Found a good post via MicroPersuasion on how email responsiveness relates to customer service.
This is something that we've been discussing a lot during the last few days at Cre8tive Group. What do customers expect when judging service (which happens subconsciously a lot of times). How much of it is responsiveness versus doing what you said you would do or going above and beyond - and most importantly how does it affect their experience and loyalty.
Tough questions. We are re-discovering something we've always known. Not all customers are the right customers for our business. The customers that do not value process or documented expectations tend to think that we are pulling them through a knot hole. Other clients love it. They understand the power of the creative brief and know exactly what to expect from our efforts and interactions. We try to put a lot of thought into which design strategies will best meet our individual client's business objectives. And that is communicated through every interaction we have with them over the long haul.
The point of all this is that email is a great way to stay in touch & transfer docs, but it's a horrible way for us to build relationships or get new business (at least for us). If I'm not face-to-face or on the phone, I feel like I'm letting my customers down and I'm afraid that a nuance will be missed. I try to respond to every email & voicemail before I go to sleep. It's tough but I'd like to think it's a small way to keep my customers loyal - but you can't neglect the other aspects like doing what you said you would, billing what you said you would, and treating them better than expected.
This is something that we've been discussing a lot during the last few days at Cre8tive Group. What do customers expect when judging service (which happens subconsciously a lot of times). How much of it is responsiveness versus doing what you said you would do or going above and beyond - and most importantly how does it affect their experience and loyalty.
Tough questions. We are re-discovering something we've always known. Not all customers are the right customers for our business. The customers that do not value process or documented expectations tend to think that we are pulling them through a knot hole. Other clients love it. They understand the power of the creative brief and know exactly what to expect from our efforts and interactions. We try to put a lot of thought into which design strategies will best meet our individual client's business objectives. And that is communicated through every interaction we have with them over the long haul.
The point of all this is that email is a great way to stay in touch & transfer docs, but it's a horrible way for us to build relationships or get new business (at least for us). If I'm not face-to-face or on the phone, I feel like I'm letting my customers down and I'm afraid that a nuance will be missed. I try to respond to every email & voicemail before I go to sleep. It's tough but I'd like to think it's a small way to keep my customers loyal - but you can't neglect the other aspects like doing what you said you would, billing what you said you would, and treating them better than expected.
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Nick,
I agree with you - it's important to establish a good relationship via face-to-face or phone contact instead of email.
Thanks for sharing this... I've featured your post at my customer service blog!
This post is useful post for every type of business. With this post you can understand the importance of e-mail services and how it is used.