Main Index Page
 
 

How to Deal with
Customers via Email
 
Main Index Page
Incorporate Online
Register Domain Name
Get Your Online Store
Get a Merchant Account
I-Business Resources
 
 
Main Index Page
How it Works
Start Your Business
Best Selling Products Intro
Best Selling Products Section
DropShip Distributors
Open Your Online Store
Marketing Your Online Store
Running Your Online Store
Frequently Asked Questions
Incorporate Online
Register Domain Name
Get Your Online Store
Get Your Merchant Account
Internet Business Resources
    
    
 
      
 
 
 
Electronic mail, also known as email has become an effective and resourceful tool for communication and exchanging messages over the internet. And email can become a great marketing tool for presales and after sales support as well.

Many customers and potential customers alike would much rather send you an email than to take the time to call you and talk on the phone. In an email, the customer can ask their questions in a direct manner and you can respond to their questions in a detailed and more direct manner as well. Furthermore, it’s important to respond to any and all emails as quickly and as thoroughly as possible in order to solve and settle any issues or close a sale as well.
   
There may be times when a customer will ask questions before placing their order online. And business customers will also ask questions or seek price quotes before placing large or multiple product orders.

Yet it’s also important to remember that those same customers could’ve sent those same email messages to your competitors as well. And the first seller who reply’s to their email with a thorough and satisfactory response will most likely earn their business. And this is just one of the reasons why it’s important to respond to any such emails as quickly and as thoroughly as possible in order to help close the sale and gain a new customer as well.

Yet you’ll find that many major, online retailers can take quite some time to respond to potential customer emails. In fact, many online retail operations can take up to 24 hours or more just to respond to email enquiries. Furthermore, these same retailers can reply with insufficient or inadequate responses as well.

However, if you’re able to respond to emails in a fast, thorough and effective manner, then that’s one more area where you can become able to beat the competition, even when competing with major retailers online. And this can give you a great advantage over the competition, especially when the customer needs to order the product now.


Email etiquettes

It’s also important to implement etiquettes into your email responses as a display of professionalism. And you can use the same opening and closing templates for all of your email responses as well.

For example:

Opening and closing template:

Dear (customer name),

Thank you for your enquiry. In regards to your question(s);

(“Type your response here in a thorough and detailed manner or copy and paste a previous edited response”.)

Thank you again for contacting us. If you have any further questions then please feel free to contact us at any time.

Sincerely,
Your name
Your company name
Tel: 800.123.4567
Fax: 407-123-4567
wwwYourCompany.com

Or:

If you have any further questions, then please reply to this email and we will respond shortly.

Sincerely,
Your name
Your company name
Tel: 800.123.4567
Fax: 407-123-4567
wwwYourCompany.com
  
     
Email response templates

After receiving multiple emails from customers and potential customers as well, you’re going to realize that most of the emails and questions are mostly the same in one form or another. However, if you have pre-written answers and responses to such questions already made and saved then you can easily respond to emails in no time at all by copying and pasting those same responses into your new emails.

To create and send effective email responses simply answer the email in a thorough and detailed manner the first time and then save and name those responses according to the subject matter of the email.

Then when you receive an email consisting of those same questions, you can simply copy and paste your opening template (Dear John), followed by your pre-written email responses pertaining to those questions and concluded with your closing template, (sincerely, your name, your company name). Then click send.

This is a fast, easy and very effective way to respond to emails in a professional manner. Email response templates allow you to reply to emails in a quick, detailed and thorough manner while impressing the customer with a quick, detailed and thorough response.


Keep your email responses short and simple

It’s important to be thorough and include as much detail as needed. However, it’s also important to keep your email responses short, simple and straight to the point.

From the customers’ perspective, it’s a lot harder to read an email than it is to read the same content from a printed sheet of paper for example. And reading long emails on a computer screen can become a painful task for some and as a result may be put aside for later or deletion as well. Therefore, it would be best to keep your email responses short and simple but thorough as well.
  
    
Answer all emails as thoroughly as possible

It’s also important to be thorough in order to leave every question and concern answered in a satisfactory manner. And it’s essential to answer each and every question in a precise and detailed manner as well.

Furthermore, you can also take this opportunity to answer foreseen, related questions as well, (before they’re ever asked). Failure to do so may result in further emails or no response at all. And further emails will result in more time lost, while no more emails will also result in the loss of a sale. However, since you’ll already have saved, detailed email responses then answering such emails and related questions will become a simple matter of copy, paste and send.

It’s also important to include links to web pages pertaining to the subject matter of the email as well. For example, you can include a link to your Frequently Asked Questions page, the product page of the product in question, or a link to your return policy page if the email pertains to returns.

By answering every question and foreseen question in a detailed and thorough manner, the customer will be very impressed and become more comfortable making their purchase from your online store as well.


Spelling and grammar

Spelling, grammar and punctuation are also important. And failure to correct such errors can leave a negative and unprofessional impression upon customers and potential customers as well. However, most email programs include a spell check feature making it that much easier for you to spell check each and every email before you send it out. But many times, spell check is not enough and it’s important to re-read your email responses to make sure that proper grammar and punctuation was used in a correct manner.

The format of your email is also important as well. Reading from a computer monitor is much more difficult than reading from a sheet of printed paper.

Your email responses should be formatted in a manner to be read quickly and easily. And you can create easy to read email responses by breaking your email into short paragraphs (2 to 3 lines) rather than large block paragraphs which becomes difficult to read.
  
   
Answer all emails as quickly as possible

Most major online retailers take up to 24 hours or more to respond to customer emails. However, most customers would love to receive a response to their emails as quickly as possible.

It’s important to respond to emails within 12 to 24 hours. However, it’s much more impressive to respond to emails within 1 hour or less. Most customers are not expecting a response so soon, let alone within the hour. But if you’re able to respond to customers within an hour or less then do it, as this alone will leave a powerful impression on the customer and just might close the sale as well.

A fast response builds instant creditability while creating customer confidence in your business. However, if you receive emails for large, multiple product orders and you need more time to gather more information in order to fulfill those orders then be sure to send a courtesy response to the customer within an hour letting them know that you’re working on it and will reply shortly. Then your customer can rest at ease knowing that you’re doing your best to fulfill their order.


Reply with original message included

When replying to emails it’s important to always include the original message at the bottom of the email to remind the sender (and yourself) of what was written in their previous email in case a reference or reminder is needed.

You would be surprised as to how many businesses leave this important segment out of the email response and as a result can leave many questions unanswered on both sides and cause confusion as well. And a simple way to make sure you include the original message of the sender is to always click “reply” to the original message leaving the entire message in tact instead of starting a new email message.
  
    
Re-read your email before sending

One of the most important aspects of dealing with customers via email is re-reading each email before you send it out. Business owners and operators have a lot going on and too many times tend to reply to emails without re-reading what they wrote. And as a result you can end up sending an email consisting of plenty of errors and typos and this can leave the wrong impression upon the customer. Therefore, you may want to take the time to re-read your emails first before sending them out in order to make any corrections that need to be made.

Dealing with customers via email is quick and easy to do when you follow these guidelines. And when you do so in a professional manner it can help build instant credibility and help close the sale as well.
  
   
<-Back - Main Page - Next->
    
> How to Take and Place Orders
> Paying for Products with Your Customers’ Money
> How to Collect Sales Tax for Internet Sales
> Avoiding Credit Card Fraud
 
 
 
   
 
Main Article Index Page
How to Succeed in Your Online Store Business
How to Start Your Online Store Business
How to Choose Your Niche Market
How to Create an Effective Business Name
Check for Domain Name Availability
How to Register Your Business Name
Should You Use a PO Box or Home Address
How to Choose the Right Business Entity for You
Sole Proprietorships Explained
Corporations Explained
Partnerships Explained
Limited Liability Companies Explained
Incorporate Your Business Online
How to Obtain Your Sales Tax License
The Best Selling Products Online (Intro)
1. Books
2. Computers, Computer Hardware
NEW:Start a Computer Reseller Business Online
3. Computer Software
4. Consumer Electronics
5. Apparel, Clothing
6. Toys/Video Games
7. Videos DVD’s
8. Health and Beauty
9. Music
10. Jewelry
11. Office Supplies
12. Linens/Home Décor
13. Flowers
14. Sporting Goods
15. Footwear, Shoes
16. Small Appliances
17. Tools and Garden
18. Gifts
About Distribution
Choosing the Right Distributors
How to Get Signed-Up With DropShip Distributors
Books Distributors, DropShippers, Wholesalers
Computers, Hardware, Software DropShippers
Apparel, Clothing Distributors, DropShippers
Toys/Video Games DropShippers, Wholesalers
Video DVD  DropShippers, Wholesalers
Health and Beauty Distributors, DropShippers
Consumer Electronics DropShippers
Music Distributors, DropShippers, Wholesalers
Jewelry Distributors, DropShippers, Wholesalers
Office Supply Distributors, DropShippers
Linens/Home Décor DropShippers, Wholesalers
Flowers Distributors, DropShippers, Wholesalers
Sporting Goods Distributors, DropShippers
Footwear, Shoes Distributors, DropShippers
Small Appliances DropShippers, Wholesalers
Tools and Garden DropShippers, Wholesalers
Gifts Distributors, DropShippers, Wholesalers
How to Find More DropShippers, Wholesalers
How to Open Your Online Store
How to Build Your Own Online Store
How to Build Effective Product WebPages
Building Your eStore with Website Templates
Designing, Planning and Organizing Your eStore
Implementing Graphic Elements
How to Create Your Own Company Logo
Create Search Engine Optimized Product Pages
How to Create a Content Rich Website
Choosing Your Web Host Provider
Create a Search Engine Optimized Domain Name
Check for Domain Name Availability
Top Web Building Software Programs
Top 10 Web Host Providers
Top 10 Complete eCommerce Solutions
Top Website Developers
All About Shopping Carts
All About Payment Processing
All About Merchant Accounts
Using PayPal as a Payment Processing Solution
More Merchant Account Providers
All Merchant Account Providers
Setting Your Prices
Setting Shipping Charges
Maintaining Your Online Store
Your Internet Marketing Master Plan
All about Search Engines
The Top Search Engines
Search Engine Optimization Guide Pt.1
Search Engine Optimization Guide Pt.2
All about Building and Exchanging Links
Purchasing Text Link Ads
All about Press Release Marketing
All about Pay-Per-Click Marketing
All about Discussion Forum Marketing
All about Article Marketing
All about Email Marketing
All about Banner Advertising
How Offering Free Shipping Can Boost Sales
All about 800 Toll Free Numbers
How to Beat the Competition
How to Run an Online Store Business
Dealing with Customers
How to Minimize Interaction with Customers
How to Deal with Customers via Email
How to Take and Place Orders
Paying for Products with Your Customers’ Money
How to Collect Sales Tax for Internet Sales
Avoiding Credit Card Fraud
How to Ship International and Overseas
How You Get Paid Each and Every Day
Dealing with Product Returns and Exchanges
Sample Return Policy and Procedures
Sample Privacy Policy
Sample Terms and Conditions Policy
Conclusion
Contact
Internet Business Resources
 
     
   
       
  Copyright © eStorefrontGuide.com Online Store Business Course All Rights Reserved