3 Customer Service Email Templates for Retail

If you are in the retail business, emails are a great way to engage and communicate with customers. In fact, people spend 17 hours per week checking, reading, and replying to emails, on an average. So, it should come as no secret that better customer emails can boost engagement and purchase rates. But there isn’t always time to create a compelling email at the drop of a hat, is it? This can cause some of your emails to fall flat.

That’s where customer service email templates can save the day for your retail business. They can help you write powerful, engaging emails in no time at all. They are especially helpful for dealing with retail customer service issues quickly or trying to build engagement with consumers across different stages of the buying cycle.

Here are three customer service email templates for customer engagement to try out today.

1.The ‘make it right’ Email Template

Customer service is a huge part of customer experience and engagement, particularly in retail. If you don’t offer quality customer service, your customers aren’t going to be interested in interacting with you.

As many as 67% of customers say that bad experiences are a reason for churn, but only 1 out of every 26 unhappy consumers actually complain about them. That’s why you need to know how to avoid bad experiences in the first place. Writing a good damage control email is the key to engaging and retaining customers with complaints.

When a customer is unhappy with you, it may or may not be your brand’s fault. But that’s not what matters. Quickly resolving the issue is. You have to leave a lasting impression on consumers so that they don’t turn to competitors, decide to leave you a bad review, or both.

Keep a calm, professional tone and put yourself in their shoes. Be empathetic and admit that you need to resolve the situation. Then, apologize and take all of the steps necessary to fix the problem. Here’s a solid template from Mindsight to model your own emails after.

Email Templates Customer Service Retail

It’s personal, solves the problem, and gives you a chance to make it right with your customers. When people order from you, they want to be informed about their purchase during every single step. They want to know when the order is confirmed, when it will ship, and when it will arrive.

The “order update” Email Template

Chances are that you’ve probably placed an online order before. At least 96% of Americans shop online. When you order something over the internet, updates about shipping keep you informed about when to expect your item. They make your order experience seamless.

Your customers probably already contact you asking for updates about their orders often. Give them what they already want up front instead. Send them the tracking number and information about the carrier that will handle their shipment. Give them an estimated delivery time and send them a follow-up email after they receive it to ask how satisfied they were with their order.

You can create your order update email after an example like this one —

Email Templates Customer Service Retail

It confirms the order, lists the tracking code, all of the items in the order, the order total, and the delivery receipt.

Your customers will appreciate that you took the time to send them one email with all of the information about their order that they need neatly packaged in one location. Some companies like Amazon go the extra mile to proactively inform customers when there is a delay in shipment.

The “cart abandonment” Email Template

Data shows that 69% of shoppers abandon their carts, on average, which ends up costing retailers billions in lost revenue. If you aren’t sending out cart abandonment emails, you’re missing out on huge opportunities to re-engage customers.

Send the first email within a few hours after they abandon their cart, the second one within 24 hours, and the third one within 48 hours with a special discount if they order now.

The first email is the most important. It’s been shown to boost revenue by 105% more than the same email sent 24 hours after abandonment. Try to send something similar to this cart abandonment email from Everlane.

Email Templates Customer Service Retail

It’s helpful to give consumers reminders about what they left in their carts. Just add an image of the product along with the price with a button that takes them back to the item.

A little personalization can help here, too. 94% of companies think that online customization can help with business performance.

Cart abandonment emails are already personal, but you can make them even better by addressing customers by name or talking to them like a friend. In this example by Beardbrand, Keith takes personalization a step further and says “P.S. I really like the Tree Ranger Utility Balm. Great Choice!”

Customer Service Email Template Retail

Customers will notice the personal touch when you engage with them like human beings instead of just another order you want to fill.

Now that you have a few email templates for customer engagement up your sleeve, you can start using them in Freshdesk.

There isn’t always time for your agents to create engaging, perfect emails. That’s why you need email templates to help you with every element of the customer experience. All of your emails to customers can be used to boost engagement with customers across every stage of the buying cycle when done right.

At the very least, you need email templates for dealing with customer support issues, updating buyers about their orders, and getting those who have abandoned their carts to come back.

Send emails that “make it right” to customers who have complaints. Whether they’ve purchased from you yet or not, they need to know that you value them before they continue to interact with you. When people buy from you, it’s courteous to send them information about the shipment of their order. That way, they won’t have to contact you first.

Send order update emails with every online transaction. Finally, when creating a solid cart abandonment template, don’t be afraid to leave room for personalization. Address customers by name so that they’re more likely to buy. The longer you go without engaging email templates, the more revenue you could be missing out on.

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