Customer service templates

A study published by Gartner Group suggests that 80% of a business’s future revenue will be generated from 20% of its customers. 

Furthermore, it appears that satisfied consumers will typically spend nearly 70% more in their third year in comparison to their first year.

Providing quality customer service, however, demands time, and this is where customer service templates come very handy. In this article, we’ll talk about the broad spectrum of benefits that come with using communication templates, and a few valuable tips you’ll be able to integrate to increase customer satisfaction.

So why use customer service templates in the first place?

Saved time

It’s safe to assume that your clientele reaches out to the Customer Support department to solve a limited number of problems. Let’s say, 4-5 are common issues and take up around 80% of your support department’s “bandwidth.”

By using templates, the support team can focus on actually addressing the issues that customers encountered, rather than spending time on typing. That said, it’s important to stress that not all problems can be dealt with by using a template, but it will considerably reduce time expenditure.

Less room to make an error

Humans are prone to making mistakes, especially when it comes to grammar or orthography, and that’s totally fine. However, businesses should attempt to minimize the possibility of miswritten words slipping through emails, messages, and other forms of B2C interaction. Customer service templates are a great way to achieve that.  

By developing a set of high-quality templates, you can ensure that your customers will be receiving spotless emails checked by top editing services beforehand that will swiftly address their issues. 

Employee satisfaction

If there is an opportunity to eliminate unnecessary tasks for your employee’s workday, doing so will be greatly appreciated. Workers love it when their employers respect their time and allow them to dedicate their time to the things that actually matter.  

Increased response speed

Consumers have high expectations in regards to response time. According to a report published by Harvard Business Review, the vast majority of businesses take too long to respond to customer requests.  The average response time among the audited companies was 42 hours, which is, quite frankly, too long. Reacting quickly will give you a considerable competitive edge. 

Consistency in communication

Businesses that care about their branding pay a lot of attention to their brand tone. This is an important facet that defines the experience a customer goes through when interacting with their business. 

An amazing example of a consistent tone in copy and communication is MailChimp, the email marketing service. Their ‘Voice and Tone Style Guide’ is definitely worth checking out to get a better understanding of how to approach writing content and templates that are consistent with your brand image.

Communication templates best practices

Make templates personal

Customers appreciate it when they’re treated “as a human being” and not just a number in a spreadsheet. Over 70% of consumers express frustration when their experience isn’t personalized. Moreover, they are often willing to pay premium rates to receive proper treatment. 

While you may be using a template message, always take the time to at least use your customer’s name.

Logical structure of names

As a business, you’ll have customers that come from different ethnic backgrounds, which implies that they have different name structures. Take that into account when crafting a template message.

Try to have as many Knowledge Base articles ready as possible

It’s essential to permanently update your knowledge base. Therefore, the customer support department can always provide your clientele with accurate information that is immediately accessible. 

“A well-constructed knowledge base will considerably improve relationships with your customers, but it will also have a great impact on the time it takes to train new staff, which will inherently cut down expenses as well.”

Ronak Meghani – the Co-Founder of Magneto IT Solutions.

Types of communication templates

Formal/business email templates

The critical aspect behind this type of template is that it’s “formal.” Pay extra attention to punctuation-related errors, make sure you use enough transition words, avoid comma splices, and also be careful how you sign off. 

If you would like to know more, we have created some Business templates to use right away.

Customer request templates

When attempting to write a customer request template, consider the most common requests you receive from your clientele.

Here are a few examples you may find useful:

• Your service is amazing, but here’s my problem with it. 
• I’m unhappy with your service, and here’s why.
• I’m new here, how do I [action]?

Live chat scripts & Canned responses

While they are incredibly helpful, sending the wrong canned response may decrease customer satisfaction. Use them as templates, but adapt the most suitable canned response to your client’s situation. Also, don’t overuse technical jargon, and don’t forget to sprinkle it with a bit of humor when appropriate. 

Sales templates

These templates are really tricky. Your goal is to provide as much potential value in a very small number of words. It is also essential to personalize these messages as much as possible so that your sales emails aren’t just discarded as spam. 

If you would like to know more, we have created some Sales templates to use right away.

Marketing templates

When it comes to marketing templates, it’s essential to focus on maintaining your brand voice, especially if these templates are directed towards your existing customers. 

If you would like to know more, we have created some Marketing templates to use right away.

SMS templates

Text messaging is currently among the most effective marketing mediums out there. The hard part about SMS templates is that they need to be short, while your goal is to insert a compelling call-to-action, personalize it, and provide a lot of value to the recipient. 

Ready-to-use customer service templates:

If you would like to find out more, read LiveAgent – Templates.

Conclusion

Templates are a great solution to a broad spectrum of issues. However, businesses need to approach the development of communication templates with due diligence, considering that a misused or poorly executed template may as well defeat the purpose of increasing customer satisfaction. 

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