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Letter of Apology as a Game Changer | 5 Tips + Sample Template
Sebastian Terlunen
In the following blog, we'll show you how to create a Write a letter of apology to your customers and what you should pay attention to.
A letter of apology is sometimes the last resort to a battered customer relationship to save. For example, after one or more returns or Complaints. That's when a well-written letter of apology has the potential to calmly express your regret in this difficult situation.
In the following blog post, you can find out when you should apologize to your customers and how you can ensure that your apology strengthens customer loyalty instead of weakening it.
A written apology can look very different depending on the individual case. In general, it is recommended: If possible, try to apologize personally before writing a letter. You can be sure that a personal apology will be remembered longer by your counterpart. In addition, you can always send a written apology afterwards.
A general letter or a standardized sample template Of course, there is no excuse.
For a written apology, you should follow the following five tips to sympathy win back your customers:
Excessive descriptions of the situation and what went wrong? You should avoid this when writing. After all, the addressees themselves were involved in the events. This means that they also know exactly what happened.
It is therefore better to summarize the facts briefly and concisely. In other words, why the unfortunate events happened. The summary should be As objective as possible fail. Avoid therefore definitely evaluative statements or even renewed recriminations.
Do not succumb to the temptation to explain the circumstances and Digress from the actual apology. On the part of your customers, attempts to explain will cause displeasure rather than joy.
It is therefore better to stick to a factual description. Please apologize for the misconduct afterwards. Did several breakdowns happen to each other at once? Try to briefly point out that in your food retail There is no chaos. Try to show conclusively that these are unfortunate and unique events that have unfortunately been strung together.
Was the fault clearly yours or yours Delivery service or retail, you should admit the mistake proactively, openly and completely (as far as you can be responsible). In doing so, refrain from Relativizations. Words like “but,” “actually,” “anyway.” Want an example? “Our Delivery service Didn't deliver to you (on time), but...” Such an apology appears implausible and opinionated.
If there is uncertainty as to who is to blame, it is better to decide in the interests of the customer. It's better to jump over your shadow too much for once. Because remember: The unfortunate incident has already made your customer (s) angry and suspicious. If there is an eternal discussion as part of your apology, your customer will probably finally end your business relationship.
One questionable phrase that has crept into common language usage is: “I would like to apologize formally...” Instead, you should apologize directly and without further ado. This allows you to express your personal regret very directly with the phrase: “I ask you to forgive me” or “I'm sorry.”
But the most important thing in this context is honesty. Don't leave your apology distant or overly emotional (pathetic) sound. Instead, use a concise tone that honestly conveys your regret and apology.
You can safely omit sentences like “Something like this has never happened before in our company” in your letter. Even glossing over the situation is more likely to cause frustration among customers.
Instead, you'd better offer a redress. Even a small gift is a powerful signal. Eine attentiveness underlines that the relationship with your customer is important to you. You are thus underpinning your efforts to smooth things out again.
Together with your letter of apology, you can write a redress send in the form of vouchers or a small gift. Especially in private banking, i.e. in B2C business, vouchers are a frequently used and easy way to attract departing customers for your direct marketing or yours delivery service to recover. The amount of compensation should, of course, be based on the amount of damage caused. Possible reparations include:
To make it easier to design a suitable letter, you will find Here is a first draft template:
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Dear Mr/Mrs....,
Sometimes mistakes happen that shouldn't happen. The demand for our products was so high that we couldn't fulfill every order. That is also the case in your case. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
We deeply regret that we did not immediately notify you of the cancellation of the order. We certainly did not want to put you in a difficult position by doing so. Please be assured that we will never make such a mistake a second time.
As compensation, we would like to offer you a 10% discount on the current invoice amount. We sincerely hope that this will reduce your losses and disappointment.
Hoping that you will accept our apology, we look forward to continuing to work with you.
sincerely
Your...
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Whenever necessary, of course. However, a formal letter should not inflationary be used! That brings us to the reason for your apology. The cause, the problem of origin. You should start here immediately and get rid of the problem at its root. This is the only way to ensure that your direct marketing does not permanently lose reputation.
With a well-written apology, you can Efficiently resolved discrepancies in business relationships become. Much more important than the perfect letter of apology, however, is that you push yourself to apologize for your mistake in the first place.
Because by sending a letter of apology to your business partner (s), you are emphatically showing that the joint relationship is important to you. Hopefully, this is how you will be able to convince the addressee to continue buying regional food from you in the future.
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