Best practices for responding to customer service e-mails

摘要

Surveys abound regarding which companies respond to customer e-mails―requests for information, complaints, etc.―in the most timely and helpful manner and which don't. Of course, the bottom line for these companies isn't the media attention they receive for their efforts but the customers they've won or lost. "In the business-to-business world, how you handle customer e-mails is of utmost, critical importance," said Al DiGuido, CEO of e-mail solutions provider Bigfoot Interactive. "If you repeatedly drop the ball, you could be jeopardizing your relationships with major clients. B-to-b relationships should be much closer than the ones marketers have with general consumers, and therefore they are also much more sensitive."