Autoresponders – good and bad
When I send out an email blast, I tend to get over a hundred autoresponder messages from wedding experts who are on vacation, out of the office or just plain busy.
Most autoresponders are professional, to the point, and say something along the lines of “We’re out of the office until whatever date. We’ll get back to you when we return.” Others say “We’ll get back to you within 1-2 business days” and are always turned on. Meh.
But what a client is hearing is probably more along the lines of “Please wait – for days, maybe a week – to give us your business. We’ll get back to you.“ What if all of us measured how many potential clients moved on to a competitor insteading of waiting? What would the tally be? 1 or 2 weddings a year? $500 or $5000? More or less?
It’s hard to know. But what I do know is a fabulous autoresponder when I see one. I love seeing entrepreneurs who use their autoresponders not just as a way to field calls and emails while they work, but also as means to send a real message.
Here’s a fabulous AR I received this week from a wedding cake company…
“Thank you for your email. The kitchen is a very busy place. We’re constantly working on something sweet and exciting. Just like your cake will be our number one priority the week of your event, someone’s cake is our number one priority right now. The end of the week tends to be our busiest time. If you have emailed or called Thursday on please note that we will most likely not be able to get back to you until Monday.”
If I were a client, this message would say to me…
- my cake is important
- this came company is busy with “sweet, exciting” cake orders
- they’ll get back to me on Monday and I can wait that long
LOVE it.
