David Caruso

by Sean Cohen

The future of customer service is here. Technology has made seeking out support faster and easier than ever. But, has your digital age company sacrificed true service in the name of automation?

Today, finding customer support is as simple as writing an e-mail or picking up the phone. But, even though you’re not face-to-face with your customers, you still leave a lasting impression. Do you come across as caring and competent, or menacing and mechanical?

Offering stand-out service on the Internet isn’t as hard as it is rare. Take these simple steps towards old-style service in the digital age:

1. Give Each Customer a Personal Response

2. Be Clear, But Sincere

3. Offer Live Customer Support

4. Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All the Answers

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Give Each Customer a Personal Response

When a customer sits down to e-mail your company, it’s because he needs help. He chooses e-mail because it’s quick, but his request still warrants a satisfying and personal response!

Companies eager to save time and money often take automation too far in their customer support. Each customer has a unique question, and deserves a unique answer. Even if you save time by copying and pasting stock replies, change the opening and closing to make the message sound less robotic.

Be Clear, But Sincere

When responding to customers’ e-mail, be sincere and to the point. Before sending a message, try turning the tables. Ask yourself, “Would this answer satisfy me if I were the customer?”

Take that extra moment to give your customer the help he deserves. It might mean the difference between a satisfied customer and a credit card chargeback!

Offer Live Customer Support

E-mail has become an acceptable form of communication. But, live customer support is still necessary. The plethora of information available online can be overwhelming to customers, especially those new to the Internet!

Single your company out from the crowd by providing customers with a real person to talk to. Live phone support is an invaluable way to foster trust. When your customer has reached the end of his Internet rope, and just needs help, your toll free number is the answer he’s looking for.

Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All The Answers

The presence of phone support will do no good if your staff doesn’t know your product! Customer support reps should be warm and friendly, and willing to help with any aspect of your product.

What a good feeling it is to talk to someone who feels confident in his product. It’s even better if he’s knowledgeable enough to solve your problem without transferring you all around the company!

Provide Stand-Out Service; Gain Lifelong Customers

Too many e-businesses skimp on customer service, hiding behind web sites and message boards. Customer support is an integral part of every company, even those operating solely online. Be one of the few to offer stellar service, and gain customers for life!

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Email Marketing should be an integral part of every business owners Marketing Strategy.

When doing so – I thoroughly recommend you use a professional email marketing program.

I personally use Constant Contact. For as little as $15 per month you can professionally start
your email marketing campaigns.

You can trial Constant Contact for 60 days free – check out Constant Contact here

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I have been in business for over 17 years in a variety of industries – but the common factor for all, was, I would never let my staff mail out a letter unless it was on a company letterhead.

It didn’t matter if that letter was to a prospective customer, to pay an account, or to the Prime Minister, any correspondence leaving our premises had to be on a letterhead and neatly and professionally presented.

So the question I pose – as a business owner would you, or do you, allow your staff to send out company quotes, mail outs, or even general correspondence on a plain piece of paper – not on company letterhead?  I would think not…

In today’s fast paced world – email and computer generated correspondence are fast replacing the old, print, mail and post scenario common from yesteryear. Thus it comes to a great surprise that a number of small and medium sized businesses and their owners have not adapted their circumstances to suit the modern cyberspace world and continue to allow their staff to send out plain paper mail, in an electronic format, otherwise known as email.

Plain paper email – messages, correspondence, quotations, and letters without any company logos or references.

True Story

My wife was recently sourcing quotes for some customised shutters at home.

She had asked 2 companies to quote – and they both came in at approximately $10 000, (shutters are expensive these days).

She brought the two quotes home for us to both make the decision on which company we would choose to install them. The first quote I looked at was professionally presented on company letterhead and came with colour brochures and diagrams of the shutters.

However, the second quote (the more expensive quote) was on a plain piece of paper with no logos or company description. At the bottom it simply read – Thanks Craig.

My immediate and gut reaction was to go with the less expensive, better and professionally presented quote – as the shutters were costing a small fortune, I wanted quality work and needed to deal with a reputable company.

I was then informed that the second, more expensive quote had come via email.

That may have been the case – but how many people are judging you and your company on the initial presentation, like I did with my shutter purchasing decision?

Worse still – how many $10 000 jobs was this company losing because of the way they were presenting their quotes – via a very plain email format?

Email has come a long way since its inception as a plain text form of correspondence.

Today’s email can be a combination of visually rich images and interactive elements, clickable links and interactive forms, which engage the receiver. Even the more exotic things can now be done in an Email, such as embedding sound or video data.

Thus I pose another question? Do you or your staff currently have a signature file at the bottom of every email correspondence generated in your business? If you are asking what is a signature file? – Then I am assuming you don’t.

A signature file is the set of text that you attach to the end of all of your emails that identifies you, your company’s products and services. A signature file generally contains the name of the person who is writing the mail, the business or company name, preferred means of contacting the person or the company, and the information showing the benefits of contacting the person or the company.

Dynamic Emails however are the next generation of signature files. A dynamic email is principally a 21st century letterhead, incorporating the basics of a signature file into a fully interactive letterhead for your business.

Dynamic emails let you and your staff

• send personalised and professional emails that are company standard and consistent
• have visually appealing messages that make your company stand out from your competitors.
• incorporate interactive forms or clickable links to your website
• keep your brand, service or product top of mind with your clients (become on-sellers of your business)
• load automatically for ease of use and control of company branding
• give you an electronic letterhead for every email message you and your staff send.

Consistency and standardisation is the key when you and your staff are communicating your message to the outside world.

You could probably build a dynamic email or letterhead for yourself by putting a few logos or images on an email in html format.

Chances are though that either you will make the resulting file way too large and it will take forever to download on the other end (upsetting the end user) – or the look and design of your email will not look the same on the other end (due to different email applications).

As well there is a good chance of your email getting picked up by the SPAM filter.

There are a number of techniques a professional will use in ensuring that your company’s’ dynamic emails are consistent modern day letterheads.

Is it time you invest in some online stationary?

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In the last 3 months – I have sent approximately 27 000 marketing messages to both existing clients and potential clientele, through the use of Email Marketing.

Email Marketing -breaking it down to its most simplistic form, is just a form of Direct Mail, just on a different  and more cost effective platform!

Imagine your costs of sending 27 000 direct mail peices through the common post -

• the printing of the brochures | letters | advertising material
• the cost of staff – folding and inserting the material
• THE COST OF POSTAGE
• the cost of printing the labels and applying them to the envelope

As you can imagine – a 27 000 + direct mail campaign could cost in excess of $27 000! – and how can the average business justify and/or afford that!

Email Marketing if and when done correctly, is a more cost effective alternative to traditional direct mail.

The 27 000 + marketing messages I have sent in the last 3 months have cost me the nominal fee of US$150 – simply by using a great Email Marketing program called Constant Contact.

If you are serious about Email Marketing – you have to use a dedicated program, and I recommend Constant Contact.

Here is a bit of a blurb about Constant Contact – which I pulled directly from their website: -

Constant Contact Do-It-Yourself Email Marketing® is the leading web based email marketing service used by over 25,000 small businesses and associations.

With Constant Contact, you can easily create and send email newsletters and announcements that get immediate and measurable results.

* 90+ professional HTML email templates
* Simple wizard – no technical skill required
* Flexible HTML capability for professionals
* Real-time reporting – including who opened and clicked
* High email delivery rates
* Free phone and email support
* Starting at just $15.00 USD per month
* Email Newsletters – 60 Day Free Trial

About Constant Contact

With over 25,000 customers, and recently rated the most popular email marketing tool in a Web Marketing Today® survey, Constant Contact®, is the leading permission Do-It-Yourself Email Marketing service for small and medium businesses (SMEs) and associations.

Constant Contact is a web based email marketing solution that enables small organizations to easily create and send professional HTML email newsletters, promotions, announcements and more with no technical expertise required.

Designed and priced for SMBs (small to medium sized businesses), Constant Contact is affordable, easy-to-use and includes a 60 Day Free Trial.

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