A few months ago, I was set the task of finding a printer to do a large amount of greeting card type prints. I googled a handful of local printers, checked out their websites and got confused with the all the print lingo.
I had questions that needed to be answered. I put those questions into the enquiry forms on their website, making sure I explained very clearly what I was looking for….
I achieved absolutely nothing from the enquiry emails I sent out. I ended up doing each card manually through Moonpig.
Which got me asking, ‘What exactly is the outcome of an enquiry email supposed to be?’ My guess is that it should provide information that ultimately should create new leads or even sales for your business. Am I right?
It’s the digital equivalent to a customer walking into your shop and asking you about a product/service that they want or need. And if by any chance you don’t provide that product/service, what do you do?
1. Ignore the customer’s request
2. Politely tell them ‘No, we don’t do that unfortunately.’
Both answers don’t benefit your business at all! Answer 2 actually means you’re being incredibly lazy which could be costing your business in the long run. Unless for example, the customer is asking if you do birdcages when in fact you redesign websites. That is the only time answer 2 is acceptable!
Here’s what to do when you don’t have what the customer is looking for:
1. Look for a product or service that you have that is similar to what they want, which could even be better than what they wanted firstly. Suggest that as an alternative.
2. If you are not sure, tell the customer you are going to look into whether you can provide what they want and get back to them once you know the answer.
3. Recommend a business that does have what the customer is looking for if you don’t have anything that customer is looking for.
4. Follow up, see if the customer found what they were looking for in the end.
What else do you think should be done to ensure your business has a chance at getting creating new leads and sales from enquiry forms?
(Images Courtesy of Tsahi Levent-Levi)