced the reliance on emails and improved
interpersonal communication, but in less than four months
it also resulted in quicker problem solving, better
teamwork and happier customers.
If you are in a small business, then you have one great
advantage over large businesses - speed of execution.
Because you are small, you can move quicker. Why not take
advantage of this and get on the phone to some of your key
clients (and suppliers) or better still, go and see then
occasionally?
5. Use emails to support the buying decision, not to sell
We've known for a long time that people buy based on their
emotions, not logic. Once the decision to buy has been
made, logic is used to support that decision. Just think
for a moment about the last time you bought something that
you thought your partner might not fully approve of - it's
probably fair to say that you looked for some very strong
reasons to support your decision.
This is where emails shine. You can provide the reason and
logic that allow people to support their buying decision,
but it is unlikely that an email will influence them to
buy. For that you need face-to-face or at a minimum, phone
contact.
Now if your business is purely web based, that also
presents a challenge. But there is some good news. Most
often when people decide to buy via the web, they have seen
the product or spoken with friends about the service, so
they have made the emotional decision to buy - it's up to
your web design to support that decision and make sure they
buy from you and not someone else.
6. Make the most of the marketing opportunities offered by
an email
Many of us have probably used an email marketing campaign,
or been targeted by one. They are useful, but not the
subject of this point. What's important here is the
marketing content and flavour of your email. For instance,
do all your emails:
- Use the recipient's name at least once after the
introduction? People love to hear their own name - use it
as you would in a normal conversation. Oh, and whilst we
are talking about the introduction, make it suit the
recipient. For example, if you would normally say "Hello"
when meeting this person face-to-face, why start with "Dear
..."? Also keep in mind cultural norms if you are emailing
someone in another country or from a different ethnic
background.
- Make your words sound like a normal conversation, not
like a formal letter. This will encourage the recipient to
relate to what you are saying.
- Use practical examples to explain your message, for
example a short case study or the experience another
customer has had with this product, service or issue.
- Sign off personally and for this person only. Picture
the person you are emailing - how would you sign off in a
normal conversation? Please avoid the standard words such
as a printed or water-marked "With kind regards" contained
in many footers - they are very impersonal and can spoil
the good message you have strived so hard to construct and
communicate.
- Ensure you have a "hook" in the form of a link to your
website, product or service in the standard address footer.
Do you have a "click through" counter to test the
effectiveness of your various footer messages?
- Above all, ensure that the email only contains reason and
logic, not emotion. If it is an emotional message (such as
responding to a customer complaint) phone the person or go
and see them. You'll be amazed at what this point of
difference can do for your business (this also means none
of those emoticons - they really do turn a lot of people
off).
- Make sure your phone number is displayed prominently with
a message such as "Please call if you'd like to chat" - you
may be surprised how often people start ringing you if they
know how!
Used selectively and well, emails can be a fabulous support
to your other marketing initiatives. Keep in mind their
purpose is to communicate reason and logic. If you really
want to influence someone's behaviour, speak to them face
to face.
----------------------------------------------------
Bob Selden is the author of the newly published "What To Do
When You Become The Boss" - a self help book for new
managers. He also coaches at the International Institute
for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland and the
Australian Graduate School of Management, Sydney. You can
contact Bob via http://www.whenyoubecometheboss.com/
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