Crafting Effective (and Human) Customer Service Emails

Communicating via email is challenging. Unlike a phone conversation, this channel makes it more difficult to read and communicate tone. Yet, there are several benefits to email as well. You don’t experience the stress of a customer yelling at you, and you have more control in how you respond to them. In this power read, I share my tips to help you craft emails that improve your performance metrics and deliver delight to your customers.

Mindsets for success

Before we begin, here are some mindsets that will help you approach customer service emails effectively.

• Have a problem-solving approach

When a customer writes in for support, it’s because they have a problem they need your help to solve. Don’t let their frustration confuse you. Identify the problem they’re facing, and keep it at the forefront. This will help you figure out how to solve their challenges and also make them feel reassured.

• You are the subject matter expert

Be confident in your role as the subject matter expert in the interaction. Even if you don’t know how to solve their issue, there are lots of ways for you to get the resources and support to do just that.

• Put yourself in their shoes

When you’re reading a customer’s initial email, put yourself in their shoes and really listen to the emotional concern they’re expressing. This will help you respond to them with empathy, warmth, and acknowledgement of their experience. Being cold and overly professional will not help the customer feel heard – you can treat them as a friend while also getting the job done!

• It’s okay to be laid back

You don’t have to be overly professional and formal in your language. Robotic responses don’t deliver the human touch that can make an immense difference, especially on email. You can have fun and be personal when you write to customers – trust me, they appreciate it. Lots of times, customers write in to thank us for the pleasant experience of talking to a real person.

• It’s still a conversation

With email, you don’t have the luxury of having an immediate back-and-forth conversation with the customer like you would over the phone. However, you can preempt follow up questions by thinking ahead. Ask yourself, “Is there any information I can include that will help with understanding, reassurance and overall satisfaction in this initial email?”

Let’s say you have a customer who has written in to request a refund. If you respond by simply stating that you’ve refunded the order, that is helpful. But you can go over and above to deliver customer satisfaction by adding information on the amount refunded, the payment method, and even how long the processing might take. These are all elements a customer may have asked on the phone, so by thinking ahead, you help reduce their effort and demonstrate how thorough you are.

That said, although you may do your best to try to predict possible questions, you will always run into the possibility of the customer wanting to ask follow up questions. Be ready to follow up with your customer in a timely manner if this occurs.

With the right mindsets in place, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of what goes into a great customer service email. The human touch is

• Strike the right tone

Tone varies based on the industry you’re operating in. The tone for a retail customer representative can be more casual, where it would be more formal if you’re working in a financial institution. It’s important to strike a balance between treating the customer like a friend while also being professional and effective. Whether your tone is formal or casual, it’s important to address the customer by name. Customers enjoy the personal connection! It’s also important to be mindful of the words you’re using. Jargon and complex language can sometimes come off as condescending. When in doubt, keep the language simple.

That said, it’s also important to let the person you are shine through. People often tell me I have a bubbly personality, and it comes through in the emails I send as well – “Happy Wednesday!” is how I’d greet my customer, for instance. Those little phrases go a long way in showing the person I am and building a connection via email. A really formal email can feel cold and automated.

• Get to the point

Customer service emails aren’t an opportunity to flex your creative writing skills, or showcase your extensive vocabulary. Focus on delivering solutions effectively. One of my CSRs was struggling with below average customer satisfaction reviews, and she was confused because she was putting all of the information in her emails. What she didn’t understand was that attention spans are getting increasingly shorter. Customers want quick resolutions, and don’t want to sift through five paragraphs of information when one or two sentences would have sufficed.

• Strong Beginnings

Address the customer by name, and pair that with a greeting. Then, introduce yourself – let them know who you are, what department you’re in. This will reassure them that their concerns are being addressed by the relevant person.

When you read their initial email, identify their emotional concern. Let’s say a customer has written in “Hey, I’m really frustrated. This is the third time I’ve had to contact you and I’ve still not received any support.” Make sure you acknowledge and respond to that concern at the start of your email. I call this the empathy statement, and it’s a powerful way to build trust with and reassure your customer. This takes about two seconds, but makes a massive impact. A simple response like “I apologize that you’ve had to speak with numerous representatives. I understand how frustrating it is. Rest assured I’m going to make sure you’re taken care of.” can make the world of a difference.

• The Body

I recommend using templates when you’re dealing with emails – these could be blurbs or layouts – but don’t tie yourself too strongly to them. A lot of times, CSRs will copy and paste templates without personalization, which is never the right approach. Templates are helpful to make sure that you have all of the information present, but it’s important to add your personal touch to them.

In your email, include resources and self-service links that the customer may find helpful based on the challenge they’re facing. Is there a phone number you can provide in case they face additional issues? That way, you’re giving them the tools they need without them having to dig around your website.

How long should an email be? I always tell the CSRs I manage to read through the emails they’ve sent customers and honestly tell me at what point they dropped off. Most times, they’ll tell me their mind stopped at paragraph two, but their email is five paragraphs long!

Look out for repeat information in your emails. Focus on the key message you’re trying to get across to your customer that will solve their problem. Think about the shortest way to deliver this message, and you’ll see your customer satisfaction reviews immediately improve. A lot of customer reviews I see, particularly for email, highlight that they’re still confused even after hearing back from a representative. So once you’ve drafted your email, edit, edit, and edit some more.

In my experience, I see emails that are either too long or too short. Often, CSRs combine different templates based on the various challenges a customer has raised in their emails, but their emails end up being too dense, confusing, and wordy. Others are in-and-out too quickly: these emails are poorly thought out, provide insufficient information, don’t include resources, and critically, are devoid of personalization. Both of these will lead to negative customer reviews.

However, there is a happy medium. Start by including all the information your customer needs, and then edit out anything that isn’t relevant to their problem. If it’s too short, check if you’ve added an empathy statement and helpful resources. That’s when you’ll see your performance in this contact channel start to thrive. You’ll become adept at picking out the problem and speaking directly to the customer’s concerns without wasting their time.

• Wrapping up

Close the email by thanking the customer for writing in, and invite them to get in touch if they need further support. While a lot of people like to end emails with recaps, I don’t think these are necessary – as we’ve established, concise is better! Ultimately, close the email like you would to a friend. Wish them a great week or weekend. If someone wrote in about a fishing rod delivery that went missing, for instance, you could write “I hope the fishing trip still goes well.” Find a way to connect with the customer at the end of your email.

• Proofread

I once had a CSR who wanted to teach a customer how to “add to cart” but replaced the d’s with s’s by mistake! The example goes to show that proofreading is critical. Proofreading will help you sift out extra information that isn’t solving the customer’s problem. On the flip side, it will help you assess whether you’ve added all the resources, information, and personalization that the customer needs.

• Follow up diligently

If a customer writes back to you about an issue – and they likely will, as this is email and not a phone call – make sure you’re following up in a timely manner. This way, they won’t feel like they’ve been put on the back burner or forgotten.

1 Identify the Customer’s Concern

When you read the customer’s initial email, identify the problem they need solving and the emotional concern they have as a result of it. This will be the anchor for your email.

2 Craft an Empathy Statement

Based on the customer’s concern, include an empathy statement that acknowledges their experience and reassure them that you will take care of their problem.

3 Edit Your Emails

Attention spans are shorter than ever. Make sure that your email only includes information that will help the customer solve their problem. Avoid complex language and lengthy paragraphs, but be warm and personal.