Using 17hats as your customer relationship management tool can really help to organize and streamline your work with your customers. Instead of scrolling through your DMs to find that one detail they had requested, you can utilize the lead capture forms and questionnaires of 17hats to efficiently gather everything you need to know about your customers’ requests.
And the emails you send back and forth with them will populate ever so nicely into their individual projects, meaning you’re only a few clicks away from finding the info you need at any time.
So if you’re still piecing together the dozens of details all of your clients are looking for in the DMs, consider making it easier on yourself by utilizing 17hats!
Disclaimer: Some of the links on my website are affiliate links, which means, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Now about those emails… here is an overview of some tips for emailing in 17hats:
12 tips for sending email in 17hats
Change your outgoing server to your email service provider.
As is the case with most CRMs, your email service provider will likely have a stronger “reputation” on the receiving end of the email, making you more likely to land in your customers’ inbox and not spam folder.
Don’t BCC yourself
... because this increases your chances of landing in spam. Instead, make a practice of checking your “sent” folder within your email service provider when you need to verify that something went out to a client.
Don’t enable read receipts
...as this also increases your chances of getting in spam. It’s not exactly the same, but you can actually use the Recent Client Activity section in the lower right of your dashboard to see when your customers have opened, viewed and completed your various documents.
Update your email templates on the fly
Maybe you’re sending a quick reminder for a pickup order the following day and giving instructions to your studio. Except, you’ve changed the front door from blue to yellow… type in that changed text, click “update this template” and you won’t have to do it again!
Schedule send your emails
This might be helpful just after you’ve completed a project. You like to personalize your “thank you” emails, so you don’t set them up to go out automatically. However, you also prefer to wait a couple of days after your work with them and don’t want to forget what was unique about their particular project.
Write your “thank you” right after you’ve completed the project and schedule it to send at an interval when you feel like your customer would be ready to reflect on your work together and make time to give a review.
Save a drafted email
Somewhat similar to scheduling the send of your email… but perhaps a draft makes more sense when you’ve got nearly all of the information you need to send your customer but are waiting to confirm a couple of final details.
Save it as a draft (which will then show up in your dashboard) and come back to it once you have all the info you need to share.
Confirm you’re creating the right email type
When you’re creating a new email template, be sure to set it up as the correct email type (quote email / auto-responder / etc.). This will allow you to pull in tokens specific to that type of email.
For example, invoice emails will allow you to pull in tokens for invoice #, invoice amount, invoice due date, etc. and scheduling emails will allow you to pull in tokens for booking date, location name, service duration, etc.
Another reason the type of email is important is because when you’re building your workflow and have a step to send an invoice, you will also need to select which email template is sent with the invoice. Only invoice emails will be available in your drop-down.
You can create multiple email signatures
I recommend having at least two different signatures: one for all of your regular emails and another for the emails that are sent with a document.
I like to differentiate the two because your regular email signature can be a little more dressed up with your logo, social links, etc., but you may not want to include those things in your “document signature” because your customers might miss the button they need to access below your signature.
Peek inside my 17hats for Balloon Businesses course to see what I mean!
And watch another free preview here.
Reminder and confirmation emails are global settings
You can set up reminders and confirmations for each of the documents your customers may receive without needing to include them in your workflow. Documents include quotes, contracts, invoices and questionnaires.
You also have total control over which documents get reminders and confirmations, and further control on the timing, number and frequency of the document reminders.
View incoming emails on your dashboard
This feature is a personal preference. Some like to manage their email strictly in their email service provider (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) and have those emails sync into their 17hats projects to keep them associated with their individual customers.
But some like to bring any emails from their 17hats contacts straight onto their dashboard to help ensure the email doesn’t get missed. Something to know about this, though, is that when you address the email from your dashboard, it does not get archived or deleted in your email service provider. As in, it will remain in your inbox.
Instruct your customers
It never hurts to remind your customers to keep an eye out in their spam folder for your emails, just in case! You can display a note like that in the confirmation message after they’ve filled out your lead capture form (or created a booking).
Even further, in the auto-reply that gets sent, you could gently remind them to add you to their address book if your email was found in spam.
Use tokens where they make sense
One of the best ways to personalize and upgrade your customer experience - tokens! I’ve mentioned already how different tokens are available to you according to the type of email template you’re creating. Sometimes it’s just those small bits of info in your messaging that lets your customer know you’ve got the right details in order for their project.
Once you’re comfortable using the many default tokens available in the emails of 17hats, consider adding some custom tokens to really take your customer service to the next level! I’ve got a few tips specifically for custom tokens, too.
So there you have it! 12 tips for sending and managing email in 17hats. I hope you found a few that will improve your deliverability and processes!
If you’d like to work together on these settings and further optimize your account, learn more about the 1-hour coaching sessions I offer.
Happy emailing, and happy client experiences!