Email etiquette? What’s that?
I had an email exchange yesterday with someone who was, plainly and simply, an awful communicator. She’s the leasing manager at a local apartment building–one of the most prestigious of the higher-end apartments in our area.
I was very politely trying to make an appointment to deliver some storage items for a customer. My customer, a local student, is still out of town on summer break. However, her lease on her new apartment just began so she asked that I deliver her storage and have it staged and ready in her apartment when she returns. To do so, she wrote to her apartment leasing office and requested that they let me in to make the delivery. It seems very straightforward.
After my customer wrote to the leasing manager, she forwarded their back and forth to me so I would know everything was all set to make the delivery. But reading through that message, and the ones that I subsequently exchanged with the manager to confirm things on my end, I was shocked! This leasing manager, who should be the front line and advocate for this giant high-end operation, was incredibly abrupt and rude. She came across quite mean in her emails, clearly upset that we interrupted her day.
The leasing manager’s emails were short, without salutation or signature, and very curt. There was no courtesy, cordiality, or compassion in them at all. They were riddled with grammatical errors, spelling mishaps, and completely void of invitation and welcome. She would respond with nonsensical questions, making me question whether or not her response was indeed intended for me or not. It made a very cut-and-dry routine situation quite complicated, confusing, and time consuming.
Sadly, this type of email exchange isn’t unusual and definitely isn’t uncommon. We see it all the time. It’s one thing for an individual to have bad communication skills, but it’s entirely different for a business or a business representative to fail at basic, basic fundamentals.
Many times, an email interaction with a customer or potential customer is the first impression we give. It clues them in on our professionalism, our response time, and our desire to have them as our client. It’s a huge factor in whether or not they decide if we’re a good fit for their needs, and if they want to do business with us.
Our language, our structure, and our mood all have to be reviewed and often corrected. We have to be inviting, polite, and use full sentences. We have to check our spelling and grammar, include a salutation, include a closing, and absolutely include a signature. There’s a great wikiHow article here that might prove useful.
So what’s my advice to you? Proofread! Proofread, proofread, proofread! Before you send an email, read it through. Is it clear? Is it spellchecked? Is it grammar checked? If you’re not a grammarian, have a co-worker or friend look it over. Is it clear to them, well stated, to the point, and inviting? Is it professional?
The bottom line is that any email we send on behalf of our business is business communication. It’s marketing, and it’s extremely important.
#MarketingwithMarty
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For more information on Marty, please visit unclemartysoffice.com.
Source: AMBC Blog