A Business Owner can have anything from a one person operation to a large team. The majority of our members are new to selling online or have been a small business owner for awhile and are looking to expand more.
I recently had the privilege of doing Customer Support emails. I actually enjoy this! It allows me to keep up with what’s going on with our members and customers and see if there are any areas of improvement.
A Business Owner Actually Sent These Emails?
I was absolutely shocked and dismayed by the way I saw how these emails were composed! I’m sorry to say that a lot of them sounded like a bunch of 2 year old’s demanding things… I want, I want, I want…. EEK! And Wow! Such rudeness!
This is truly not a great impression to make on another business. I think that so many are so used to digital communication, that they forget common courtesy. Think about it. Is that really the way you want your customer support representatives treated too?
Let’s look at this another way. If you walked into a room, with thousands of business people, and you walked up to someone that you didn’t know and said…Do you do this…? Can I expect this…? What is this…? How do I…? I want this…
First, that person will probably be taken aback from the barrage of questions. Not even an introduction either. Tsk! Tsk! Is this how you would want to be treated?
Some Polite Suggestions…
A simple Hello or Hi and my name & company name goes a long way and it is polite. I would never walk up to someone I didn’t know and just start slamming them with questions, regardless of the situation.
When we visit trade shows, we go up to a wholesale supplier and introduce who we are and what we do. We then start asking about their business and what it is that they provide and can possibly offer to our members to see if they would be a good fit for our Directory of Certified Wholesalers. We can only hope that our members email our listed genuine wholesale suppliers in the same polite courteous manner.
So when you compose emails, you are a business owner. Be polite and professional! Don’t forget the Hello, Goodbye or the Thank you! Most importantly, don’t forget your NAME! We LOVE to know who we are answering!
And before you hit send.. check it over one last time. Did you provide just enough information without overload? If it’s too wordy, start editing it down. Were you polite? Check over your words… Is the verbiage how you would want to be spoken to?
Did you like this article?
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Our CEO, Chris Malta, wrote about this situation in his eBook “Starting Your Internet Business Right“. You can download and read the eBook HERE. In this eBook, he provides a lot of tips and advice for starting and running your online business.
Customer Service Before the Sale – read this article to understand why good customer support is an integral part to making sales.
Thanks, for the information. Sad to say that I’m also bad about this. But I’m working on improving!
Hi Sandra,
When we write to a wholesale supplier for the first time, as we don’t know the name of the person we need to talk to we write:
Hi, or Hello, Hi Sales Department…
Just make sure to say Hi in some fashion and always close with Thank you, Thanks, Sincerely and your name and business name.
Hope that helps!
The author deserves a thumbs up!
I love what you’ve got to say. Great advice!
Hi Curtis, It definitely takes a little more time to compose a good email, but it’s worth it.
First impressions mean a lot! The fact that you are trying to improve means that you care about the impression that you (and ultimately your company) will make on other businesses, services and customers. Good luck on your business ventures!
I think alot of people forget there is usually a real person at the other end!
I really appreciate your help
Thank you for your articles. They are very helpful!