Even when the need for personalization is at an all-time high, there’s still a place for canned responses in customer engagement. With canned customer service responses, support agents are equipped to engage in rich discussions and provide accurate information when needed. And when dealing with online reviews, canned responses let you stay on-brand.
But what is a canned response, exactly? And what are some tips for using them to improve customer satisfaction? Let’s dive into it.
What Is a Canned Response?
A canned response is a predetermined reply to common queries or frequently asked questions (FAQs) about a business’s products or services. Canned responses for customer service agents can save the day, especially when dealing with a high number of tickets. You can employ customer service canned responses to chats, emails or SMS.
The Difference Between Canned Responses and Auto-Responses
Canned responses are used by customer service agents as pre-written templates that can be customized and sent manually. On the other hand, auto-responses are automatically sent using triggers. We’ll look at some canned responses examples later on, but for now, here are a couple of auto-response examples:
- “We have received your inquiry and will respond as soon as we can. Your ticket number is 964911310.”
- “Thank you for your message. We are currently away but will be in touch shortly. You can visit our FAQ page in the meantime at .
- “I am currently out-of-office until [date]. For urgent concerns, please call [number]. Thank you for being so patient!”
- “Welcome! Thank you for signing up for our newsletter.”
Advantages of Canned Responses for Customer Service
You can do more with canned responses if you want to improve customer satisfaction or staff efficiency. Here’s why your team should use canned responses:
- Quicker resolution and response times. An average person types about 40 words per minute (WPM), but if your customer support agents are skilled typists, they can reach up to 70 WPM. With canned customer service responses, you slash that minute into only 10 seconds. Naturally, your agents are not the only ones who are saving a lot of time but your clients on the other end.
- Improve customer satisfaction scores (CSAT). Per Microsoft, 90% of Americans treat customer service as a deciding factor for doing business with a company. If you want to improve customer satisfaction, canned response email, chats or SMS can help you cut unreasonable waiting times. You can quickly satisfy consumer needs through canned email responses.
- Accurate information dissemination. Without canned responses for customer service, agents are more prone to making mistakes such as discrepancies, grammatical errors and seemingly harmless typos. For example, mistyping something as crucial as contact details misleads your well-meaning customers. Remember, any error can undermine the quality of the client experience.
- Personalization. Despite common belief, canned responses can be modified to offer individualized information that helps the customer feel heard, valued and seen. Customers favor businesses that provide personalized experiences. So in your canned email response or chats, please make an effort to address customers by name and acknowledge their specific concerns.
- Brand consistency. Since white-label solutions for customer support or review response management is predominant, brand consistency is an area many business owners struggle with. Canned responses can help you and your agents to stay on-brand and follow your voice and tone across the board.
- Better support ticket management. While most of the above are tied to ticket management, we want to reiterate this point. Canned responses are beneficial to businesses dealing with a high volume of inquiries. If that’s the case for you, don’t give canned replies a second thought.
Best Practices for Creating Canned Responses Email, Chat or SMS (Dos and Don’ts)
Knowing the advantages of canned responses is only valuable with the right execution. Here are the dos and don’ts of using canned responses to guide you:
The Dos
Do have canned responses for basic and complex questions. Although canned responses are widely used for quick FAQs, they are just as effective in addressing complex answers. For instance, when a potential buyer emails you about a product installation process, you can reply with a canned response email, efficiently providing information required by the prospect.
Do make it a habit to customize canned responses whenever possible. In sending canned response emails, chats or SMS, set custom fields. For example, “Hi, [name]! Thank you for your interest in [product name]. Our delivery time is between three to five days.” Custom fields are especially helpful in conveying to your customers that you actually hear what they’re saying.
Do take responsibility for shortcomings and empathize. In many cases, customers reach out to your support team with a complaint. Not one business is perfect, so empathize and apologize whenever you fall short of customer expectations. But more than just creating the appropriate canned response for your customers, make it a point to resolve any issue immediately.
Do ask for customer feedback. Canned responses are used in
The Don’ts
Don’t send a canned response when a personal reply is required. Canned responses are not the best course of action in unusual circumstances. If a customer’s concern does not necessarily fit into any prefabricated responses, this is the time to initiate live, real-time customer interaction. Train your customer support agents to recognize situations where they have to facilitate unique, personalized conversations.
Don’t use bland jargon. You would only sound apathetic when you send a canned email response like, “Hi. We are working hard to fix the problem.” While you can be sincere on the back end, it would be more fitting to address your client by name, empathize by apologizing and provide an estimate to set their expectations. In this way, you build a rapport with the customer.
Don’t send a canned response if you’re not certain of the customer’s concern. Often, customer support agents deal with confused and frustrated customers seeking solutions. When you mindlessly send customer service canned responses that provide irrelevant solutions or details, this shows a lack of professionalism and customer care.
Don’t use canned responses for the entire conversation. Canned responses can sound stiff and unnatural; that’s why your customers can sense when they’re being rushed with these pre-typed messages. So while you can send out multiple canned customer service responses in one conversation, especially when addressing FAQs, be careful not to overdo it.
Customer Service Canned Responses Examples
To help you get started, here are some canned responses examples. Feel free to use them.
1. Greeting the Customer
- “Hello [name]! Good to see you back. How can I assist you today?”
- “Good day, [name]! Thanks for reaching out to [company name]. How can we help?”
2. Thanking the Customer After a Purchase
- “Thank you for your purchase, [name]! We can’t wait to deliver [product name] to you!”
- “[name], we’re shipping your order in [number of days]. Thank you for purchasing [product name]!”
3. Replying to a Complaint
- “[name], we’re sorry about the inconvenience the [issue] has caused you. You can rest assured it will be fixed in [number of hours].”
- “Hi, [name]! Thank you for notifying us about [issue]. We’re glad to let you know that the issue has been resolved. We’re truly sorry for the trouble. Please enjoy this .”
4. Review Response
- “[name], thank you so much for leaving us positive feedback. We’re glad you enjoyed our [service] during your stay at our hotel.
- Thank you for leaving a review, [name]! Our team at [restaurant name] can’t wait to serve you again.”
Speaking of reviews, if you’re looking for professional online reputation management services, Rize Reviews can help. Our team can enhance your productivity and brand reputation by employing tailored canned responses. Let’s start with a free review widget for your website.
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