Ellis Communications, Inc.

NEWS STORY

E-Mail is an Acceptable Form of Customer Support.
- But Don't Sacrifice Human Element With This Technology

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              CONTACT: Tom Ellis
Oct. 11, 2003                                Ellis Communications, Inc.
                                                      Phone: (417) 881-5635

      As more and more utilities invest in e-mail technology to provide customer support, it’s important that they strive to incorporate the human element into this technology.

      “While e-mail can reduce the amount of time invested with each customer interaction, it’s important to realize that you are sacrificing the human element,” says David Saxby, president of Phoenix-based Measure-X, a company that specializes in helping utilities improve their customer service and sales.

      “To the greatest degree possible, e-mails should communicate the right message not only in word choice, content and appearance, but in the tone of the e-mail. Just as we need telephone training, we also need e-mail training.”

      Saxby offers the following 10 steps to greater customer service e-mail.

1. Use a helpful subject line. The subject line helps the customer know the message is a response to his or her inquiry. “Subject lines such as ‘Reference # 0236862’ tell your customer nothing,” Saxby says. “Oftentimes, these can be mistaken for spam and deleted.”
2. Respond promptly. Because e-mail messages are sent instantly, customers expect a fast response. Don’t disappoint them.
3. Personalize the response. Address the customer by name and personalize your response by repeating details from the customer’s inquiry in the opening paragraph of your reply, Saxby suggests. “Sign the message with a name, not the anonymous ‘customer service department,’” he adds.
4. Answer all the customer’s questions. “If you don’t have the information to give an answer to a question, let the customer know and tell them when they can expect an answer and from whom,” Saxby says. “Your answer should not be a referral to your Web site.”
5. Make it possible for the customer to take action. “If your customer can or should do something after reading your response, include the information needed to take action within the body of your e-mail reply,” Saxby recommends.
6. Solve the customer’s problem. This is the gold standard of customer service and involves more than just answering a question. “Restate the problem as you understood it from reading their e-mail,” Saxby says. “Follow the restated problem with your solution. Be specific! Omitting information leads to more e-mails and frustration on everyone’s part.”
7. Use a polite, positive and personal tone. “Let your customers know you value their business and want to keep them as customers,” Saxby notes. “Use phrases that tell your customer you appreciate them.”
8. Write clearly and simply. Write in an active voice that emphasizes what the customer should do and what action your company will take. “Keep your e-mail responses free of jargon, confusing idioms and regional expressions,” Saxby says.
9. Proofread for mechanical errors. Errors give the impression that the company is careless and does not care about the customer.
10. Make it easy for customers to contact you. “Provide a phone number so customers have an alternate way of contacting you if they have further questions, if the problem is not solved or if their e-mail system is down,” Saxby recommends.

      “Review the results of the self-assessment and reach your own conclusions about your insight into customer service and how it benefits your telecom,” Saxby says. “You have nothing to lose and your telecom has everything to gain.”

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For more information on Measure-X, call 888-644-5499 or visit its Web site at www.measure-x.com.

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