First published: November 23, 2022 @ 6:00 pm
Having to apologize to angry customers or clients can be a big headache for many small business owners. It can take a lot of time and effort to make the situation right.
Sometimes, however, an apology is all that’s needed to save your business from losing a valuable customer.
In this article, we’ll share 6 great email tips to apologize and help you build better relationships with your customers and clients.
1. Get specific with your apology
Unhappy customers often leave bad reviews or share their displeasure on social media.
You can’t simply say “I’m sorry” to them, but instead you should give an empathetic statement, explain exactly what went wrong, and what you are going to do about it.
The most important thing is to be honest with your customers and clients, and always offer solutions if needed.
It’s best to keep your explanations short and sweet so as not to waste their time. When they receive your email, they will know exactly what you are apologizing for without having to read more than one sentence.
2. Show how it could have been prevented
Your customer service team will be on the lookout for any potential issues with your product or service. The best way to prevent future problems is to identify and correct them before they occur.
In your email apology, you could include the steps that you are going to take to prevent similar situations in the future. However, if the fault is on the customer, don’t be quick to point fingers.
Instead, encourage your customers to contact you if they encounter any problems in the future.
Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán on Pexels.
3. Be as sincere as possible
The role of customer support team is to help your customers and clients when they need it. They should never be angry or impatient when dealing with customers.
Remember, your customers and clients are looking for an effective, timely and genuine customer service experience.
If you want them to trust you and your products again, make sure that you give the sincerest apologies as possible in your email.
4. Ask what you can do to make things right
The bad experience you are apologizing for will probably make the customer or client think twice before buying from you again. That’s why, it’s a good idea to ask what you can do to make things right to improve their user experience.
Customer feedbacks can also help you identify areas where your customer service is not working properly. This will help you prioritize your efforts and allocate your resources effectively.
5. Say how much you appreciate them
Receiving customer complaints or negative reviews on social media can be very stressful. However, it’s important to show your appreciation for the customer by sending them a sincere email apology.
You could say something like:
Thank you for reaching out to us with your concern. We will make sure that we don’t let this happen again.
This shows your customers that you are listening to them, and how much you appreciate them for trusting your products or services.
It also helps you build a good rapport with the customer and his friends and family, who might have seen his complaints on social media.
6. Follow up when necessary
Customer satisfaction will improve only if you actually follow up with the customer after you send your email apology.
It’s a good idea to let the customer know that you have already taken steps to resolve the issue and that you want to know if it’s working.
You could send them a simple email to ask them about the issue, such as
We apologize for the inconvenience that we previously have caused you.
As promised, we have taken action and have sent out an email to all of our customers to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. We would love to hear from you if you are still having any problems.
Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán on Pexels.
Make Things Right
An apology to an upset customer or client is not just about saying sorry. It’s about understanding what went wrong and what you can do to make things right.
In order to have a good relationship with your customers, make sure that you don’t simply apologize, but also ask for the customers’ feedback so that you can improve your product and service.
We have shared 6 email apology tips for customer service that can help you build better relationships with your customers and clients.
Do you have any other customer service tips to share? Let us know in the comments below!
