There are many skills required to reach the top, or even obtain moderate success, in email marketing, and one of the most difficult to master is the art of saying sorry. You’ll make mistakes. If they just cost a sale or two, the lesson is often worth the price. If you’ve upset one of your subscribers, it can be a case of damage limitation as social media can up the cost considerably.
The phrase, ‘I’m sorry if our performance was below that which you expected,’ is a quick way to really irritate a person who is already irritated. They are looking for an apology. There are legal constraints regarding apologies if there is likely to be claims for damages, but otherwise, honesty with regards to fault can nail a complaint early on.
Be wary of using email for an apology. Firstly, it’s impersonal and looks like you’re running and hiding. I’m all for phone calls in the initial stages, recorded of course, just in case, to show the complainant that you take the matter seriously. Secondly, research shows that around 50% of people misinterpret the tone of an email. You’ll support that, I bet.
Those of us at fault need to get the person on-side as far as possible. Thanks are good as a matter of course: for their patience, for them getting in touch, for taking our call, and for being willing to talk. If you can, say something along the lines of, ‘I feel we have let you down, how can we remedy the situation?’
The big problem arises, rather oddly, when you’ve done nothing wrong. Resolving such issues is a skill I never fully mastered, and it sometimes feels that the best we can do is just not make the situation worse. But there are ways of defusing the situation.
Ask them questions. Try and discover what they believe you did incorrectly, and, occasionally rather than often, they realise they are being unreasonable. If you’ve said something in a marketing email which was ambiguous, and they’ve taken it the wrong way, you are at fault. If the copy in your email was open to misinterpretation, again you’re to blame. But if your copy was pristine, you have to get them onside.
Ask them what they want to solve the disagreement. Both you and the subscriber want the matter settled, but from your perspective you just want to limit any damage. A replacement item has normally much less cost than a long and protracted argument on social media.
If there’s no agreement, do not abandon them. Point out that your opinions differ, but there are ways to take their complaint further, via an ombudsman or similar, and say you are sorry you could not resolve the matter. Then write up as much information as you can. If you do come to an agreement, thank them, perhaps for being reasonable, ask if they would accept a little gift by way of rounding the matter off. Be grateful and remember the costs of obtaining subscribers to your email marketing list.
