A Major Customer Service Faux Pas
Recently I received an email from a company that I had purchased product from. It was addressed, “Dear Former Customer…” As you can imagine the rest of the letter read, blah, blah, blah. I think once I hit the word “former,” my mind just got stuck.
Imagine, as you read an email, you know that you have worked with that business in the past, and you are referred to as a former customer. So, did they fire me as a customer?
I am all about putting customers on a list and continuing to market to them. I think I draw the line when that customer becomes aware that they are not a “current” customer.
I’m not saying you should go out and send a message from the other end of the spectrum. I’m sure you have seen the emails that start out, “We miss you…”
There really is a happy medium. Think for a moment, the intent of the message being sent. Sure, the message can imply we miss you, we want you to come back, we have great things that we think you are still interested in, and most importantly we are still open for business. These are all very important messages, but none of them are really about the customer!
The purpose of setting up any “drip” campaign (a marketing effort on a regular interval to customers), is to inform the customer…nothing more. Most definitely, not to accuse them of not using your products.
Now the funny part, on that very same day, I received a spam message that started out, “Dear Valued Customer…” Now, I will be honest with you, for companies that I do have a relationship with I would much rather see them address me by my first name. However, I must also admit that being a valued customer has a much better effect on my likelihood to read the rest of the email than being a former customer.
Address your clients in a way that would make them smile. Making your customers feel guilty will not gain you more business. Nothing turns off customers faster than your business ignoring that they are valued, they have a name, and they really like it when you give them valuable information.
In order to write about a valued customer, you must first honestly value them.
About the Author
Last 7 author Posts
- Flying Blind with SEO
- Barack Obama and SEO?
- The Pacific Path to Being Specific
- Got Google?
- Call the Presses...Someone Quit My List!
- Definition of Competition
- "I'm at the line"
Advantageously, the post is in reality the freshest topic on curing acne naturally. I concur with your conclusions and will thirstily look forward to your upcoming updates. Just saying thanks will not just be enough, for the phenomenal clarity in your writing. I will right away grab your rss feed to stay abreast of any updates.
Hello. Terrific job. I did not expect this on a Wednesday. This is a very good story. Thanks!