Emails are a great, low-cost ways to communicate with your customers. Payment reminders, missed payment alerts, call-back request information, promotion alerts are some areas where email communication can be used effectively. Though using emails is known to be very effective, writing emails does require some thought and effort.

The LiveVox Platform (LVP) allows you to track whether a customer has opened an email, clicked on a link, or unsubscribed from your email list.

The following information provides you with email best practices to drive a stronger engagement using emails:

• Have a short response time

  Answering an email within a short period of time tells the customer that you care about the issue at hand. You might not be able to immediately resolve an issue or have answers to the questions raised, but acknowledging a customer's email and sending a response goes a long way in setting the right tone. Try and make sure to respond to all customer emails within a day.

• Connect with your customers

  Use a personalized greeting to address your customers and sign the email using your name. Using names removes a formal barrier and builds a conversation. Keep a casual tone while writing to your customers. Keep the communication friendly and approachable. A casual tone, does not mean you use slang words or emojis. A professional approach is very important.

• Use templates where possible

  You may receive many emails asking similar questions or information. Email templates are useful in these situations, and they can help in drastically reducing response time. At the same time, make sure that your email addresses the concerns of the sender. Customers do not like receiving automated mails and it gives the impression that their concerns are not taken seriously.

• Keep it short and simple

  Customers are busy people. They probably do not want to read long emails. Long emails can also get tagged as spam. Keep your emails short and to the point. Provide relevant links where applicable for further reading.

• Work on the subject line

  The subject line of your email is very important in creating a first impression for your customers. Use concise, intriguing words that will encourage the customers to open the email. Create an urgency where possible. Use your customer's name to create a personal touch. For newsletters, consider keeping the format of the subject line consistent.

  Avoid misleading subject lines in your email. Avoid using phrases like "pay now" or “$” in your subject line or within the body of the email.

  Email providers usually cut off subject lines that are long. To avoid truncated subject lines, try to use between 30 and 50 characters (including spaces). 

• Include your logo

  Adding your logo in the email reminds the customer about the brand behind the email. Studies indicate that customer engagement and purchasing increased with the inclusion of the brand logo. The logo is typically placed on the upper left side of the email.

• Provide an option to unsubscribe

  Make it easy for customers to unsubscribe from your email list. Use font, color and location within an email creatively to highlight the unsubscribe option.

• Add a disclaimer

  A disclaimer is very important for sensitive materials to communicate and protect the confidential nature of the email. You can add a disclaimer to the email signature. Keep the disclaimers short and visible but not too conspicuous.

• Check for broken links in your email

  Ensure that any links are valid and domestic. If your organization is domestic, foreign URLs sent from a domestic IP flags your email as spam. Insert international URLs only if you are a global organization. Inconsistency in where you are sending from and pointing to can get flagged. Make sure that they both align.

• Create an Email Sunset Policy

  Sunsetting is a method of reducing the number of emails you send to your customers who have not engaged or opened your emails for a long period of time. If a customer keeps ignoring your emails, the customer’s service provider marks the email as spam. If this happens with many customers within the same email provider, the email provider can then filter out all your messages and not send any of them. A sunset policy will help you avoid such situations, and you can make sure that your emails reach only to those who want them. Make a list of customers who have not opened or engaged with your emails and remove them from the campaign after a set period.

• Authenticate your Emails

  Email authentication tells your customer if an email is from a legitimate source or a potential spam. When an email is received, the receiving server checks if it was altered during transit. Emails which fail authentication are marked as spam to protect customers from spoofing and phishing scams. There are different email authentication protocols such as Sender Policy Framework (SPF), Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM), Domain Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) available. Configure one or more authentication methods to protect your company's reputation.