Tailoring Your Message to the Customer

Name: Tailoring Your Message to the Customer
Author: Rhonda Tenenbaum

Tailor your emails for customer inquiries

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 6 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(calm music) Let's go over the different strategies and methods for tailoring your email message to fit the specific needs of a customer. You'll learn how to read emails critically, address customers' needs and concerns, write on-brand and empathetic emails, answer customers' difficult questions and apologize to them if necessary. Sometimes, for whatever reason, you may not read customer emails thoroughly or maybe you make assumptions about a customer's email without truly understanding what they're asking. As a result, you write a completely off-base email. The consequences could be harsh. A customer may let your supervisor know that you were unhelpful and off point. To keep the customer from being dissatisfied, read emails critically to learn exactly what's being requested or said in order to keep the customer relationship intact. How do you read emails critically? Follow these guidelines. Start by reading the first and last sentence of the email. Scan for keywords. Don't make assumptions. Don't take the customer's tone personally and read thoroughly to understand the customer's purpose. If you read and write customer emails as part of your daily tasks, take a break to clear your focus before you read an email. You don't wanna carry any thoughts from a previous email to the new one you're reading. Recognize that each customer email is different and your only concern should be what this particular customer wants. To do that, concentrate on the email's first and last sentences. The first sentence should provide you with the reason for the email and the last should detail what the customer expects. Next, scan the entire email for keywords that will tell you whether or not the customer is disappointed or plans to take action. You wanna make sure that you understand what the customer is feeling or preparing to do if they still are not satisfied. For example, the customer may say that they bought a better product from your competition or that they plan to let senior management know just how disappointed they are. Take note of these words or highlight them so that you can figure out exactly what the customer thinks and feels. Don't assume that you know why the customer is writing or what they expect you to do. If you make an assumption, you may fail to solve their issue. While you're required to conduct yourself professionally and with the proper tone, customers don't always follow suit. When a customer displays an angry tone, their anger is not about you. They're just frustrated. If you take the customer's tone personally, you won't have a decent interaction with them. Finally, read the entire email. The customer spent time crafting that email and expects a thorough and knowledgeable response. Reading the whole email is professional, shows respect for the customer and your company and helps you understand their problem.

Beginner Provider : Rhonda Tenenbaum 6 Lessons · 16m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

These lessons cover how to tailor a message for individual customers. They introduce techniques for reading critically and addressing your customers’ needs properly. They also highlight how to address customers’ problems in a professional yet empathetic manner.

What You'll Learn

Read customer emails critically to understand what each message is really asking
Address customers' needs and concerns by tailoring your message to the individual
Stay on-brand when using emails to communicate with customers
Use empathy in your writing to respond in a professional yet caring manner
Answer difficult questions from customers effectively
Apologize appropriately to upset customers

Key Takeaways

Tailoring a message to the individual customer requires reading critically and addressing each customer's specific needs.
Using emails to communicate helps you stay on-brand with customers.
Empathy is important when writing to and responding to customers.
Customer problems should be addressed in a professional yet empathetic manner, including knowing how to respond to difficult questions and apologize to upset customers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

It covers how to tailor a message for individual customers, including reading critically, addressing customers' needs, staying on-brand, using empathy in your writing, answering difficult questions, and apologizing to upset customers.

What will I learn from this course?

You will learn the importance of using emails to stay on-brand, the importance of using empathy, and how to respond to difficult questions.

How does the course teach handling customer problems?

It highlights how to address customers' problems in a professional yet empathetic manner, including answering difficult questions and apologizing to upset customers.

What topics are included in the lessons?

The lessons include reading emails critically, addressing the customer's needs and concerns, staying on-brand, using empathy in your writing, answering difficult questions, and apologizing to upset customers.