How to write great email autoresponders for customer support

Perhaps because they're not personalised, email autoresponders seem to be something like a stepchild in customer support. Some companies do without them, some use the default autoresponder their email system came with. Most accept a look and feel that's in stark contrast to their marketing emails. And when things change, it's easy to forget to update those automatic responses.

But it's worth taking special care when writing an automated message like this. Because it's first, the autoresponder email sets the customer’s expectations about tone of voice, attention to detail, what level of service they’ll get, and how long it will take. Leave a bad impression here and you’ll 'automatically' create a negative backdrop for the conversation to come.

In this article, I'll analyse a real-life example – and show you how to apply my top 4 tips for great email autoresponders in customer support.

Email autoresponders need not be boring, but often they are

I contacted a company about a broken electric toothbrush and received the following acknowledgement:

Subject: Confirmation

Dear Mr. / Mrs. Harnau,

We have received your inquiry and will answer your question within 4 business days.
If your question is urgent, please call our toll free Feeling at Ease line.

We are open Monday - Friday: 08:00 am - 08:00 pm and Saturday: 09:00 am - 6:00 pm.

Lighting Products: 00800 1234 56789

Skincare team: 0800 2345 67891

With kind regards,

Example consumer care

You submitted the following query:

[quotes customer email]

On a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 being completely horrendous and 10 being perfect awesomeness, I’d probably rate this a 6. Not bad, but could be better. Let’s see how, with my top 4 tips.

1. Beware of spammy subject lines

The subject just says "Confirmation". This isn't specific enough to gain the recipient's trust, and there's a good chance that people mistakenly delete it as Spam. Plus, this email contained images, which are typically displayed as attachments if the inbox is set to display text only. Customers might see the attachments and perhaps even think of malware. All of which means, they never read the email.

2. Choose the right form of address

This example starts with a really clumsy salutation because the form I filled in didn't ask for gender or title — and the company still wanted to use the formal address. So, to work around the lack of tech, the writer of this template chose to present the reader with an awkward selection of titles. To make matters worse, it's not complete, ignoring the needs of non-binary folks, the trans community, unmarried women, doctors and reverends — to name just a few.

• If your tech can pull the customer's name from the form, use their first name.
• If you don’t know their name, best not to attempt a personal salutation at all. You could just say "Hello, thanks for getting in touch".
• Or use the neutral form Mx.

3. Help your customers 'feel at ease' — not just on the phone

'Feeling at ease': I've changed the name of the hotline very slightly to disguise the company that sent this. Both mine and the original version express the essence of great customer support – feeling at ease.

But why can customers only 'feel at ease' on the phone, and only in urgent cases? The email team should aspire to the same thing!

At 4 business days, their response times are so long that most queries probably count as comparatively  "urgent". The American spelling and word choice ("Mr. / Mrs.", "toll free", "inquiry") suggest those business days may follow the American calendar. That's confusing for customers based in the UK or Ireland. 

• Try to reply to customer emails in less than 24 hours. The longer you keep people waiting, the higher the risk they'll repeat contact you on the phone, social media or via live chat.
• Beware of accidentally pushing customers to call you by giving only your hotline a fabulously customer-friendly name.
• If you advertise yourself as easy to deal with, make sure your language lives up to the expectation. For example, don't confuse readers by using three different words for the same thing ("inquiry", "question" and "query").
• People feel more at ease when you speak their language. This includes writing to UK customers in British English, and to US customers in American English. If you have customers in different countries, you'll demonstrate customer focus by setting up localised email templates.

4. Get the numbers right

The opening times are convenient, even if carelessly expressed. (Why add a zero sometimes but not always? Why not drop all zeroes altogether to make the email more accessible and easier to understand?)

But which number to call? My electric toothbrush has LEDs – does that make it a lighting product? Or is it a case for the skincare team?

Next, does that number really start with 00? If they had not been so inconsistent with their zeroes before, I'd believe that the lighting experts have an international freephone number and their skincare experts a freephone number in the UK. Could be an accidental extra zero though. After all, there are also some extra spaces and lone hyphens.

• Make your opening times more readable by leaving off unnecessary naughts and zeroes.
• For a professional look, use en-dashes (not hyphens) between opening hours and weekdays. Or you could use "from" and "to" instead.
• Clearly state if your hotline is free. People are not that accustomed to international freephone numbers, so if you use one, explain that the "00800" means it's free to call.

Here's an improved version of that email

Subject: Thanks for your message – Reference 123456789

Dear Sabine,

This is just an automatic confirmation that we've received your email. Our Feeling a Ease team will get back to you within one business day.

If your question is more urgent, please give us a call.

• If it's about lighting: 00800 7445 4775 (international freephone number)
• If it's about skincare and body care: 0800 331 6015 (UK freephone number)

We're here to help Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 6pm.

Please quote your reference number 123456789 when you call. This will help us find your email and answer your question more quickly.

With kind regards,

Your Feeling at Ease team
Example Customer Care

This is the message you sent us today:

[quotes customer email]

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