Effective customer service emails are the backbone of any eCommerce operation. They are cheap, effective, and an essential aspect of any business. For a long time, emails have been the primary communication between an online business and its customers. Companies must ensure that their customer service emails are written concisely and professionally.

How Email Communication Directly Impacts Customer Experience:

For a long time, customer service has been seen as a way to douse fires. In fact, it significantly impacts bottom-line revenue since it is the primary medium to establish strong customer relationships. Email communication gives customer service the ability to increase satisfaction and, in turn increase retention is severely undermined and should be given more attention:

A customer service email strategy can help you establish a customer-centric approach and make your customers feel valued. Reaching out to a customer with a personalised message and solutions can turn a bad experience into a good one. Email communication is less aggressive but equally effective in capturing customers' sentiments and resolving tickets more efficiently. A customer's experience with email communication can shape their overall perception of a company. 

Customer service should be perceived as more than a means to satiate upset or unhappy clients. Customer service is an essential medium to drive conversions and establish long term relationships with your customers by increasing retention. Here’s how:

Pre-purchase Customer Service Emails: Once a potential buyer visits your website and cannot convert them into a buyer, you’ve missed the opportunity to communicate your value prop or capture attention. In instances like these, an email sequence, in this case, helps reinvigorate that relation and essentially saves the customer acquisition cost. 

Post-purchase Customer Service Emails: If you want to retain customers, you must treat them as long-term customers instead of valuing them even after a successful transaction. Post-purchase emails can help collect feedback, get reviews, understand how the customers engage with your product and interact with them to prompt them to make more purchases from your store.

Overall, email communication plays a critical role in shaping the customer experience. By being responsive, using a professional tone, providing clear and accurate information, personalizing emails, and being proactive, businesses can ensure that their customer's experience with email communication is positive, and it can ultimately help to build long-lasting relationships with their customer base.

Related Read: How to Improve Ecommerce Customer Experience

Automation in Customer Communication:

The key to customer service email automation is to create a perfect balance between automation and human empathy. Email is the most cost-effective way of communicating with your customers, but it can be equally time-consuming, impacting your bottom-line revenue. The aim of your customer service email strategy should be to use automation as an entry point. Your automation flows and responses should take care of redundant queries and provide proactive and timely responses but lead customers to a service representative if they are still unsatisfied. You should reduce agent interactions without compromising on customer satisfaction. Discover more on How to Measure Customer Satisfaction

Automation can help businesses streamline email communication, improving customer experience. Here are a few ways in which automation can be used in email communication with customers:

1. Email Templates: Email templates can be created for common customer inquiries and customer service issues, making it easier for customer service representatives to respond to customers in a timely and consistent manner. This can save a lot of time and make the process more efficient.
2. Triggered Emails: Triggered emails are automated emails sent to customers based on specific actions or events. For example, an abandoned cart email can be set up to be sent to customers who have left items in their shopping cart without completing the purchase. This type of automation helps to remind customers of their interest in the product and can increase the chances of a sale.
3. Email Campaigns: Automation can also be used to send out email campaigns, such as newsletters, promotional emails, or personalized product recommendations, to customers. This can help businesses stay in touch with their customers and keep them informed about new products, sales, or other important information.
4. Feedback Requests: Automation can send follow-up emails to customers asking for feedback on their experience with the business. This can help businesses identify areas for improvement and ensure customers feel heard.
5. Automated Surveys: Automated survey emails can be sent to customers at various stages of their purchase journey; they can be sent after the purchase or after delivery. This can provide valuable insights into customer satisfaction and areas for improvement.

In conclusion, automation can play a crucial role in customer email communication. It can help businesses to streamline their email communication process, make it more efficient, stay in touch with customers, and improve the customer experience overall. However, it's important to note that the automation should be tested, reviewed, and fine-tuned regularly to ensure they deliver the desired results and customer experience.

Related Read:

• Complete Guide on Customer Service Automation
• Customer Self Service: Best Practices, Benefits & Examples
• Best Customer Self Service Portal with Use Cases

Best Practices to Follow while Writing Emails to Customer

Here are some best practices for writing effective customer service emails:

1. Personalize the Email: Emails are a great way to create a long-term bond with your customers. Whether it is marketing emails that drive the customers to your business or post-purchase communication that ensures a good customer experience, personalizing email communication can help you retain more customers and increase the customer lifetime value.  
2. Be Clear and Concise: Time is an essential commodity, and your customers are flooded with emails from different brands and services. Use simple, straightforward language to make your emails skimmable and help get your point across without wasting too much time. Make sure to avoid using jargon or technical terms the customer may need help understanding.
3. Be Proactive: Anticipate the customer's needs and provide them with all the necessary information to resolve their issue. For example, if the customer requests a refund, include a link to the refund policy and instructions on initiating the process.
4. Show Empathy: Whether your agents are manually reaching out to your customers or you’ve set up automated responses, the tone and messaging of your emails should help humanize your brand. Maintain an empathetic tone throughout your communications. 
5. Provide a call-to-action: A clear call-to-action guides the customer on what to do next. For example, if the customer has a question, include a link to a FAQ page or invite the customer to contact the customer service team. Download Free Ecommerce FAQ Template
6. Follow-Up: A Follow-up is essential after every customer-agent interaction to ensure the customer is satisfied with the resolution. This will also allow the customer to express further concerns or issues and help you establish a strong channel of feedback that’s coming directly from your customers.
7. Use a Professional Tone: The email should be professional and polite. Avoid overly casual language or slang; proofread the email for spelling and grammar errors.
8. Incentivize: As appropriate, offer a small incentive (like a discount on their next purchase) as a token of appreciation for repeat orders, referrals, and even good reviews. This will help you organically spread word of mouth and build your brand among your target audience. But make sure to abide by your country's laws and regulations related to incentivizing.

Customer Service Email Templates with Different Use Cases

The sample customer service emails provided below guide the tone and format that should be used in various situations that customer service representatives face. Any text enclosed in brackets is placeholder text that you can edit to suit your company's policy (or delete entirely if it doesn't apply to you). 

We have also supplied topic line suggestions in some of the drafts. Creating subject lines that will encourage people to click is an art that frequently necessitates testing.

Here are emails you can draw inspiration from to get your creative juices flowing:

• Cart Abandonment Email Templates
• BFCM Offers Email Templates
• Asking for Product Review
• Email Template to Ask for Feedback
• Template for Subscription Renewal Reminder
• CSAT Followup (Negative CSAT)
• CSAT Follow-up (Positive CSAT)
• Customer Survey Request Email Template
• Template to Reengage Inactive Customers
• Scheduled Maintenance Email Template
• Low Stock Alert Email Sample
• Items Restocked Sample Email Template
• New Arrivals

1. Cart Abandonment Email Templates

Emails sent to clients whose shopping carts have been abandoned help them return to the website and complete the purchase they were about to make. Bonus points if you include a pleasant greeting and pictures or descriptions of the things left in the cart!

‍Email Sample-1: Remember your Items in the Cart

‍Hi [customer name],

We noticed that you left some items in your cart on our website. We wanted to remind you that your items are still waiting for you, and we hope you'll come back and complete your purchase.

Remember, your items are still available, and we would love you to have them. If you have any questions about the products, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for considering our products.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Email Sample-2: Still Interested in your Items?

Hello [customer name],

We wanted to see if you're still interested in the items you left in your cart on our website. We understand that things come up, but we wanted to remind you that your items are still available, and we would love for you to have them.

As a thank you for your consideration, we're offering a 10% discount on your entire purchase if you complete your order within the next 48 hours. Use the code "ABANDON10" at checkout.

Take advantage of this opportunity to get your hands on these products. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Email Sample-3: Last Chance to Buy

Dear [customer name],

This is your last chance to take advantage of the items you left in your cart on our website. We're sorry to see that you haven't had a chance to complete your purchase yet, and we wanted to offer you one final opportunity to do so.

As a final incentive, we're offering a 15% discount on your entire purchase if you complete your order within the next 24 hours. Use the code "ABANDON15" at checkout.

Please note that this offer is only available for a limited time. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

2. BFCM Offers Email Templates

Since BFCM is the busiest season in the year, promotional emails can be used to increase customer engagement, and revenue, attract new clients, build brand awareness, and reward devoted clients, helping increase conversions.

BFCM Offer Email Sample-1: Exclusive Black Friday Deals are Here!

Hi [customer name],

Happy Friday! As the big shopping day approaches, we wanted to let you know about some of the fantastic Black Friday deals we have in store for you. From now until the end of the day on Monday, we offer discounts of up to 50% on select products.

Take advantage of these deals quickly! And, if you're looking for inspiration, be sure to check out our "BFCM" collection on our website.

Also, be sure to keep an eye out for our upcoming Cyber Monday deals as well.

Thank you for choosing us, Happy Shopping!

Best regards,
[Your Name]

BFCM Offer Email Sample-1: Limited Time BFCM Deals Continue!

Hello [customer name],

Our Black Friday deals are still going strong, but they won't last forever! Today, we are offering an extra 10% off on already discounted items when you use the code BFCM10 at checkout.

Additionally, you'll also get free shipping on all orders over $50.

Don't miss out on these deals and stock up on your favorite products before they're gone. Be sure to check out our "BFCM" collection on our website for more inspiration.

As always, thank you for choosing us and Happy Shopping!

Best regards,
[Your Name]

BFCM Offer Email Sample-1: BFCM Deals Ending Soon!

Dear [customer name],

This is your last chance to take advantage of our Black Friday deals! Our sale ends tonight at midnight, so act fast! To make this a sweet deal, we're offering an extra 20% off on already discounted items when you use the code BFCM20 at checkout.

Don't miss out on these deals and grab the products you've had your eye on before it's too late. Be sure to check out our "BFCM" collection on our website for more inspiration.

Thank you for choosing us and Happy shopping,

[Your Name]‍

4. Asking for Product Review

Peer reviews are the best way to establish trust in your business. Ensuring that you are reaching out to customers for product reviews will help you convert new customers and also show existing customers that you value their opinions and feedback.

Subject: Help us Improve, Leave a Review on your Recent Purchase

Dear [customer name],

We hope you're enjoying your recent purchase from us. We would be extremely grateful if you would take a few minutes to share your thoughts and experiences with other customers by leaving a review.

Your feedback is essential to helping us improve our products and services. By sharing your thoughts, you'll not only be helping other customers make informed decisions, but you'll also be helping us to improve our offerings to meet your needs better.

To leave a review, simply visit the product page of the item you purchased on our website and click on the "write a review" button. It only takes a few minutes and your input is greatly appreciated.

If you're facing any problem, please feel free to reach out to us, we will be happy to assist you.

Thank you for choosing us and for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Related Read: Review Apps to Manage Product Reviews on Store

5. Email Template to Ask for Feedback

Gathering consumer feedback shows that you value their viewpoints and makes them more invested in your business as a result of your efforts to involve them. You can establish a stronger relationship with them through these emails:

Subject: We Value your Feedback

Dear [customer name],

We hope you're having a great experience with our products and services. Your satisfaction is important to us, and we would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to share your feedback.

Your input will help us understand what we're doing well and where we can improve so that we can continue to provide you with the best possible experience.

We've created a quick and easy survey that should only take a few minutes to complete. Your answers will be kept confidential, and we would be grateful for any suggestions or comments that you might have.

Please follow this link [survey link], to complete the survey.

If you prefer to provide feedback in another format, please don't hesitate to contact us by phone or email. We value your input and look forward to hearing from you.

As a token of our appreciation, we will be happy to offer a small incentive for completing the survey.

Thank you in advance for your time and input. We appreciate your business and look forward to continuing to serve you.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

6. Subscription Renewal Reminder Email Template

Send gentle nudges for subscription renewal incase your customers are forgetting to tick off a little box on their to-do list:

Subject: Time to renew your subscription

Dear [customer name],

We noticed that your [subscription name] subscription is coming up for renewal soon. We'd like to remind you that your subscription will expire on [expiration date].

We've enjoyed having you as a subscriber, and we hope that you've found our service valuable. We understand that things can get busy, and it's easy to forget about upcoming renewals, so we wanted to ensure you get all the benefits of your subscription.

Click on this link [renewal link] and follow the instructions to renew your subscription. If you have any questions or need assistance with the renewal process, please don't hesitate to contact us.

We value your business and look forward to continuing to serve you. As a token of appreciation, we're offering a 10% discount on your renewal when you use the code RENEW10 at checkout.

Thank you for choosing us, and we look forward to continuing to provide you with our services.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

7. CSAT Followup (Negative CSAT): 

Disappointments are bound to happen; how you bounce back is what matters. Reach out to customers who left terrible CSAT scores and try to understand and address their concerns:

Subject: We're Sorry to Hear you Were Unsatisfied

Dear [customer name],

We recently received feedback that you could have been more satisfied with the service you received from us. We're sorry to hear that you had a negative experience, and we want to make it right.

We take all feedback seriously and strive to provide the best possible service to our customers. We would appreciate the opportunity to understand what went wrong and how we can improve.

Can you please take a moment to share more details about your experience with us? Please reply to this email or reach out to our customer service team at [phone number/ email], and we will do our best to rectify the situation.

We value your business and feedback and are committed to providing the best possible service to our customers. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

8. CSAT Follow-up (Positive CSAT): 

Tap into a happy moment and reach out to customers who left a positive CSAT score so that you have more social backing and testimonials for your business:

Subject: Your Feedback Means Everything to Us

Dear [customer name],

We recently received feedback that you were happy with the service you received from us. We're delighted to hear that you had a positive experience, and we want to continue to provide you with the best service possible.

As a token of our appreciation, we would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to leave us a review. Your feedback is essential in helping us improve our products and services and enables other customers to make informed decisions about their purchases.

To leave a review, simply visit the product page of the item you purchased on our website and click the "write a review" button. It only takes a few minutes, and your input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you again for choosing us and for taking the time to share your thoughts. We value your business and look forward to continuing to serve you.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

9. Customer Survey Request Email Template: 

Always establish a good rapport with your customers and show them you value their preferences by asking them questions about their tastes, their pain points, their expectations, etc. This will also help you personalise their experience:

Subject: Hey! We’d Like to Get to Know you Better!

Dear [customer name],

We hope you're having a great experience with our products and services. Your satisfaction is important to us, and we would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to provide us with your feedback by filling out our customer survey.

Your input will help us understand what we're doing well and where we can improve, so that we can continue to provide you with the best possible experience.

Please follow this link [survey link], to access the survey. It should only take a few minutes of your time and your answers will be kept confidential.

As a token of our appreciation for taking the time to complete the survey, we'll be happy to offer you a small incentive, like a discount on your next purchase.

If you have any questions about the survey or encounter any issues with the link, please don't hesitate to contact us at [customer service phone number/email].

We appreciate your business and look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

10. Email Template to Reengage Inactive Customers

Since retention is more feasible than acquiring new clients, a customer service team should always look to reengage customers with offers or incentives in order to keep them motivated to continue shopping from you:

Reengage Inactive Customers Email Sample-1: We Miss You!

Hello [customer name],

We noticed that it's been a while since you last shopped with us, and we wanted to check in and see how you're doing. We've missed you and wanted to remind you that we're still here and ready to provide you with the products and services you've come to expect from us.

As a token of our appreciation, we're offering a 10% discount on your next purchase when you use the code WEMISSYOU at checkout.

We hope to see you soon, and if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Reengage Inactive Customers Email Sample-2: Don't Miss Out on Our Latest Products!

Dear [customer name],

We wanted to remind you that we've recently added a variety of new products to our website and we think you might be interested in checking them out. From the latest fashion trends to must-have tech gadgets, we have something for everyone.

As a special incentive for our inactive customers, we're offering free shipping on your next purchase over $50 when you use the code NEWPRODUCTS at checkout.

Don't miss out on these deals, and please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Reengage Inactive Customers Email Sample-3: Last Chance to Save

Hello [customer name],

This is your last chance to take advantage of our special offer for inactive customers. Your unique code "WEMISSYOU" expires in 24 hours and we'd hate for you to miss out on the savings.

Also, As a final incentive, we're offering an additional 15% off on your next purchase when you use the code LASTCHANCE at checkout.

Don't hesitate, to take advantage of this opportunity and shop now.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

11. Scheduled Maintenance Email Template

Letting customers know about any scheduled maintenance can avoid any frustrations or disappointments and keep the customer perception of your brand in check:

Subject: Scheduled Maintenance Update

Dear [customer name],

We would like to inform you that our website and online store will be undergoing scheduled maintenance on [date and time]. During this time, our website and online store may be unavailable for a brief period of time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

We will be working to make improvements and ensure that our website and store are running smoothly for your future shopping experience. We kindly ask for your understanding and patience as we work to make these updates.

We will make every effort to minimize the disruption to your shopping experience and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer service team at [phone number/email].

Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

12. Low Stock Alert Email Sample

Subject: Limited Stock Alert: [Product Name]

Dear [customer name],

We hope you're having a great day! As one of our valued repeat customers, we wanted to bring to your attention that the product you recently purchased from us, [product name], is now running low in stock.

We're reaching out to you as we understand that you have recently expressed an interest in this product and we didn't want you to miss the opportunity to buy it again. If you're planning to restock soon, we recommend you place your order soon to avoid disappointment.

As a special offer for our repeat customers, we offer a 10% discount on your next purchase when you use the code RESTOCK10 at checkout.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

13. Items Restocked Sample Email Template:

Subject: [Product Name] is Back in Stock!

Dear [customer name],

We are excited to let you know that [product name] is back in stock! We know how much you wanted this product, and we didn't want you to miss out.

As a reminder, [product name] is [product features or brief description]. We are confident that you will be satisfied with your purchase and we would be happy to assist you with any questions or concerns.

We understand how frustrating it can be to miss out on a product you want, so as a token of our appreciation, we're offering a 15% discount on your next purchase when you use the code BACKINSTOCK at checkout.

Don't hesitate, to place your order now and be the first to get your hands on the restocked product.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

14. New Arrivals

Subject: New Arrival Alert: [Product Name]

Dear [customer name],

We're excited to inform you that a new product has just arrived in our store and we think you might be interested in checking it out.

[Product Name] is a [brief product description]. It's [features of the product]. We believe this product would be a great addition to your collection and we're sure you'll love it.

Don't hesitate, to check out our new arrival collection on our website and place your order now to be the first to get your hands on it. As a special offer for our valued customers, we offer a 10% discount on your purchase when you use the code NEWARRIVAL at checkout.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Note: The codes, discounts and time limit, names, and the wordings are just examples and could be adjusted based on the e-commerce store, it is always better to test your own copy, subject line, and incentives as different audiences might respond to different things.