Just like you need to act professional in front of customers, you should always portray yourself professionally when you send customers emails. When you contact a customer via email, it’s possible the customer doesn’t know who you are. And as the saying goes, you get only one chance to make a first impression. But you want to do more than make a good impression — you want to keep your customer happy, satisfied and well-serviced. Follow these tips for writing powerful emails that keep your customers happy and maintain your professionalism:

• Always run the spell checker before you send your email. When a customer receives a correspondence with misspellings, he’ll think you’re uneducated and he’ll think less of your company.
• Always re-read your emails. Spell checkers pick up only misspelled words. They won’t highlight words that you spelled correctly but misused, and they won’t check your grammar.
• Always use a proper greeting such as “Dear Sir,” or “Dear Mrs. Smith,” and always use a proper closing such as “Sincerely.”
• Always include your phone number, fax number and email address below your signature.
• Always type in the correct case. Don’t use all caps or all lowercase.
• Always ignore — temporarily — angry emails you receive from customers. Give yourself time to cool down, and then compose an email that portrays a professional tone.

Filed under: Customer Service Corner