6 customer service email templates that provide support

In an age where customer comments, reviews, and ratings can easily bring down businesses, excellent customer service is critical for any business looking to succeed. Providing excellent customer support will enhance the company’s reputation and build brand loyalty.

One of the most efficient channels for customer support is email. However, crafting a well-written and professional email response can be challenging, especially when dealing with various customer inquiries. 

Luckily, though customer service agents encounter a variety of inquiries and issues, most tend to be common. So, to ensure quick and consistent customer service, it’s wise to create a library of customer service email templates that are easy to modify. 

These predesigned templates will also help you improve customer experience, build stronger relationships with your customers, and as a result, drive business growth. So in this article, we will explore six of the most common customer service email templates your business should have.

4 tips for drafting customer service emails

When drafting customer service emails, remember that the goal is to provide a helpful and personalized response. Your response should also resolve the customer’s issue or inquiry. Lifeless or robotic emails will only disinterest recipients. 

Here are four key tips to keep in mind when drafting effective customer service email templates:

Personalize the email

Personalizing your email is vital if you’re looking to build a strong relationship with your customers or target audience. It makes the email feel more personal to your audience while showing them you value their business.

One of the ways to personalize your customer service email is by addressing your email recipient by their name. Customers want to feel valued and appreciated, and addressing them by their name is a simple yet effective way to do so. In addition, doing so creates a personalized experience, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Here’s a great example that does so.

Next, ensure your email is specific about their request or issue. This will show that you listen to the customer and take their concerns seriously.

Your customer’s journey or interaction history can also be a great point of reference to guide how you personalize your email. The information helps understand if this is the first time the customer is experiencing an issue and how long they’ve been loyal customers. This then informs the appropriate tone for your email.

Use clear and concise language

Customers typically seek assistance or clarification on a product or service when they contact customer service. Therefore, you need to use clear and concise language in customer service emails. The customer needs to understand the information provided.

This means you need to avoid technical jargon, slang, or buzzwords the customer may not understand. Instead, use simple and easy-to-understand language. This can be achieved by breaking down complex ideas into smaller, simpler concepts. Also, use plain language to explain them.

Be empathetic

When angry customers reach out to customer service, they are often frustrated. Showing empathy can help diffuse the situation. It shows the customer that you understand their situation and are committed to finding a solution that meets their needs.

To empathize with these frustrated customers, start by acknowledging their complaints or concerns. This will show that you listen and take their concerns seriously. You can do this by using language demonstrating that you understand their perspective, like “I’m sorry to hear that you’re experiencing this issue” or “We understand how frustrating this must be for you.”

Next, focus on finding a solution that meets their needs. This involves asking detailed questions to clarify the issue and offering options for resolving the problem. Remain respectful and professional throughout the interaction, even if the customer gets angry.

It’s also important to consider the tone of the email. Use language that is polite, courteous, and professional. Avoid using language that might be interpreted as confrontational or dismissive, as this can further escalate the situation.

💡 Learn more about tone and style from our email etiquette study.

Respond promptly

Prompt responses to customer inquiries are crucial because they show the customer that their inquiry or concern is being taken seriously. This helps them feel valued. Today, most customers also expect quick responses on business days. Failing to provide one can lead to frustration and a negative perception of your business.

To ensure those prompt customer service emails, you can implement several strategies. One strategy is to set clear expectations for response times. This can be done by including an estimated response time in the automated email reply. You can also provide guidelines for response times to customer service representatives.

One of the key guidelines can be to prioritize customer service emails based on the severity of the issue. Such a guideline will ensure the most pressing customer issues are addressed first and promptly.

Another great strategy to ensure prompt responses is using SaaS email marketing automation tools like GetResponse and Hubspot. These tools allow you to set up automated email replies to acknowledge the customer’s inquiry and provide an estimated response time. Additionally, most have an email filter feature that helps prioritize customer service emails and route them to the appropriate customer service rep.

You can craft customer service emails that follow these four tips with generative AI tools, like Writer’s CoWrite. By integrating it with your style guide, you can train the tool to autogenerate content that matches your desired terminologies, style, and tone.

The tool also has a feature that allows you to create custom and hyper-specific templates for different use cases. This makes it a valuable tool to use to autogenerate your customer service email templates.

And what if you wanted to follow the same process for creating marketing emails? The good news is that with tools like the GetResponse AI Email Generator, you can create your marketing messages with AI in just a matter of moments.

6 common customer service email templates

Now let’s take a look at some of the most common customer service email templates you can modify to communicate with customers via email easily.

1. Order confirmation email

At first glance, an order confirmation email may seem like just a transactional email. But it can come with a customer service component, too. 

After showing that the customer’s order has been received and is being processed, you can encourage them to contact customer service if they have any questions or concerns. 

This is where you can use a digital business card. Incorporate it into your email so you can share contact details. The good thing about these cards is that you can personalize them. You will find many resources online that will help you pick the best digital business card solution to suit your business needs.  

Apart from your critical customer support team contact details, like the phone number, and email address, you can also include links to useful resources like blog pages, tutorials, and guides in your card.

Since the order confirmation email is also supposed to confirm a customer’s purchase, a customer service email template of this type should also include the details of the order. These include the products purchased, the order number, the price, and the shipping address. Besides reassuring customers that their order was successful, the template also provides the necessary information to track their shipment.

2. Response to complaint email

This is your typical customer service email template. It’s a reply to a customer’s complaint or concern. Of course, in the email, you don’t just acknowledge your customer’s complaint. A perfect complaint email should also explain (if necessary) and offer a solution.

That said, this specific customer service response template should be personalized and very empathetic. Acknowledge the customer’s frustration or disappointment. Express a genuine desire to resolve the issue. Reassure your customers that you’re working on resolving the problem:

If you write your customer service email template well, you’ll effectively show your business’s commitment to customer satisfaction. You can also help rebuild trust with the customer. 

Finally, it’s important to respond to complaint emails promptly, ideally within 24 hours of receiving the complaint. This can help prevent the customer from becoming more frustrated or angry. It can also help show that the business takes customer complaints seriously.

3. Apology email

An apology email aims to gain the customer’s favor by showing them that the business values their satisfaction. It’s slightly different from a response to a complaint email. In an apology email, you’re sure it was the business that committed the mistake which resulted in a poor experience for the customer. In response to a complaint email, you acknowledge the customer’s issue and apologize for their experience. However, the apology isn’t necessarily because the company was directly at fault.

But since you’re sure the error was on your end, this type of customer support email template should begin with a sincere apology. Clearly explain what went wrong.

This customer service email template should also provide compensation to the customer. Assure them, too, that steps will be taken to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. If you’re yet to find a final solution, you can list the key steps you’ve taken up to that point and keep updating them in follow-up emails.

Remember, how you communicate to a customer through an apology email can help rebuild trust and brand loyalty. You can do this by turning a negative experience into a positive one.

4. Product inquiry response email

The purpose of a product inquiry response email is to provide the customer with helpful information that addresses their questions about your offering. It also allows a business to discuss its product’s unique selling proposition while building rapport with the customer.

Here’s a sample email template.

A product inquiry email typically includes information about the product, such as its features, pricing, availability, and any relevant details the customer may need to make an informed purchasing decision. It should also encourage additional questions from senders to nurture them into loyal and happy customers.

When necessary, the email can also include recommendations or suggestions for alternative solutions you have in stock that will help meet the customer’s needs better.

5. Thank you email

There are several instances where businesses need to send thank-you emails. The key instances are after a customer’s purchase, the customer’s anniversary with the company, or after they leave a positive review.

A thank you email aims to build a positive relationship with the customer and encourage repeat business. That’s why it should also have a customer service component.

So, apart from expressing gratitude to the customer, including ways to contact your business should they have any concerns.

You can also include a special offer or discount coupon code as an appreciation. However, avoid selling your audience something in your email to show that you’re genuinely grateful. But, if you’re sending a thank you email due to a successful purchase, your email can include an invitation to leave a review or sign up for a newsletter.

6. Unsubscribe response email

An unsubscribe response email is a customer service email template sent to customers who have chosen to opt out of an email list. The email’s main purpose is to provide the support the customer needs once they unsubscribe. 

So, the email should be brief. Confirm that the customer’s request has been processed and that they will no longer receive emails or other communications from the business.

But even if your customer already unsubscribed, you also want to provide them with the assistance they need should they decide against unsubscribing in the end. So, don’t forget to include a sentence in your email that allows for this possibility. Check out this example:

Notice the “if you changed your mind” paragraph in the email.

This type of email also provides an excellent opportunity for the recipient to provide customer feedback on why they chose to unsubscribe. That can help you improve and boost your business’s performance.

Summing up

Customer service emails are a great way for businesses to connect with their customer base and build positive customer relationships. However, creating these emails afresh every time a customer has an inquiry or concern can be tedious. That’s why you need customizable customer service email templates.

There are common customer service email templates that you ought to have in your library. These are the order confirmation, complaint response, apology, product inquiry response, thank you, and unsubscribe response emails.

To execute these email templates effectively, ensure your email responses to customers are personalized, empathetic, clear, and prompt.

Customize our templates and follow our email communication tips today. You’ll provide consistent and quality customer service that’ll earn you loyal customers. All the best!