Email is a powerful, time-saving tool in today’s business world, but it can also be an unsuspected trap for people who may be unwittingly driving customers away through improper email etiquette. Email has been shown to provide the potential of retaining clients up to three times longer than other online methods of communication, but only when it is used correctly. It is an expression of trust if someone shares their email address with you. However, if you abuse that trust you may as well have thrown their email address–and more importantly their business–in the trash!

So, when you’re collecting information, what are you really after? This is the secret, and it’s both easy and important to get these e-mail addresses from your customers. You’ll likely agree that you’re more likely to score an e-mail address than quickly sell an expensive item to someone. If you’re handed vital contact information from a customer, they are allowing you make contact with them, and for free.

Tips for Successful Emailing:

1. Make your correspondence personal in nature. Most people can spot an impersonal note a mile away, and this will almost always send otherwise receptive clients running the other direction. Many people simply fail at customer service because they are not sincere and personable in their emails. Write to the potential customer as an individual. Talk to them as one person, rather than addressing the company they work for, etc. Make sure not to let your email sound like a mass email sent to a generic group of people.

2. Make sure your name appears in the “From” line of your email. People respond much more favorably to an actual person sending an email, so they are more likely to take the time to read it. Since you’ve already learned to keep the content of your email personal in approach, it follows that a personal approach should be the first thing they see when they receive the email in their inbox. Keep your email from looking like spam. Use words and phrases in your subject line that let them know your email is not spam. This will dramatically increase the odds of their reading it.

3. Write a provocative subject line. Subject lines should be in context with the rest of the e-mail so that your readers’ interest is piqued. Here’s the trick : by clicking onto your e-mail, your customer is already relaying their interest in you. Make a reference to this from the subject line on. Don’t say something generic! “Can we help you? This is Client Services here to serve you!” is a far more personal greeting. While not terribly sophisticated, it’s also clear that this isn’t spam.

Of course, these should suit what you’re communicating about, and not be cloned for every possible subject. By investing some effort and willingness to customize this to seem personal, you’ll earn dedicated customers for your business.

Tags: Online Advertising

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