As technology has progressed and the online customer support industry has flourished, canned responses have become a popular tool for companies to quickly provide clear, consistent answers for their customers. But what exactly are canned responses – and how can they be used in the most effective way? This article explores how canned responses can provide an efficient yet personalized customer service experience, with instructions on how to enable them in Gmail.
What are Canned Responses?
Canned responses, also known as “macro answers” or “boilerplate answers”, refer to pre-written responses to common inquiries that help customer service teams save time, ensuring a prompt and effective response from their customers. By having a series of prepared answers ready to go, customer service representatives can reply quickly and accurately to all forms of customer questions or requests, drastically reducing the time taken to solve each individual case.
Benefits of Using Canned Responses
Using canned responses can benefit both the customer and customer service agents in various ways. For customers, the fact that support agents are providing them with a customized response based on their specific issue or question gives the feeling that their query is being attended to quickly and professionally. Likewise, canned responses can be helpful when dealing with requests that require immediate attention and little effort. Instead of having to decipher a complex problem from scratch, team members are equipped with a pre-written answer that is tailored for the situation, making it easier and faster for them to handle inquiries and resolve issues.
Creating Effective Canned Responses
To create an effective canned response system, first identify common queries and problems your customers encounter. Keep in mind that these canned answers don't have to be long and detailed; they just need to be clear, concise and provide the basic details needed for resolving the query. Once you have collected these queries, organize them into categories such as product information, order status requests or feature requests.
When creating your canned response templates take into consideration your target audience: use language that is easy to understand even for those less familiar with technology. Moreover, avoid generic language when crafting your response examples – aim at providing personalised answers instead. Finally, include helpful links or other multimedia elements when needed in order to further assist customers.
Examples of Good Canned Responses in Customer Service
Example 1: Responding to Product Inquiries
For simple product-related inquiries such as size chart queries or order tracking information, use a straightforward canned response: "Thank you for getting in touch! If you have any questions about our products please check our Customer Product FAQ. If you cannot find the information you are looking for please don't hesitate to reach out again and a member of our team will be more than happy to assist you."
Example 2: Answering Order Status Requests
When handling order status requests it's important to set expectations with customers so they know what steps come next. A sample canned response may state: "Thank you for getting in touch! Your order has been [processed/delivered] successfully [date]. If you have any questions or need further assistance please let us know."
Example 3: Addressing Feature Requests
To deal with feature requests it's best to offer thanks for their feedback as well as acknowledge their request. A good example of this type of canned answer may be: "Thank you for sharing your ideas! We appreciate your input and will make sure your suggestions are taken into account."
How to Create a Gmail Canned Response?
Creating a canned response in Gmail is easy: navigate to Gmail Settings and locate the “Canned Responses” option. From there you can create a new response by entering its name, contents and formatting. When you're done click "Save" and start using it for your customer service activities.
To guarantee an efficient customer service it's important to have a good storage system for all your canned responses. Gather all responses together in an organized folder for quick access. Furthermore, make sure to review and update the information regularly so that customers are always getting the most up-to-date answers.
Canned responses are an efficient way of providing timely support to customers while saving valuable time for customer agents. By applying this technique correctly your customer service team will be able to deliver prompt and accurate answers to common inquiries, paving the way to better customer experience with your business.
