eCommerce Blog

What many e-commerce companies forget is that they communicate with their customers more than other websites. From registration forms, to order forms, to order confirmation emails, to lost password/login information emails—well, you get the idea. No doubt, you’ve spent a lot of time getting your website’s “tone” just right. But is that tone reflected in all of the communication that your site generates?

Let’s look at a company that does a great job “talking” to its customers on its website: Comcast. Then we’ll look at some ways Comcast could improve its tone in some of its other forms of communication.

Comcast’s site is fun and hip. It appears geared to the 18- to 49-year-old crowd. When I sign in, it immediately welcomes me back, which is something Melissa noted as a good marketing strategy.

Here’s what the welcome screen says:

Nice to see you again, Robyn
It’s simple to view current and past statements, make payments, update your information, and lots more. So, go on. Take control.

Notice how it’s talking to me. The short, punchy sentences like “So, go on” and “Take control” work for the cool, hip, almost irreverent tone that Comcast is trying to convey. Comcast is also big on giving the customer choices—from choosing paperless bills, to choosing how you want to pay (recurring credit card or recurring bank account payment). “Want to save some trees? Change your statement delivery preferences today and say goodbye to your monthly paper bill.”

The tone is conversational, like two friends talking to one another. And it’s incredibly effective for this reason. I never mind logging into the site, because I really feel like a valued customer, and I know that if I can’t find my answers to what I’m looking for, I’ll be able to access some friendly-written FAQs or interact with a Comcast customer support person through live chat.

Now, let’s talk about Comcast’s other online communications. Whenever you change your profile or payment method, Comcast sends you email notifications. It also notifies you when your bill is ready for viewing online. Unfortunately, the hip tone that Comcast has on its site gets lost in the sterile atmosphere of “auto responders.”

Here’s one such email:

Dear ROBYN,

Your Jun 23, 2008 Comcast billing statement is ready for viewing. To view your bill, go to http://www.comcast.com/payonline . Enter your User Name and Password, and from the next screen select GO from the VIEW YOUR BILL option.

If you would like to discontinue receiving a hard copy billing statement in the mail, you may do so by selecting the UPDATE STATEMENT METHOD link once you have logged into your account. From there, simply select the option for Electronic Statement Only.

Sincerely,
Comcast Customer Care

What happened to the friendly conversational tone that greets me every time I log into the Comcast website? Considering that the purpose of this email it to direct me to the Comcast site, the tone should mimic what I find on the site.

Here’s how I’d rewrite it:

Hi ROBYN,

We’re glad you want to view your bill online. Saving trees is important to us, too! So, here’s how to access your Jun 23, 2008 Comcast billing statement: http://www.comcast.com/payonline . Enter your User Name and Password, and from the next screen, select GO from the VIEW YOUR BILL option. And if you’ve forgotten your User Name and Password, no problem—we can help you with that, too.

If you’d like to stop receiving a hard copy billing statement in the mail, you may do so by selecting the UPDATE STATEMENT METHOD link once you’ve logged into your account. From there, simply select the option for Electronic Statement Only.

Thanks for choosing Comcast, Robyn.

Have a Comcastic day!
Comcast Customer Care

PS—By the way, have you heard about this cool new Comcast product? Check it out here.

So what did I do to this email to make it more like the tone of the actual ecommerce site? First, I made it more personal and conversational by changing the overly formal “dear” to “hi.” I continued to use the friendly tone in the first line, while also emphasizing an important Comcast message: it cares about the environment. I used contractions (“you’d” “you’ve”) to help achieve that conversational tone. I use a word –“Comcastic”—that’s been appearing in a lot of their commercials.

Finally, I eliminated what I refer to as a “missed opportunity.” If someone receives an email from a vendor that he or she does business with—especially when said email has to do with billing—the person is likely to open it. Talk about a captive audience! What a great place to promote a new product or a sale. Even though these emails are auto-generated, there’s no reason why someone on the back end couldn’t update the auto-responder text once a month with information and links to the latest products or sales.

So…how can you ensure that the tone of your ecommerce site matches that of your other communications? Here are some tips:

1. Be a customer yourself. Go through the process of registering, forgetting your password, buying something, asking for a refund. Carefully review all correspondence that you receive and ask yourself if it matches the tone of, say, your home page. Do you have missed opportunities where you can market other products or services?

2. Who’s your audience? Yeah, you’ve no doubt heard this gem before, but let’s talk about how knowing who your audience is should influence your website’s tone. Comcast sounds hip because it’s banking on the fact that people who use their site—overall—are hip. If your site requires a more sophisticated tone for your audience, that’s fine…just make sure the tone is consistent across the board.

3. Is your logo and tagline on every form of communication? Seems like a simple thing, but any time you touch your customer—even if it’s through an email password reminder—it’s a chance to market and to brand your company.

4. Use contractions. Trust me. Contractions in online conversations are important, even if you think you need a more sophisticated, professional tone. Remember, the way people read online is different from the way they read in print. People scan. Contractions help convey your message faster, especially when people are scanning.

5. Are your email subject lines clear and tone-consistent? Again, it might seem obvious, but don’t overlook it. The subject line for the Comcast email I talk about above is this: Comcast Statement Ready for viewing. I might change it to this: Your Comcast Statement Is Ready. Hear the difference?

Remember, tone matters.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 7:50 am and is filed under Online Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.