Spanish Translation Blog

How to Respond without Ridicule.

Have you ever received an email from a company in the middle of an ongoing project and thought to yourself, “I have never felt so ridiculed in my life.”?

As the use of non-verbal business communication channels such as email, text messaging and online chat continue to grow, the importance of accurately conveying your intended message has never been so crucial for service providers.  All too often is a message misunderstood by the reader without the intent of the writer.  Mainly this is due to the reader’s mood at the time of receiving the message rather than the actual information provided.

Here are 3 tips to keep in mind and to minimize the risk of offending your clientele.

1. KNOW YOUR CLIENT:  All clients are unique.  Therefore, you should remember to approach them differently during the project work flow.  The best way to go about this is to mirror the client’s approach and writing style.  If they correspond in a brief and informal manner, then it is acceptable for you to respond the same way.  Problems often arise when the client writes a long and descriptive formal email and you respond with a simple “Will do” or “No Problem” without proving to the client you fully understand their request.  The key to a successful project, is to be on the same page all of the time.  The more you know your client, the less chance there will be a miscommunication.
2. DO NOT ASSUME:  Making assumptions is likely to get you into some trouble.  Most of the time, clients are working on multiple projects simultaneously.  You cannot assume they remember all project details at the moment of receiving your message.   Remember to provide all pertinent information when communicating with your clients in order not to lose critical time and more importantly profit.
3. PHONE FOLLOW – UP:  In my opinion, this is the most important step whether or not you feel comfortable about your outgoing correspondence.  You should always continue to build a good rapport with your clients.  Putting a voice and personality to your written messages will lessen the likelihood of sending the wrong impression and will help build a long term business relationship and recurrent future revenues.