Have you ever had a confusing or frustrating chat or email with a customer service support person? Or are you in the position of providing customer support? What are the elements of great customer support emails? Many of these also apply to a live chat session with a customer.

We’ll get the email answers from Freshworks Academy and Syed Shah Zahurullah Hussaini and finish with some suggestions for live chat from Call Center Hosting. 

First, what are the five ingredients of exceptional support emails? We’ll learn from Freshworks Academy.

  • Convenience: Make it easy to read and understand
  • Anticipation: Predict and answer follow-ups
  • Simplicity: Avoid jargon
  • Personality: Show who you are
  • Sincerity: Be truthful, no matter what.

You can view their video here.

Having given the five ingredients, Freshworks continues with a presentation on the six essential tips for writing emails in customer support.

  • Call the customer by name
  • Thank the customer
  • Answer all of the customer’s questions
  • Address the underlying emotion of the email
  • Try out a solution before suggesting it
  • Check for grammar, broken links, correct code and attachment

You can watch the video here. 

We’ll finish the email discussion with a presentation from Syed Shah Zahuruallan Hussaini who gives his take on great customer service email tips.

What makes a great customer service email?

  • Clear
  • Concise
  • Professional
  • Correct

Syed explains the details of each element and gives an example of a great customer service email response which has

  • Helpful subject line
  • Personalized response
  • Personal tone
  • Answered question
  • Tried to solve the problem
  • Possible solution provided
  • Positive and polite tone
  • Closed message with personal name
  • Easy contact information

He follows up with ten traits of a great customer email

  • Use a helpful subject line
  • Respond promptly
  • Personalize the response
  • Answer all the customer’s questions
  • Make it possible for the customer to take action
  • Solve the customer’s problem
  • Use a polite, positive, and personal tone
  • Write clearly and simply
  • Proof read for mechanical errors
  • Make it easy for the customer to contact you

Syed goes on to discuss how to write clear, strong sentences.

You can watch Syed’s video here.

As we mentioned up front many of the email tips for great customer support also apply to live chat sessions. 

We’ll end with some suggestions for Live Chat support from Call Center Hosting.

They cover the top seven tips for a great customer live chat:

  • Let them know you’re a real person
  • Understand your customers and listen to them
  • Only promise offers that are within your reach
  • Ask permission before doing anything
  • Make sure you leave the conversation properly
  • Be honest when you have no answer, or the answer requires additional permissions
  • Offer an alternative when you refuse a customer

You can view their video here.