Provide Better Customer Service and Save Time Using Auto-Responders

Do you often send email acknowledgments of orders? Follow up emails to check that products were downloaded or received and the customer is happy? Emails requesting feedback or reviews? An auto-responder can save you time!

Auto-responders are programs that send automatic responses when they are triggered. You set up the response one time, and the triggers, then it sends itself without requiring your time for each email sent out.

Some triggers you might use:
* a form is filled in with contact information
* an order is received
* an email is received to a certain address

Situations where auto-responders can deliver helpful information for you:
* When you receive a new order and want to send an acknowledgment of the order or deliver the e-product automatically.
* When you want to follow up and be sure an order was successfully downloaded (for e-products).
* When you want to follow up and be sure an order you shipped arrived safely and was correct.
* When someone signs up for your newsletter.
* When someone requests more information about a product or service.
* When someone requests a free report, download, or other resource from your website the auto-responder can instantly deliver it for you.
* When you’re offering a teleseminar and someone registers and needs call in details.
* When someone sends an email and you’re out of the office on vacation.

Single Email Auto-Responders

You can set up a simple, one email auto-responder like a vacation message: “Thanks for writing! I’m out of the office until 1/15 and will respond to email within a few days of my return. If you need an urgent reply please contact my assistant at assistant@yourdomain.com or leave a voice message at 800-555-1234.”

Multi-Email Auto-Responders

You can also setup a series of emails in an auto-responder.

This works well if you want to deliver a series of e-course emails (lesson one, lesson two, lesson three, etc) with a few days in between the lessons.

It can also be used to deliver excellent customer service for orders, such as:

Immediate – “Thank you for your order….”

2 Days Later – “Your order is on it’s way…” (You’d adjust this time to your normal shipping time frame, of course! And if your order ship on a custom time basis, then change it to something like “Order usually ship within X days so we wanted to let you know your order will be on it’s way soon!”)

7 Days Later – “We trust your order arrived safely, but if you haven’t received it yet, or if you have any questions or concerns please contact us at you@yourdomain.com and we’ll be happy to help! If you love your products and have any comments to share with us please feel free to send those to us as well.”

14 Days Later – “As a valued customer, we appreciate your business and want to thank you with this 15% off coupon good for any future purchase at …”

Auto-Responders for e-Products

If you sell downloadable products, auto-responders can help you run your business smoothly and easily. You can set up an auto-responder for each product you offer, and set your shopping cart to trigger the correct auto-responder when a purchase is made. That can trigger something such as:

Immediate – “Thank you for your order. You may download your product at…”

3 Days Later – “Thank you again for your order. We just wanted to be sure you were able to download and open your products. If you had any difficulty, we’ll be happy to help! Just contact us at …”

5 Days Later – “Hi, we’re just checking in to see if you had any questions about (product name). Be sure to read page # to find out… And don’t forget your free bonus downloads at…”

As you can see, an auto-responder can not only save you time and energy, but it can help ensure that your customers get even better customer service and help you market and promote your business!

About the Author:

Michelle Shaeffer has been a work at home mom for more than 10 years and loves to share the tips and strategies she’s learned to help other small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Would you like a free email course about meal planning, crock pot cooking, or freezer cooking?  Visit  http://michelleshaeffer.com/help-for-work-at-home-moms/ now and let me send you helpful tips and ideas that will make it easier for you to balance homemaking, homeschooling, and working from home.