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How many times have you waited too long on an email response only to have it cause further confusion? How often have you waited even longer for clarification thereafter? One of the largest pitfalls of email communication is exhibited here—lagging responses.
Yes, email communication is imperfect, but fortunately that comes from the user side (meaning that it’s fixable!). As an agency or service firm, there are best practices you can employ and standards you can uphold that will make email excel as a fluid communication platform. And if you're anyhing like us, you spend a lot of time sending emails, so you might as well be wicked good at it.
Keep in Line With Instant Communication Culture
People have become accustomed to instantaneous responses thanks to text messaging and the smartphone. At all points throughout the day, whether you’re at your desk our out running errands, you have access to email through your phone, tablet or computer. You wouldn’t receive a text and ignore it for six hours, you’d shoot a reply back within a few minutes. Any delay could be perceived as careless or that they don't matter. Simply put, sticking to that short response window is crucial and paramount in maintaining a happy relationship with a client.
Set an Email Response Rate Time Frame
Implementing a standard to hold your firm accountable to is the first step. We suggest creating a “two hour response window” with all Client/Partner communications. This means that once a client’s email appears in the inbox, you have to respond in no more than two hours. Here are several reasons why:
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It increases efficiency - you can now get what you need and carry out your task more quickly (vice versa with your client)
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It satisfies the client - your client gets a response immediately and it will make them feel like they are the priority
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It makes sure nothing is left behind - by responding in a timely manner with every email that comes in, you are ensuring that no client email gets buried in the inbox
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It raises the bar - Your client will notice the prompt responses and will and respond quickly in return
Keep Your Emails Actionable, Brief
This may sound pretty obvious, but when writing an email, knowing who your recipient is and how they read emails can save you a lot of time when getting a response back to them. If your recipient is a detail oriented person, then take the time to write out a thorough response with images and bullet points summarizing a topic. When dealing with those who aren’t of this nature (and the majority of people are like this), stick with a brief response and don’t mull over the verbiage and particular delivery of every aspect.
Write two to three sentences and accomplish these two things: acknowledge the email topic and then communicate what you will do with that information. Trust your gut and write the email right there in the next few minutes. Then have a fellow employee look over it. More often than not, your gut will have been on point and you can send that response out promptly. This way the time it takes to write an effective response can be cut down by five or ten minutes. The time saved quickly adds up.
Have the Last Word
Even when an email thread looks dead, be the one to have the last word. Doing this will make the client feel assured and it allows them to mentally check off that task or campaign. It also serves as a general acknowledgement. Even a, “Thank you for sending those over” response puts the client’s mind at ease and goes a long way.
Routinely Check Your Inbox
Always remember to check your email between tasks. Keeping your clients satisfied and addressing their needs moves the bottom line, so treat routine inbox checkups as a task all the same as blogging or social media management. Creating an email response standard is not difficult and in doing so you will leave your clients happy and satisfied. All it takes it just being conscious of it and efficiency and relations will only benefit
Being effective at email communication is actually quite simple. Be aware of what you need to do and uphold that standard. Stick to these techniques and they will soon become a habit and a staple that differentiates you from the rest.
