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Wednesday, January 05, 2011

The Best Customer Service Email Ever!

Wednesday, January 05, 2011



Confirmation emails are status quo - or so I thought!  This year I made a commitment to improve my health and start working out 4 - 5 times per week.  I guess if you put a lot in, you'll get a lot out.  Anyway, I decided to start using some supplements to increase my protein intake and improve the quality of what I put into my body.  

Customer Communication Is Key.
Searching for some meal replacement drinks and supplements online, I came across Bodybuilding.com.  It happens to be a very robust site including a full marketplace, advice, and additional resources that allow you to track your progress.  After ordering online I received the standard confirmation email - that was about a week ago.  Today I received a follow up email from the Customer Service Manager that was both personalized and unexpected.  It knocked my socks off!  I've included the entire email herein:

Hello Michael! 

It has been seven days since your order was shipped so hopefully your order #14077740 was delivered without any problems. We made sure to ship your order as QUICKLY as possible! I hope our service beat your expectations.

I noticed you ordered a protein powder. Smart! We have seen the best results from customers when they use a protein powder everyday like clockwork. The Met-Rx Meal Replacement, 18 Packets, Chocolate Peanut Butter is a great one.

I found this new article for you about protein that will help you get the best results:
Protein Bio-Availability Explained! It was written by Joey Vaillancourt.

Don't forget that taking a multi-vitamin can help you get better results.

Sincerely,
Jeff Newman
Customer Service Manager
Bodybuilding.com
2026 S. Silverstone Way
Meridian, ID 83642 USA
1-877-991-3411

WOW!  That's the best friggin' follow up email I think I've ever received.  The reason I think it was so good is because the unexpected email was:
  • Personalized based on my order
  • Specific with regard to what I ordered
  • Reinforced the purchase decisions I made
  • Encouraged me to use what I bought
  • Provided additional value-added references
  • Provided contact information
How does your customer service messaging measure up?  I hope this example will serve as a way to motivate all of us to think about our communications with customers after the sale.  As marketers we know that keeping a customer is often much more affordable than acquiring a new one.  

Take a closer look at your follow up processes.  If you are communicating after the sale, is your communication personalized?  Does it provide product purchase information?  Additional resources that are related to the purchase? We can always make our follow up communications better!


18 comments :

The Mangolds said...

I guess they got way more than they bargained for when they sent that follow-up email to you! How many people get to see this shining review of their business?

Alyson said...

In today's world and market, pretty much all of us are "client-based" businesses and Bodybuilding.com is certainly doing a great job of relating and building relationships with their clients. It takes more time but I think it is a great thing to focus on in the new year.

Thanks for the great post!

graphic design services and logo design services said...

Thank you for all the interesting information you are providing. Keep up the good work and I will be always reading your posts. Cheers

Stephanie said...

That is a great post. I am going to have to remember that e-mail and re-write my customer service e-mail.

Thanks!

James Clapton said...

Creative sales or customer services letter will do more conversion then dull and boring letter. As long as the letter write in human way and not spamming, the letter is going to get good conversion.

MyATM said...

Great article here and the tips are very comprehensive. For sure many entrepreneurs with small and big businesses are going to benefit from this. Keep it up!

Steve said...

I have spent 4 long years trying to learn all about the internet business. I am very concerned about the amount of hype out there. fast talking people who are very difficult to understand. However giving back is the key once you get on top. My advice is be ethical like your customers and remember "The buck stops with you" make sure customers can contact you.

Steve

Hannah said...

That's definitely a good example of a follow-up. I'm certainly not a fan of the automated emails, I never read them! I would be a lot happier with a personalised message signed by a name, as opposed to with a company name. If only every organisation did this (although I can imagine it'd get pretty time consuming!)

Ebizwebhp said...

its a good information, ppl can have more ideas of online marketing with social media websites and the internet opportunities, not easy not hart, "sky is the limit"

Web Design Delhi said...

You have put your best effort in this post and Your blog is different. please keep sharing..

jbernard@fleurdeau.ch said...

I loved the post, keep up the good work, it really opens up my perspective to apply it in my company

Outsource Call Center said...

Great post! I agree with you that, "Customer Communication Is Key." Customer service isn't about being perfect. Customer service is about making things right, not just the immediate problem, but the root cause. And it is totally about listening to the customer. Anyway, Thanks for the post.


-fern-

Pablo said...

Wow, that is a great email! That would knock my socks off too! See, it's the little things like this that make the difference in customer service these days.

SEO Company said...

As per my information Email marketing is best and affordable way. Thanks.

FHTM success said...

Hey that is cool man..i liked the way you have written it.I will go through it again and remember the format if possible for future mails to be written.

advertising media buying said...

That is a very good follow up email. If I was in the customer’s shoes I would definitely be happy to receive a personalized e-mail like that and would happily continue to seek their service in my further purchases. This shows if we pay little attention and creativity, customer retention is not as hard as we think.

Helen Neely said...

This is truly a great example of how customer services should work. But more often than not, most of them fail with just the most basic of support.

This is a nice ads for them in return. Lovely job.

essay said...

Follow up - very good way communicating with customers. Smart!

Cheers!

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