Most businesses put a lot of time and effort into getting their marketing communications just right. Nothing wrong with that – after all, creating a good, impactful first impression is key to getting new leads and enquiries in through the door. But when did you last review your operational customer communications? All too often, operational communications are seen as the ‘boring bits’ – confirming appointments, providing quotes, telling customers what you need from them, giving them updates on how things are progressing… and chasing payments (boo!). We can help! Get in touch today to discuss your communications needs! Operational customer communications are important too! Don’t underestimate the importance of getting these operational communications right too! Every communication you send to your customers – however big or small – is an important part of your ongoing relationship with them. As such, it will have an effect on the way they view your company – and will determine how and whether they choose to respond. The power of operational customer communications… Every operational communication – sent by whatever method – has the power to:
…and convince the customer to respond and do what you need them to do next So, here are my 10 key tips for effective operational customer communications 1. Avoid jargon and acronyms – even people within your business get confused by all the internal jargon and acronyms, so just imagine how confusing these are for your customers! Make every effort to be clear about what things mean – using everyday words and phrases which your customers will understand. Acronyms are great for shortening things, but always make sure you explain what they mean the first time you mention them in your communication.
2. Tailor the communication to suit the customer – use your knowledge of the customer to tailor the communication, making it completely relevant to them. Don’t include standard paragraphs which may or may not apply to them – the customer probably won’t know if they need to take notice of them or not.
3. Be positive! – put simply, nobody likes a negative-sounding message.
4. Make it clear what the customer needs to do – if they need to send you something, give you a call, or confirm some information, tell them clearly what they need to do – and how to do it!
5. Focus on quality, not quantity – keep it simple, keep it direct, and keep it as short and sweet as possible! Don’t be tempted to pad out a short letter or email with unnecessary detail simply in an effort to fill the page. 6. Break it up! – There’s nothing more daunting than paragraph after paragraph of text – and quite frankly, nothing is more likely to lose the interest of the reader. That’s a really big deal, especially if the all-important call-to-action is buried somewhere in the middle! So, if your communication is more than a couple of short paragraphs, break it up with clear headings to help the customer to navigate their way through.
8. Features, NOT benefits – an age-old marketing watchword, but this applies just as much to operational communications as it does to marketing messages. And always remember to make the features specific to the customer!
9. Keep it regular – don’t leave your customers in the dark for too long, or they might lose interest in you. If you don’t have operational reasons to communicate frequently with your customers (for example, if they have an annual renewal product from you), keep them informed with useful targeted communications in between.
At iwritecopy4u.co.uk,
we have a wealth of experience in writing fresh, impactful operational client
communications that really work! And we’re not frightened of tackling long,
complicated documents and making them clear and easy to read. Get in touch
today to see what we can do for you! |