This is where a contact management system (CMS) comes in handy. Let’s dive deeper into how this powerful tool can greatly improve the way you manage your business contacts.

What Is a Contact Management System?

Think of a contact management system as your grandmother’s address book—but on steroids. It’s a centralized database that not only stores all your customer information but also tracks every interaction, communication, and engagement with them. 

Unlike traditional methods like spreadsheets or paper records, a CMS offers advanced features and functionalities to streamline your contact management process and enhance your overall customer relationships.

Benefits of a Contact Management System for Local Businesses

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s dive in and discuss why a CMS system matters and what you, as a business owner, get out of using it. There are many benefits of using a CSM.

Streamlined Communication

With a CMS, all your customer interactions are stored in one convenient location. Whether it’s emails, phone calls, or in-person meetings, you can easily access contact information and communication history with just a few clicks. 

This improved communication flow ensures that you never miss a beat and can respond to customer inquiries or follow up on leads quickly before they have a chance to turn elsewhere.

Improved Customer Relationships

Personalization is key to building strong customer relationships. A CMS allows you to tailor your interactions based on customer preferences and past interactions, leading to more meaningful and impactful communication. 

By keeping track of customer preferences, purchase history, and feedback, you can provide a tailored experience that better vibes with your customers and fosters genuine loyalty.

Enhanced Organization

Gone are the days of sifting through endless spreadsheets or sticky notes to find the information you need. With a CMS, you can organize your contacts into categories, set reminders for follow-ups, and stay on top of important dates effortlessly. 

This level of organization not only saves you and your sales team heaps of time but also ensures that you can efficiently manage your contacts and provide timely and relevant communication.

Increased Efficiency

That’s right, say goodbye to manual tasks and hello to automation. A CMS automates routine tasks like sending appointment reminders and follow-up emails, freeing up valuable time for you (and your admins) to focus on growing your business. 

By automating repetitive processes, you can simplify your workflow, reduce errors, and improve overall efficiency. Additionally, automation allows you to scale your efforts without sacrificing quality, enabling you to reach more customers and drive better results. 

Key Features to Look for in a Contact Management System

Contact management systems might sound all fine and good, but not all CMSs are created equal. With that said, what should you be on the lookout for? Most CMSs worth their salt share a few common traits:

Ease of Use

Look for a CMS with a user-friendly interface and simple setup process. It should be intuitive and easy to navigate, even for users with limited technical expertise.

Automation Capabilities

Ensure the system offers automation features like automated emails and text reminders. This helps you save time and effort by automating repetitive tasks and ensures consistent communication with your contacts.

Customization Options

Choose a CMS that allows you to customize fields and tags for organizing contacts. This flexibility enables you to tailor the system to your specific business needs and workflow.

Security and Privacy

Prioritize a CMS with secure data storage and compliance with data protection regulations. We can’t stress this enough. Your customers’ data should be protected against unauthorized access, and the system should adhere to industry standards for data security and privacy.

How a Contact Management System Can Boost Your Business

Better Lead Management

Track leads through the sales funnel and improves conversion rates with timely follow-ups. By centralizing lead information and automating lead nurturing activities, you can simplify your sales process and, in turn, increase revenue. 

Enhanced Customer Retention

Build stronger relationships with personalized communication and increase repeat business through targeted marketing. A CMS allows you to stay connected with your customers, deliver relevant content and offers, and provide exceptional customer service, leading to higher retention rates and customer satisfaction.

Improved Reputation Management

CMSs allow you to centralize customer feedback and reviews and respond to inquiries and issues promptly. By actively managing your online reputation and addressing customer feedback in a timely manner, you can build trust and credibility with your audience and enhance your brand reputation.

Need a more convenient way to ask for reviews? Broadly can help you more effectively manage your reputation through automated review requests.

You can automatically request reviews when services are complete so that when you ask, your business is at the top of customers’ minds. 

Implementing a Contact Management System: Tips for Local Business Owners

Start with a Clear Plan

Define your CMS goals and objectives, and identify key features you need. Before selecting a CMS, take the time to assess your business needs and requirements, and create a clear action plan to make sure you’re always moving forward.

Choose the Right System

Evaluate different CMS options based on factors like cost, scalability, and support. Consider your budget, business size, and growth projections, and choose a system that aligns with your long-term goals and objectives.

Train Your Team

There is nothing more stressful than trying to deal with resistance to change. That’s why you’ll need to provide training to ensure everyone is comfortable using the system, and feel encouraged to regularly use and maintain it. 

At the end of the day, it is completely worth it to invest in training programs and resources to onboard your team members to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to effectively utilize the CMS you plan on using.

Monitor and Adjust

Things change over time, and so do people’s behaviors and preferences. This means that you need to regularly review your CMS usage and performance, and make adjustments to improve effectiveness.

We recommend that you monitor key metrics and KPIs, gather feedback from users, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your contact management process over time.

Broadly: Communication at Its Best

A robust contact management system is essential for your success. By centralizing your customer information, streamlining communication, and enhancing organization, a CMS can help you take your business where you want it to go.

Whether you’re a small local shop or a growing chain of locations, investing in a contact management system can provide you with the tools and capabilities you need to thrive in today’s competitive market. 

With Broadly, you can centralize lead management and customer communication from one shared inbox. Local businesses can automatically import contacts from their business system and consolidate leads from Facebook, Instagram, Web Chat, and website contact forms into one shared inbox.

Ready to experience the benefits of an effective contact management system? Sign up for a demo of Broadly’s customer engagement and relationship management software today and see how it can transform your business.

The post Contact Management System: Your Secret Weapon for Success appeared first on Broadly.

Communications encompass every aspect of your business, from face-to-face chats over the counter to your marketing emails. Consistency is crucial. Here’s why you need to have an effective business communication strategy across the counter, on the phone, in written communication, and across all digital media.

Grabbing the top spot, or even the front page, on a Google search is not easy. There’s a lot of competition and everyone wants the same spot. How can a small business compete? Let’s find out.

What Is Business Communication?

At its core, business communication encompasses the exchange of information within and outside a business. This exchange can take various forms, including written documents, verbal conversations, presentations, and visuals. 

Internal Dynamics

Internally, business communication involves the flow of information among employees, departments, and hierarchical levels. It’s the lifeline that keeps different parts of the business interconnected and working in harmony.

External Engagements

Externally, business communication extends beyond the business’s front door. It encompasses interactions with customers, suppliers, partners, regulatory bodies, and the broader industry. These external exchanges are critical for building relationships and fostering collaboration.

Key Components of Business Communication

Business communication is not limited to a singular method. It incorporates a spectrum of elements:

• Written Communication: In the form of emails, reports, memos, and documentation.
• Verbal Communication: Including meetings, presentations, and everyday conversations.
• Digital Communication: Through various digital platforms, such as social media and other online channels.
• Visual Communication: Through charts, graphs, and multimedia presentations.

Purpose and Impact

The ultimate goal of business communication is to convey information effectively, ensuring clarity and understanding among all stakeholders. It plays a pretty important role in team management, decision-making, problem-solving, collaboration, and, most importantly, in achieving your overall business goals.

The Importance of Effective Business Communication

Efficient business communication is the cornerstone of a well-functioning machine. It aids in preventing misunderstandings, streamlining processes, fostering a positive workplace culture, and enhancing the overall efficiency and productivity of the business.

Adapting to Diverse Contexts

Business communication is versatile and needs to adapt to various contexts, whether it’s negotiating a deal, addressing a customer concern, presenting a proposal, or conveying internal policies. The ability to tailor communication styles to different situations is a valuable skill that should be routinely fine-tuned.

Continuous Evolution

In the dynamic business landscape, communication methods change, evolve, and even disappear. Technological advancements, cultural shifts, and changes in consumer behavior all influence how businesses communicate. Staying attuned to these shifts is vital for maintaining relevance and effectiveness in communication strategies.

The Benefits of Effective Business Communication

Communication is obviously necessary to do any kind of business. You communicate with customers, employees, suppliers, other businesses, and the community at large. And still, some small businesses don’t seem to have a consistent communications strategy. 

Here are all the reasons you should take communication strategy seriously:

1. Communication Reinforces Brand Messaging

With every public or private communication, you give away information about your brand, whether you realize it or not. That’s why it’s important to establish a company policy on how to talk to customers. Is your company friendly, upbeat, and relaxed? Or do you want a serious, professional tone without a lot of chat? 

The tone you take with your customers should depend on who your customer base is. A software company whose customers are financial professionals would speak an entirely different language than a store retailing surfboards.

The key is to know your customers. Who they are, how they speak, and what they want. With customer knowledge in hand, you can develop an approach to communications that defines and reinforces your brand. This voice, or brand persona, should be consistent across your message, your marketing, and every aspect of communications. 

2. Communication Builds Customer Relationships 

Relationships, especially with customers, are incredibly important in today’s business world. Communication is key when it comes to building strong relationships and will ultimately benefit your business. 

Using positive language in emails and negotiations is a good way to keep a potential customer happy and feel comfortable with you. Sending personal notes or offers to a prospect on their birthday or another significant date (without attempting to sell them anything) is a great way to build a solid client relationship and keep them content while doing business with you.

3. Communication Boosts Creativity and Innovation

Giving your employees and customers the freedom to express ideas without fear of judgment is important when it comes to business communication. This way, creativity and innovation can develop and good business ideas can become great ideas. 

If something is not working as it should, the problem is only likely to come up if your employees feel comfortable sharing feedback. Open communication is also crucial when it comes to creating new promotional sales, improving products and services, analyzing customer feedback, making informed decisions, and sustaining business. 

4. Communication Encourages Feedback

Encouraging feedback from employees and customers is incredibly valuable to maintaining and improving your business. Customer reviews can also put your business out there to new potential customers and help your company grow and profit. 

Communicating with your customers about their experience with your product or services not only allows you to develop your communication skills further but also helps build trusting relationships and return business. 

5. Communication Boosts Employee Morale

Customers are not the only beneficiaries of effective communications. Your employees benefit as well, and it shows in the numbers. In general, small businesses are more personal and communications are simple, and as a result, 80% of people who work for small businesses feel valued and heard, and that makes them happy. The increased employee engagement that comes with open communication can positively impact your bottom line. 

How to Communicate with Employees

Communication is the lifeblood of any organization, fostering an environment where ideas flow, expectations are clear, and relationships flourish. Effective communication helps align goals, enhances collaboration, increases productivity, and keeps a cohesive company culture, among other benefits.

The types of workplace communication are the following:

• Leadership Communication: Leaders should be transparent, provide clear directives, and set expectations. Regular updates and a willingness to listen can foster both trust and respect.

• Upward Communication: Encourage open channels for feedback. Create platforms for employees to express ideas, concerns, and suggestions. Ensure that upper management is approachable and responsive.

• Meetings: Define clear objectives for meetings. Distribute an agenda beforehand. Encourage active participation, and follow up with concise meeting minutes to ensure everyone is on the same page.

• Presentations: Tailor presentations to the audience. Use visual aids to enhance understanding. Encourage questions and provide a forum for discussion after the presentation.

• Announcements: Choose appropriate channels for announcements, such as emails or meetings. Clearly convey the key information and address potential concerns. Allow for questions and provide additional resources if needed.

• Informal Interactions: Foster a culture where informal communication is valued. Encourage team-building activities, coffee chats, or virtual hangouts. This helps build rapport and strengthens interpersonal relationships.

Business Benefits of Effective Internal Communication

With effective internal communication, the following benefits can be seen:

• Better Engagement: Engaged employees are emotionally invested in their work. Effective communication fosters engagement by keeping employees informed and connected to the organization’s mission.

• Improved Morale: When employees feel well-informed and heard, morale skyrockets. A positive workplace culture, reinforced through effective communication, leads to greater job satisfaction.

• Better Collaboration: Teams that communicate effectively share ideas, provide constructive feedback, and work seamlessly toward common goals.

• Less Conflict: Miscommunication is a breeding ground for conflict. When communication is transparent and open, misunderstandings are minimized, reducing the likelihood of conflicts arising.

• Reduced Employee Turnover: Employees are more likely to stay in an organization where they feel valued and connected. Effective communication contributes to a positive workplace environment, leading to reduced turnover.

• Improved Customer Service: External communication often mirrors internal communication. Employees who understand their roles and feel supported are better equipped to provide excellent customer service, creating a positive image for the company. 

How to Communicate with Customers

It’s important to not just chat with customers but to communicate in a meaningful way. With focused communication skills, you can build your customer knowledge and make your customers feel heard and valued. Effective communications focus on these areas:

• Share Information: Keep your customers up to date on sales, special offers, new products and services, and company news. 

• Share Your Knowledge: Offer tips, tricks, use cases, and storytelling to connect with customers and answer their pain points. Be a go-to industry information site full of information about your industry and products.

• Ask for Ideas: Who knows what customers want better than your customers? If you ask and listen, they’ll provide you with invaluable information you cannot get any other way.

• Address Complaints: With today’s instant global communications, the way you respond to complaints is more critical to your company’s image than ever before. Act fast, be courteous, and do your level best to make things right.

• Ask for Reviews: When your customer pays you a compliment, ask them to make it public. Happy customers are usually happy to help—if you ask. Online reviews are trusted by 84% of consumers and 87% won’t even consider doing business unless you have at least 3 stars! Tip: 15 Clever Ways to Ask for Reviews

Business Communication Channels

Face-to-face communications are great, but not always practical. Today’s digital customers expect the full spectrum of communication options, and it’s not easy to be everywhere. As a small business owner, you’ll have to focus on those areas where you can best serve the largest number of customers. Here are some methods to consider:

Communicating on Your Website

Web chat is a great way to address customers when they need help most. They come to your website seeking answers, and a web chat agent can answer common questions immediately. For a small business, a fast response is often the difference between a missed opportunity and a sale. In our survey, 55% of small businesses think they have an hour or less to respond to customers before they move on.

Social Media

Today, almost everyone is on some sort of social media platform. Advertising and interacting with your customers through them is incredibly impactful.

A strong social media presence promotes your products and/or services to a variety of new people who may have never even heard of your company. It is not only important, but it is also super easy to communicate, both privately and publicly, through your social media pages. 

Your Email Lists

Giving your customers the option to subscribe to an email list is a great way to get the word out about promotions, specials, new products, and more. Offering incentives for people who sign up for your email list can allure more customers to join and news about your company will spread to more people and update them about your business. 

Telephone Communication

Professional Phone Etiquette

Effective business communication involves articulate conversations, both within the company and with external contacts. Ensure your speech is clear and concise so the person on the other line can clearly understand you. It might be a good idea to adopt a professional and amiable tone but avoid unnecessary jargon and business-speak that might alienate or confuse the person you’re talking with.

It’s important to note that more important than active communication is active listening. Understanding others’ needs is crucial for providing thoughtful and constructive responses. Don’t be afraid to keep a pen and paper handy to make sure you can jot down this important information.

Enhancing Your Verbal Communication

Problems can be challenging to navigate. Brushing up on your problem-solving skills to address inquiries or concerns can help you diffuse difficult situations and foster positive phone interactions.

Video Call Etiquette

Embrace the nuances of video calls, as they require a different set of skills compared to traditional phone conversations.

Some good pointers include:

• Checking your camera and audio before the meeting to ensure everything is working.

• Ensuring your background is tidy and free of distractions.

• Confirming your internet connection is stable and able to handle a video call.

• Counting to two after the other party ends their sentence to avoid talking over each other.

• Have a backup plan in the event of poor connectivity.

Interpersonal Communication

Active Listening

When it comes to interpersonal communication, the best skill to have is active listening. This means actively listening to analyze and process what you are being told. Be careful not to interrupt others or impose your solutions as a fix on those already imposed—rather, present them as suggestions or other options. Keep an eye on your tone of voice, word choice, and body language when communicating.

Body Language

Part of communication is non-verbal communication, which can come from your body language. This is especially true of conversations that are had in person or over video calls. Nonverbal cues are merely communication at a subconscious level, which makes them that much more potent. Your body language can help punctuate your point when it matches what you are saying verbally, but can also undermine your message if the two don’t align. Train employees how to be mindful of body language when engaging with customers as well.

Visual Communication

Strategic Visual Elements in Business

Visual communication encompasses the strategic use of images and designs to convey business-related information effectively. It goes beyond text, offering a visual narrative that complements textual communication perfectly on visually-driven platforms.

Nailing the Aesthetic

Uphold a consistent and visually appealing brand image, encompassing elements like your company logo and marketing collateral. 

The color wheel is also your friend. Employ harmonious color schemes and well-thought-out designs to enhance brand recognition.

Inclusivity and Simplicity

Foster an inclusive image by considering inclusivity in your visuals and reflecting kindness and consideration for diverse audiences. Some great (and free!) resources for inclusive media include:

• Nappy
• Unsplash
• Pexels

On that note, keep things simple. People skip over visuals that are too busy or unclear. When you opt for simplicity in your designs, you ensure what you are promoting is easy to comprehend while maintaining the professional aesthetic you’re going for.

Become a Communication Guru with Broadly

Without a successful communications strategy, your brand has no image. Creating lasting, trustful, and positive relationships with customers and employees is critical to running a successful and profitable business. Discover what Broadly can do for your communication strategy by scheduling a demo with us.

This article was updated on March 14, 2024.

The post Why Is Communication Important in Business? appeared first on Broadly.

Small businesses use email newsletters to raise brand awareness, highlight exciting news, share referrals and build trust.

What is email marketing?

Email marketing campaigns are an effective way for businesses to communicate with their target audience. Many roofing businesses use email marketing newsletters to support seasonal marketing efforts, promote offers or make general announcements.

Email can also be used for end-to-end communications, like confirming new appointments and automatically requesting an online review when the job is done.

How do I promote my roofing company with email marketing?

Email marketing can support the growth of any business, especially residential and commercial roofing companies. A strong email marketing plan will leverage your company’s database to reach existing and prospective customers.

Building a database is the first step. Emails can be captured through your website or via a paid service. Like many small businesses in the construction industry, you can use pay-per-lead (PPL) services to capture contact information or purchase a mailing list from a vendor. A CRM (customer relationship management) tool will help you store customer contact information.

A roofer can use email marketing to target potential customers with offers and showcase great reviews. Emails can also be used to follow up with customers who may need additional roofing services. Staying in touch with those who already know you do great work increases the likelihood that they’ll hire you again or provide a referral.

Email marketing ideas for roofing contractors

Roofers use email marketing as an extension of their digital marketing efforts. To improve email marketing, roofing contractors should:

Choose a template

There are thousands of templates available that help you put your best foot forward. A template offers more than a pretty layout. They automatically use easy-to-read fonts and are responsive for different browsers and devices. Email templates are straightforward to use — you may not even need the help of a marketing agency to set up your first campaign.

Test subject lines

Open rates are easily influenced by the email subject line. Many email automation systems, such as MailChimp, will allow you to test different subject lines.

Personalize the messaging

Variable data fields in email campaigns tailor the email content for every recipient. Emails can be personalized to match the lead’s first name with a customized introduction. Use these modifications to market different services to your target audiences, such as roof repairs or roof inspections.

Personalization can get highly targeted: You can send professional prospects offers for commercial building services and target homeowners with services for private residences.

Share announcements

Use email to let your leads and existing customers know about seasonal services, special offers, new blog posts and more. Email campaigns are a great way to humanize your business and celebrate professional growth, happy customers and other accomplishments.

Design a referral program

Referrals are a great way to connect with any business. An email encouraging existing customers to make a referral is a simple way to enhance local search engine optimization (SEO) strategies while supporting lead generation.

Request online reviews

Great work speaks for itself. Don’t hesitate to ask your former customers for a testimonial or an online review to promote your work. Photos of quality workmanship can also be uploaded with a written review on your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) and Facebook Business pages.

Share great testimonials

Leverage the best customer reviews in future email campaigns. Real-life testimonials can help prospective customers see and learn more about your quality of work.

Link to social media platforms

Use your email campaigns to grow your social media profiles. Templates often have spaces for businesses to link to common social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Reach new markets

Paid lists make it possible to extend your marketing efforts to new markets. Though an email list may not have the most qualified candidates, raising awareness about your business in new areas is always crucial if you want to expand your roofing company.

Start your next email marketing campaign with Broadly

Whether you’re looking to become the leader in your local roofing industry or simply trying to promote an offer for roof replacement, Broadly will take your online marketing campaigns to the next level. Broadly will show you how to use email to build a credible roofing marketing strategy, attract new customers, enhance SEO and develop a stronger community presence.

Adopt an email marketing strategy to connect with customers and qualified leads. Test the best lead-generation websites and apps to locate new customers and drive campaigns to raise awareness of your brand.

Want to see how Broadly can help drive an email marketing strategy for your roofing business?

The post 9 Tips for Roofing Email Marketing appeared first on Broadly.

But what type of email should you use? A personal email address or a business address, and why does that matter?

Before we get into the benefits of using a business email address, let’s discuss the difference between it and a personal email address.

Personal email address vs business email address

A personal email address is an email associated with your personal correspondence. In other words, it’s likely what you’d use for online shopping, social media, and keeping in touch with family and friends.

Personal email addresses are usually given from public email domains such as Gmail, AOL, and Outlook. These domains are free to create and use, but don’t offer the same level of security or customer service that a business email address does.

A business email address, on the other hand, is an email address used to communicate with customers, clients, or vendors on behalf of your company.

A business email address is typically associated with your company’s website domain name. This looks more professional than a personal email and can help build trust with customers.

If you don’t yet have a business website, Broadly can help. With Broadly, you can get a custom, inexpensive, sophisticated website built to suit your business and brand and optimized to help you grow faster.

Find out more here.

Benefits of having a business email

• Add instant professionalism and credibility
• Be more trustworthy, and less likely to be filed in a spam folder
• Get better security and privacy settings (depending on your host)
• Use your email account for life

In this article, we will go over how to create a professional business email in 5 easy steps. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Find an email host for your business email address

Creating a professional email is similar to setting up a website. You will need something similar to a web hosting server, but for emails. This can be done through a number of hosting platforms.

If you currently have a website, see if your host has a feature for business emails. If your current website hosting company doesn’t offer an email service you can look at places like GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Google’s G-suite which will charge a minimum amount.

If you are in the beginning stages of your business and haven’t set up your website yet, again, Broadly is available to help you get started.

Step 2: Choose a business email address

If you are a small business, you will want your brand’s business name repeated as often as possible.

It can look unprofessional if you send an email from a @Hotmail.com, or @Yahoo.com email address. These types of email addresses look like a personal email and could go straight to spam, which really puts a damper on your marketing campaigns.

Step 3: Decide about email forwarding

Once you have set up your email host and email address, the next step is to decide if you want these business emails forwarded to another email account.

Some like this idea of keeping all their emails in a single email inbox, as they can still use the familiar Gmail account to check and send messages from. Each email and hosting provider is different, so talk with those providers to learn the easiest way to set up email forwarding.

Step 4: Add some credibility

Adding something personal to an email like a picture, signature, logo, or phone number adds credibility so customers know the face or a name they are reaching out to, rather than a robot.

For example, George Palomino from TripAdvisor has a professional signature is a picture and ways on how to contact him with every email he sends.

As Dmitry Dragilev found out adding a photo can increase response rates by over 300%.

Step 5: Secure your business email

There is nothing worse than having your business email hacked. There are a few things you can do to secure an email.

• Create a complicated password –This might seem obvious, but having your favorite football team as your password, or your child’s name, is easier to guess for hackers. Choose a random and complicated password.
• Two-step verification – This means that not only do you have a password to enter your email, but another step is taken as an extra precaution in order to access your email and information.
• Keep healthy internet practices – If you get an email that doesn’t end in a .com or .org, do some homework before clicking on the link. You can even hover over the highlighted section and see where the link is going. Never give out private information over email.

Conclusion

Having a professional email is essential for your organization. It is your communication lifeline and needs to be treated as such in order to get positive customer feedback.

To get a professional email address, you can use your a Web hosting service, a 3rd party, or you can have Broadly set up your website and email domain for you.

Make sure your email is secure for protection from hackers. Last, of all, remember to check and reply to each email in a timely and professional manner.

All this will ensure your business is taken to the next level.

The post How to create a business email appeared first on Broadly.

But is email marketing right for your business? It’s definitely could be. In fact, some people estimate that targeted email marketing has a potential ROI of up to 4400% (according to OptinMonster). That’s because you’re reaching out directly to people who you know already have expressed interest in your services in some capacity: For example, they’re former customers or people who reached out to inquire about your services but never followed through booking an appointment. Including them on occasional but regular emails to notify them of special promotions or exciting updates about your business may just do the trick and get them through your door!

The secret to effective email marketing

As long as your email marketing offers something of value to your customers, you can be sure your customers will appreciate your efforts — and not send your emails directly to their spam folder.

But do you even have the bandwidth to adopt a whole new marketing channel with all that you have going on already? The good news is that email marketing tools make it easy for anyone to send out an email campaign.

Just be sure to choose an email marketing tool that makes it easy to create and send not only professional email campaigns but personalized ones, too. Think about it this way: You’re probably more likely to open an email from a business if it’s personally addressed to you and contains content that you can definitely relate to or use. With that in mind, here are some ideas for email campaigns that will help you engage and retain your best customers:

Business updates

Customers love being in the know because it makes them feel important. That’s why a great way to build stronger customer relationships is by emailing them updates about your business so they can feel knowledgeable about it and keep your business top of mind. This can be anything from announcing new services or hours of operation to recommending products that you know will help your customers.

Promotions and coupons

Sending out promotions and coupons is a fast and simple way to leverage email marketing. Whether you’re targeting potential or repeat customers, a discount could be what gets them to choose you over a competitor. Promotions and coupons can be sent in relation to a holiday, to follow up on a recent purchase, or “just because” you want to show them appreciation. (Note: Broadly’s Campaigns feature includes pre-populated templates that allow businesses to email targeted customers in minutes.)

Service reminders

Emailing service reminders is a great way to add a personal touch with email campaigns. Giving customers a heads up that their last maintenance check was a year ago will not only put you back on their radar but also makes them feel like you’re looking out for them.

Newsletters

Newsletters are recurring email communications that are sent out to customers at a regular cadence. Many businesses choose to send one out monthly or quarterly. This may sound intimidating but actually, it can be as simple as a quick paragraph with regular business updates, holiday promotions and employee performance highlights.

You can even take this one step further: Perhaps you have a base of loyal customers that share your passions. They will likely appreciate detailed content about the latest and greatest in your industry. Sending out these types of insights could be a great opportunity to establish yourself as an industry expert in your area.

Alternatively, if you live in a close-knit community, a newsletter could be a great way to let your customers know about a community event that your business is sponsoring. You know your customers best — providing them with relevant information regularly will build their trust while keeping your business consistently top of mind.

Success stories

Make your customers feel emotionally connected to your business by sharing customer success stories in your email campaigns. This is a great opportunity to strategically highlight what makes your business unique, your excellent customer experience, and the services you’d like to be known for. A success story should explain a customer’s challenge, detail how you found a solution for them, and highlighting the successful outcome. Including before and after photos and a testimonial from the customer will help it pack an even greater punch!

Do you need help getting started with email campaigns for your business?

The post 5 Ways email marketing campaigns can engage and retain your best customers appeared first on Broadly.

Today’s fast-paced world runs on communications. Automotive businesses that adopt modern methods of customer communications are in a better position to build a trustworthy brand.

Are you ready for a surprise? Aside from oil changes, younger millennials are more likely than any other age group to get their cars serviced. 

So how can automotive businesses serve all their customers as well as they service their cars? Here are 7 effective ways to reach out to your customers, expand your customer base, and watch your competition eat your dust.

How to communicate with your auto customers

1. Text Messaging
2. Voicemail and Calls
3. Email
4. Social Media
5. Chat with customers on your website
6. Gaining word of mouth reviews
7. Listen to your customers

1. Text messaging with customers

Way too many auto repair shops still rely strictly on phone calls to schedule service, check on cars in the shop, and get answers to questions. Everybody hates sitting on hold. You can do better. Everybody under the age of 35 has technology in the palms of their hands and they have adopted new rules and preferences in response. They want information right now, and they don’t want to broadcast their business to the world around them. 

Text messaging is fast, silent, and efficient. In seconds, your service rep can send an update, answer a question, and even take a photo of a gunky air filter to show the customer how badly it needs to be changed.

Text messaging doesn’t only appeal to young people. On average, 98% of mobile users say they’ll read a branded or business-based text message, and 54% actively respond.

2. Phone calls & voicemails

Voice could make a comeback. Hyper-connected young consumers permanently attached to cell phones from birth are going to be your biggest customer base sooner than you think. By 2020, Gen Z will be 40% of the population, and they hold $140 billion in spending power. 

Gen Z customers are more likely to click-to-call a business from their mobile phone than any other generation, but they are also 60% more likely to hang up if the call isn’t answered in 45 seconds, and 30% more likely to curse at you if you don’t satisfy their needs. The bottom line: modern consumers demand fast, responsive customer service, and they expect you to deliver.

If you can’t answer in person, set up a professional voicemail greeting, and then return calls as quickly as you can.

3. Email customer communication

Make your emails personal. Customers don’t want a million sales emails, but they do want to hear about the important stuff – like recalls on their cars and when they’re due for an oil change. Use your customer data to send the right message at the right time. For example, most customers need an oil change every six months, so it makes sense to send an email to remind them, upsell with a special offer on full-service maintenance, and include a one-click link for scheduling a service appointment.

If you’ve really got a handle on your customer data, you can even send out personal messages about interests. An email at the start of football season advertising accessories featuring their favorite team or tie-in with a special perk or discount if their team wins might bring them into your shop. Or how about the news of a local classic car rally for fans?

To save time, you can set up email templates for specific types of emails, like welcome, thank you for your business, service reminder, and more.

4. Social media

Monitor social media. Customers may reach out on any channel where they can find you. Post fresh, informative, and interesting content to keep customers engaged, and answer any questions or comments they make. Since you’re in the automotive business, posting car-related pictures and videos is a natural choice, and a good way to earn social shares. Everybody loves cars! Being interesting on social media is a great way to expand your audience, engage your customers, and build your brand. 

Facebook is a powerful social media platform and a good fit for a small business. Set up a professional Facebook page, and start building an audience by adding links to your social media on your website and by reaching out to your local audience. Facebook is also the ideal place to earn customer reviews and personal referrals. Here’s how to ask for reviews on Facebook.

Regardless of how you communicate, making a personal connection is key. Encourage your employees to be friendly and chatty, and keep track of personal details representatives can mention in the future.

5. Chat with customers on your website 

Customers have questions. You have answers. Your website is the perfect place to inform customers about everything they want to know. Start with installing a webchat. Being greeted by a live person who can answer questions, check service and maintenance records, and schedule appointments is a homey convenience that customers love.

Build an impressive knowledge base on your blog. Providing the best answers moves you closer to the first page of the search results.

6. Gaining word of mouth reviews

For local businesses, word of mouth is solid gold. 92% of consumers check out customer referrals before purchasing, and 60% of them find those reviews on Google. If you want to build trust, there’s no better way. 

Sign up for sites like Google My Business, Nextdoor, and Yelp where customers can leave reviews, and then use Broadly’s review platform to make it easy for your customers to recommend your business. Potential customers are more likely to trust personal recommendations than ads, celebrity endorsements, or influencers.

It’s important to respond to every review. Negative reviews should be handled carefully, with the goal of making the customer happy. It might help to set up email response templates designed to thank customers, ask for additional information, or diffuse an angry customer with a positive, helpful attitude.

Pro tip: Timing is everything. Cars.com reported that more than half (52%) of all dealer reviews are left between 10 am and 4 pm ET, with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday being the days shoppers most frequently write reviews. You might be more successful at getting a review by asking at the right time.

7. Listen to your customers

Communication is a two-way street. Once you’ve established open lines of communication, hear what they are saying…and make changes accordingly. Put your feedback to work. If the majority of your customers want you to stay open a bit later, offer additional services, or post your prices, it’s definitely worth considering. 

Find out what your customers do like and double down. Find out what they don’t like and change it. Then let everybody know about your improvements by text, email, or social media.

It’s not easy to stand out, and you’re busy. So you need tools to help you automate your customer communications, follow up on hot leads, and build customer loyalty. Customers who feel valued will keep coming back and will recommend you to their friends.

Want to improve your customer communications and generate new reviews?

The post How to manage customer communications for your automotive shop appeared first on Broadly.

Data shows that the average customer will spend 67 percent more in his or her third year as a customer compared to the first year. That’s two-thirds more money for far less work. That is a strong incentive to keep your customers coming back year after year.

So, how do you keep your existing customers?

You give them a great experience every time, treat them with respect, and make them feel special!. All of this can be done with the right customer service tools and support. In today’s digital world, much of customer service is conducted online, often via live chat or support emails.

In this article we will cover:

• Benefits of using a customer service email template
• How templates can accidentally hurt your business
• Email templates for specific customers

Let’s get started honing your customer service emails so that your business can thrive.

Benefits of using a customer service email template

A great customer service rep takes each interaction on a case-by-case basis. However, oftentimes they are asked the same questions over and over. For these situations having a template makes a lot of sense for the following reasons.

Benefit 1: Templates save customer support time

With templates as a starting block, your customer support team is able to spend less time typing the same thing over and over and be able to help more customers. Of course, you will not have a template for every question but having them for the most common questions allow your customer support staff to optimize their time to help a great number of customers.

Benefit 2: Templates ensure the company messaging is consistent with your brand

When on a support team you get asked similar questions frequently, templates can assure that everyone on your team is giving the same solutions and responses to those frequent questions.

Having synced up answers will save you and your customers a lot of headaches in the future.

Let’s look at an example.

Say two different customers email your company complaining about a new product release. You don’t have a customer service email template to use, so your support staff answers using their own wording. In the example below, take a look at how varied your employees’ responses could be without a template. Then, imagine how the customer might react to each one.

Bad support response:

Dear Alex,

We are sorry to hear you hated the product. We stated clearly what it would do on the packaging, so it is not our place to make things right. Perhaps you would like to try [PRODUCT] instead?

Thank you,

Amanda

Good support response:

Dear Bonnie,

I’m sorry you are not satisfied with the new product. It is our intention to make items that make your life easier, not harder! I will pass along your feedback to our design team. I hope you’ll consider giving us another chance. Please feel free to use code WEARESORRY to get 50% off your next purchase.

Thank you for your business.

Warmly,

Charles

You can’t guarantee friendly and helpful customer support, but having a framework for your staff to follow can greatly improve their ability to help customers. A template makes it much harder for employees to fall out of line, and your company messaging stays consistent.

Though there are many great reasons to use customer support email templates, it’s wise to be wary of their drawbacks as well.

3 Ways email templates can hurt your business

Templates can save you time and future headaches, but they can also hurt your reputation if you’re not careful. Because templates are generally a “one-size-fits-all” solution, some discrepancies will need keen attention to ensure the templates don’t backfire on you. Below are some of the ways email templates might cause harm to your company.

1) Blank customization fields

Nothing enrages a customer quite like feigned empathy. When using a template, there are often blank fields into which the service rep is supposed to put personalized information to make the customer feel more valued. These fields are vital to making the email feel personal, and they save lots of time.

Imagine sending a scathing email to a company about a bad experience, only to receive an email back addressed, “Hello [CUSTOMER NAME]”. It will be even tougher to win back that customer’s trust, let alone their business. To avoid this mess, create a checklist for your staff to follow before they hit send.

2) Typos & grammar errors

While your service reps might fill in all the blanks correctly, they may not catch any typos in the template. People using email templates expect them to be perfect examples, thus they’re not looking to edit for grammar mistakes.

If one typo slips through and ends up being sent out to every single customer that request support, you immediately come off as sloppy and/or inexperienced. Customer trust can be lost with something as simple as a “hell” instead of “hello,” so be careful.

One way to sidestep this mistake is to have your marketer or copywriter proofread all the templates before they are sent out to the rest of the staff. Someone who’s trained to find these mistakes will do a much better job of ensuring quality. If, somehow, a mistake does slip through, and someone notices it, make sure your staff knows to report any mistakes immediately so no further harm can be done.

3) Does your employee care?

Email templates are only helpful if the person sending them genuinely cares about the customer. If the customer service rep doesn’t truly want to help the customer succeed, that apathy will show, and your company will have to deal with the flack.

To make sure email templates work in your favor and not against you, simply keep these warnings in mind when implementing them. The benefits of email templates should far outweigh the drawbacks if you use them correctly.

Customer service email templates for different types of customers

Depending on the types of support requests you receive, below are some email templates for various types of customers you will likely come across.

How to respond to angry customers

If you work in customer service it is now unusual to hear something similar to this: “I hate your product/service and I’m very upset.”

Though angry customers can often seem inconsolable at first, remember that this person initially wanted to give you their business, but something went wrong. It’s your customer service rep’s job to help right that wrong, and it can be tactfully done through a well-written support email.

Responding to an angry customer via email is very similar to the way you would respond to a negative review. Be empathetic, don’t place blame, and offer to make things right.

Example support email:

“Hi [CUSTOMER NAME],

Thank you for your email and for bringing this to our attention. I am sorry that you’re disappointed with [PRODUCT OR SERVICE NAME]. Could you please let me know what specific issues you’ve encountered? I’d love to help where I can and pass along your suggestions to our team, but I need just a bit more information before doing so.

I understand how it can be frustrating [TO SIGN UP FOR A SERVICE OR PURCHASE A PRODUCT]  and not have it meet your expectations, so hopefully, we can get this sorted out for you. If not, I’ll be happy to issue you a refund.

Thank you for your business,

[REP NAME]

How to respond to happy customers

When a happy customer emails you with praises, count your lucky stars! This is a wonderful indication that you’re doing things right, and you should do everything you can to keep this customer raving about your company to their friends. Ensure your customer service team responds as they should, and ask them to leave a positive online review.

Always be sure to thank the reviewer, be personal, and include a call-to-action. A great example of a company going above-and-beyond to keep an existing customer is a golf brand, Callaway

in the below email:

The customer posted his story on Reddit and said, “I want to buy more Callaway products.

Lots more.” You can win a loyal customer like this from your own support emails to happy customers.

Example support email:

Hi [CUSTOMER NAME]

I’m so happy to hear you are pleased with [PRODUCT OR SERVICE NAME]. [COMPANY NAME] strives to deliver the best customer experience, and it makes our day to hear we have accomplished that.

We count ourselves lucky to have you as a customer and would be so happy if you could please share your experience on Google or Nextdoor. It’s people like you that inspire us. We also have a pretty great loyalty program if you’d like to be rewarded for your recommendations as well.

We appreciate you.

Thank you again!

[REP]

How to respond to high maintenance customers

No matter how much support you offer, there will always be the needy customers. These types of customers constantly need hand-holding, but you know that you can’t waste a ton of time catering to their specific needs. To respond to these types of customers, it’s important to remember that they likely feel entitled to the extra attention they are asking for. This could be a delicate situation. The below email template could keep their graces without wasting too much time.

Example email template:

Hi [CUSTOMER NAME],

Thank you for your email. We would love to help solve your issue. Please note that in order to give your situation ample time and care, there are a few things we will need from you to help with the process.

-Your order number

-Best time to call you

Is [PHONE NUMBER] a good number to call? We can resolve your issue over the phone so that there are no miscommunications and we can get things settled as soon as possible.

I appreciate your help and look forward to resolving your issue.

Thank you,

[REP]

How to respond to customers who have feedback

There is often going to be people who think they can do your job better than you or tweak your product to greatly improve it. Instead of reacting harshly to a well-meaning email that lists unwarranted suggestions for improvement, use the opportunity to cultivate a stronger customer relationship.

Obviously, this customer cares about your business enough to try to help it improve, so use customer feedback as a way to grow and perhaps if you get enough feedback on something specific you know what changes your customers want.

Check these email templates on asking for reviews and customer feedback to employ smart damage control while making the customer feel valued.

Example email template:

Dear [CUSTOMER NAME],

We are so happy you’ve chosen to purchase [PRODUCT NAME] from us. We appreciate you taking the time to send us feedback. As a way for us to keep track of customer suggestions, we would love for you to fill out this feedback survey. That way, your comments get to the right people and we can improve your experience moving forward.

Thank you for your business.

Warmly,

[REP]

Conclusion

As you can see, email templates can really come in handy, especially for sticky customer service situations. If you need to keep your branding and messaging consistent while managing support emails efficiently, email templates are a savvy tool.

Plus, these formatted documents will help you keep customers happy, resolve their problems, and encourage them to continue using your business. Acquiring a new customer can cost a company anywhere between five to 25 times more money than simply retaining current customers, so don’t undermine the value of a good customer service email template!

The post Customer service email response templates appeared first on Broadly.

Here are five of our favorite ways to engage:

1. Ask your customers for feedback.

Email is a low-touch way to ask your customers about their experiences with your business. Asking customers on-site after a transaction may put them on the spot. An email follow-up, on the other hand, will allow customers more time to reflect and provide helpful feedback. To ensure the success of your campaign, it can helpful to tell them in person that you will be sending an email.

2. Educate your customers.

Position your business – and your staff – as trusted advisors by sharing your expertise in an email newsletter. If you have a blog already, consider including your most popular posts. We’ve outlined a few considerations and ideas in a previous post about blogging. Be sure to leverage your expertise to assist customers with minor issues, so that they choose your business when more serious issues arise.

3. Announce new products, services, and incentives.

Marketing newsletters are also a great way to keep customers in the loop about new products and services, and an easy way to offer discounts to your loyal customers. For instance, if you’re an HVAC contractor, you might incentivize your best customers to schedule duct cleanings in advance of your busy season.

4. Provide updates about your business.

If you’re changing locations, updating contact information, adding staff members, or even changing hands, email is a fast and easy way to keep customers apprised of what’s happening and ensures that they can reach you when needed.

5. Share customer success stories.

Show off some of your best work! If you’re a contractor, you might consider sharing before and after photos of a recent kitchen or bath remodel. You will not only highlight your latest achievements, but you might also spark interest in new projects.

This week’s post was co-authored by Anastasia Harold of Coolfront.

The post What to do with customer email addresses appeared first on Broadly.

1. Ask your customers for email addresses.

2. Use email as part of your estimate, billing, and feedback processes.

3. Collect email addresses on your website or point-of-sale system.

4. Assure your customer that their contact information is in safe hands.

The post How to collect customer email addresses appeared first on Broadly.