If you’ve ever ordered anything from Amazon, you know what a transactional email is. Essentially, transactional emails are what you get from Amazon confirming your order, notifying you that your order has shipped, and asking you to rate your purchase.
Your service business should be using transactional emails, too. When you schedule an appointment for service, send an email confirming that appointment. If you reschedule or cancel an appointment, send your customer an email notifying them of the change. A day or two before the appointment, remind your customer that you’ll be there soon. And after you’ve completed the service, send your customer a notification that you’re done, and ask them to rate your service.
But transactional emails can do more than just notify your customers of appointments. They can also help you sell additional services and generate more revenue. So if you aren’t currently sending transactional emails for your service business, you should seriously consider doing it.
Convinced? Then here are some tips when sending transactional emails:
- Make it your own. You’ve probably spent money developing your brand. Your logo, the colors you use and the fonts you use are all part of your brand. And you want your brand to be recognizable every time your customers see it.
So let your brand loose on your transactional emails. Make sure you have your logo, your tagline, and use the same fonts and colors you use in your logo and on your website. You want your customers to immediately know that the email is from you, so make sure you add your branding to your email.
- Include customer-specific information. Transactional emails by their nature need to include very specific customer information. The goal is to inform your customer about what you are doing so they can prepare for your service visit. So you need to deliver very specific information, including:
- Address the customer by name
- The date and time you’ll be there or that you completed the work;
- What service you will be or did perform;
- What address you will or did work at;
- The name of the person that will perform the work.
- Include detailed information about what you will do or did. Again, the goal of your transactional emails is to inform your customer. So make sure you tell your customer what you are going to do if you’re sending an appointment confirmation or reminder. And tell them how they need to prepare for your visit. For example, if you own an irrigation business and you’re winterizing a system, be sure to tell the customer that you may need access to the basement or garage to access their valves.
Likewise, if you are sending an email after you’ve performed a service, be sure to tell your customer what you did and what they need to do, if anything. For example, say your lawn maintenance business reseeded a portion of a property. Tell the property owner in your completion email what they need to do to make sure the grass germinates. Communication is the key to effective customer relationships, so deliver helpful tips to your customer instead of leaving them in the dark about what happens next.
- Market your business. If you’ve ever received an order confirmation or shipment notification from Amazon, you’ve probably seen how they subtly market their business. Frequently, they’ll put a small banner ad about their Amazon Visa card. Or, they’ll put a banner promoting products either complementary to what you’ve ordered, or products you’ve searched for but not purchased in the past. Since they are sending an email, they take a few minutes to promote their business within the transactional email.
It’s a smart business move and can really improve your revenue and build more loyal customers. So don’t be afraid to drop in offers related to the service you’ve just performed. Or promote a new product or service you’re releasing. Or mention that award your business just won. Your customers are much more likely to read your transactional email – because it contains pertinent information relevant to them – so don’t be afraid to market your business in your transactional email. It’s a great service business marketing tactic.
But don’t overwhelm them with you marketing messages. If you have a tiny amount of information about their appointment, but 75% of the email is marketing, they will soon tune out your email. So keep it brief – a headline with a link to your website for more information works great.
- Be social. Social media has taken off in the past couple years, mainly because it’s a relatively simple, inexpensive way to connect with your customers. So if you’re using social media, promote it on your transactional emails. Simply drop icons for Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Google Plus, wherever you maintain a business profile. Who knows, you may gain another like or follower and get your business seen by your customers’ friends.
Transactional emails are a must for your service business. They help inform your customer about your upcoming visit, while also providing an excuse for you to periodically deliver marketing messages. The end result of this increased communication is more loyal, informed customers, more upselling, and ultimately more revenue for your field service business.
Want more tips on how to create loyal customers? Download our latest eBook, 20 Ways to Improve Customer Loyalty: A Guide For Service Businesses, today!