An important fact for all marketers to remember is this: you don’t build your business. Sounds kind of strange doesn’t it? You’re the one that set it all up, you’re the one that works hard to make it a success, so how can it not be you that builds the business?
The answer is that it’s your customers who build your business. It’s easy to prove. Try running your business without a single customer. Your business would dry up like a drop of water in the desert at high noon. It sounds weird to read the next sentence, but it’s still true. Customer first, business second.
Anyone who thinks making a connection with the customer a priority isn’t that big of a deal doesn’t understand the damage a negative situation with a customer can wreak on your business. That’s even worse if the customer makes the situation go viral.
It’s amazing how many business owners forget that customers are their bread and butter, the reason the lights are on, the doors are open etc. Yes, they want your product, but if you fail to make a close connection with them, if you fail to care about their needs, then the next guy will certainly be waiting with a welcoming air.
Answer Emails Yourself Whenever Possible
Regardless of what anyone wants when they email you, you want to be as kind as you’re able to be when you respond. You want to be the one that responds to those email messages.
Some marketers use a help desk and some use a virtual assistant. There are a couple of downsides to this. With a virtual assistant, you can expect to pay a good penny. Their services are not cheap.
But the real downside is that you have to train a virtual assistant about your business from A to Z. If you hand over the email reins, they’ll be the ones responding to the customer’s questions and concerns. For example, let’s say you have a 90-day money back guarantee on your product.
On day 95, a customer emails the contact form wanting a refund and gets your virtual assistant. The virtual assistant writes back with a ‘sorry, no refunds after 90 days’ because after all, that is the policy.
The virtual assistant won’t know that the customer didn’t contact sooner because they had real life situations going on. They were in a car accident or in the hospital. They had a death in the family or they tried to use your product, got frustrated when they didn’t get help from a virtual assistant after repeated contact and now they want their money back.
Is it your fault if the customer has real life issues go on? No. Is it your problem? It can be.
If someone experiences a bad situation, writes to get their money back and gets told no, they’ll talk about it online. Lots of other people will be sympathetic and you’ll end up looking like an uncaring jerk even if you had no idea what was going on because the VA was handling it all.
That’s why it’s always better to answer your emails yourself, or to ask your virtual assistant to forward emails like that to you. You know your company. You know that your policy is in place because there are people who will buy the product and then a year later want to return it. But you also know that sometimes there are events outside a customer’s control.
When you get an email where a customer is saying they couldn’t make the product work for them, you can offer quick guidance and a few tips to see if that helps and that may be all the customer was looking for. For you to say, “Let me help you, have you tried this and this..” could work and the customer will be thrilled because they did want the product.
The customer is happy because Jane Smith wrote back and was nice about it. You won’t get that interaction and customer satisfaction through a third party because deep down, they don’t care about your business like you do.
Stay on Top of Your Email Communications
When a customer does get in contact with you, you need to make sure you get back to them as quickly as you can. Now some people will panic if you don’t answer within a few hours, but the majority of people don’t expect an answer back that fast.
When someone does email you, make it a priority to have that email responded to within 48 hours max. Answering them in 24 hours is better, but you have a life too, so if you can’t get to it until the next day, that’s okay.
As you begin to build your list and interact with your customers, you’re going to start to build a fairly large list of people who like you and want your time. The time you’ll spend interacting with your customers will consume you if you’re not careful about it.
To stay on top of the email load, answer them as soon as they arrive in your inbox – in between other tasks just pop in and address emails. Answer them and then delete them to keep your inbox from getting cluttered. If you let your email pile up, you’re going to get overwhelmed.
If you happen to get an email you can’t answer at that time because you have to look up their order number and find out what’s going on, flag the email so it will stand out when you do get the answer and can get back to them.
One mistake Internet marketers make is answering one email twice. If someone contacts you with say an order problem for example, there’s no need to write and let him or her know you’re going to look into it unless you know it’s going to take you longer to find the answer.
Over-Deliver to Your Customers Via Email
With you being in control of handling your email from customers, you have a chance to build a new connection or strengthen an existing one.
How can you do that? It’s simple. When you reply to the customer, you not only give them the information that they’re seeking, but go the extra mile and give them even more.
For example, for the person who contacts you desperately seeking help, you can seal a bit of customer loyalty with the right response. Let’s say they want your help but you’re slammed with wall to wall deadlines and you don’t have the time to explain something to them – and you don’t have time to engage in a back and forth email conversation.
What can you do? You tell them where that help is available. You can send them a link, direct them to a resource, send a quick response saying, “You can see what I did here.” Most people aren’t lazy and most of them don’t want a handout. They really don’t know where to find the answers that they’re looking for.
By you going above and beyond, you’ve solidified in their mind that not only are you a nice person, but you care about their problem and want to help them solve it.
You can also attach a resource you’ve created to give to them free of charge. They’ll love you and remember how you helped them. They’ll tell others how nice and helpful you are.
What About Using a Help Desk Tool to Handle Communications?
A help desk is a resource or software that offers assistance with the personal connection removed. Some marketers use a help desk as a resource page with a list of ‘frequently asked questions’ – leaving the customer to find the answer for themselves.
But what if the answer they’re looking for isn’t there?
Some marketers have a help desk that leads the customers to a call center or an answering service. It’s a sad fact that call centers feature hourly employees who don’t really have the answer.
They’re looking for it on their end by searching a manual, a tip sheet or the same FAQ page the customer just saw. That’s poor customer service no matter how polite the person on the other end is.
You have to remember that a call center benefits you, but what does it really do for your customer?
Building relationships seems like an overwhelming task when you’re just starting out because you’re not yet established. But in reality, it’s the best time to start making a connection with your audience because your reputation will grow as a marketer who cares about his or her audience in a way others don’t.
Keep in mind that your audience just wants to be heard. They want you to engage with them when they ask questions, find out their opinion on topics related to your niche, and share with them as an equal on web 2.0 sites.
If you can achieve this, not only will you be rewarded monetarily, but you’ll also feel personal satisfaction and fulfillment that you’re able to make a difference in the world and meet the needs of your target audience.
