Have Traffic? Now What?
November 15th, 2007 by Pat
Like an old basketball coach would say….”Follow-Through!”.
You spend time and money to drive traffic to your website. Many of us in the travel and tourism industry rely on visitors to submit forms, requesting additional information or to check availability. Sadly, the follow-up on these requests is often lacking attention which can and does cost businesses in the end.
Here are some simple rules to follow to help convert more of those that contact you via email.
To begin with, respond in a timely manner. The Internet makes information available on-demand. Right or wrong, your visitors are not only wanting, but expecting a timely reply to their emails. If you are only checking and responding to email “every so often”, you aren’t serious about leveraging the Internet to help your business.
Check email often and respond in a timely manner. The caveat with timely response is that a high-quality, yet slightly slower response, is more valuable than a “quick and dirty” response. Auto-responders should be used with great care and you should not pat yourself on the back if you consider your auto-responder as a timely response.
Keep the subject line in-tact from the initial message. This will help “remind” the visitor’s that your email is relevant and not spam. Also keep the message thread in tact so both you and visitor can track the ‘conversation’.
This may sound like a given, but personalize the response! Use their name in the salutation and use your own name in the closing. Nothing can come across as more impersonal than an email signed, “Customer Service Rep 22341″.
If you want people to buy from you, you must establish trust, and forging a relationship is the fastest way to make that happen. Something as simple as personalizing an email can help.
Answer their questions. If they ask for specific information or have specific needs, address them! When you personalize a response and address their specific questions it proves that a real, live human being is responding to them.
DO NOT direct them to visit your website for more information! The majority of them will have just come from there and could not find the information they needed.
Be polite and positive. Another, “no kiddin’” tip, but it is surprising how few companies I see doing this well. Which do you think would be more warmly received
“To make a reservation please call 111-111-111-1111 between 8 and 6.”
OR
“To make a reservation please call us at your earliest convenience. We look forward to speaking with you and will be happy to help you reserve your trip.”
Don’t go overboard with the flowery prose and blatant ass-kissing, however, be genuine and let people know you appreciate them and want to offer them the best possible service.
Be clear and simple with your writing. Sadly, the average American reads at the 7th/8th grade level. Skip the big words and keep the sentences and paragraphs short.
Also be sure to proofread for common mistakes and misspellings. Have a list of words you have trouble spelling? Most of us non-Mensa types do. Keep the list handy.
Lastly, make it easy for people to contact you. Create a simple “signature” in your email client that includes the contact information most important to your visitors.
Tags: email follow ups .
