When something goes wrong, waiting for answers can be torture.
We’ve all been there. Say your car breaks down on the highway. You call a tow truck and just sit there, waiting as valuable time evaporates in the exhaust-filled breeze. Eventually a big diesel truck latches onto your car, but by that time you’re down a hundred bucks, frustrated and sweaty, picking the grit from your teeth.
Now imagine your broken down car is your business server. Those long minutes aren’t simply an inconvenience, but a beat-down to your livelihood. Worse still, what happens if your or your customer’s line of communication breaks down? Missing emails hurt customers and hurt our bottom line.
It’s a No-Brainer
As entrepreneurs, we know customers depend on having a dedicated lifeline when products or services hit the fan. Customer service delays and apathy can mow down even the strongest business-consumer relationship. And, even though it’s absolutely vital to placate each customer, keeping some of them happy is like pulling teeth. The last thing we need is to have a crucial email or service ticket disappear right in the middle of dealing with a serial whiner. Each interaction is a bond with our consumers, money in our pocket, and potential ratings gold on Reddit or Google. We can’t risk using mediocre software or services that allow precious communications to slip through our fingers.
Leading Them by the Hand
Most consumers are nail-biters, and understandably so. They put their faith and their money in us. When something goes wrong, they want to know not only that we’ve got their back, but that we’re keeping them in the loop. Much like a nervous child on the first day of school, apprising customers at each stage along the way is extremely important. Keeping customers updated has a two-fold benefit: it lets them watch us rectify their complaint, and it shows them that we care.
Not Losing Them or Losing It
Of course, keeping track of every single email isn’t a simple task. Running a business is a vast, exhaustive undertaking. We don’t have time to scrape the trash can for each misplaced spam or track each and every customer-based email from query to contact to ticket. Even the most competent employee works better with a little bit of idiot-proofing.
That’s where dedicated systems come into play. By streamlining the process, by creating email templates and tracking customer email for you, business apps take the worry out of satisfying even the most anal-retentive customer. Instead of losing sleep wondering whether Chet in Tucson got your reply or Sue in Kalamazoo is happy with her Chia Pet, you can let the software do the work. Who knows, without the added stress of tracking each scrap of data, you might even find a moment to relax.