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How to let a customer know who the person is behind the email ?

danoneil

Boss
Apr 16, 2009
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Dan
I am curious if any one has experimented with or uses something to help identify yourself , other than having a picture of yourself in your quotes. I personally do not like having a picture of myself because it may remind someone of a axe murderer they knew. Plus I send & receive so many emails that I can't stand looking at myself over and over and over again.

So here's the thought.. instead of have a disclaimer that states " this email was sent to a person because they submitted a request ..etc.."

Have you included a Staff Page ? ( we do not have one, has been discussed)

A facebook page specifically about your dealership ? ( we don't have one, facebook is blocked)

I am 46 , married 23yrs with 2 teenagers. I want customers to know that I'm not a robot just spitting out quotes for the fun of it. That I have a family to feed & mortgage to pay etc...

Any ideas ?
 
I think it was Alex who said that he'll sometimes have his guys (or himself) purposefully put in typos as one way to show a 'real' person is typing it.

I try to structure the emails I send out in such a way that it is very unlikely that an automated response sent it out - use specific subject lines, conversational tone and structure in the body (use of punctuation to force the reader to read the way you might be speaking).

And also, if you have an autoresponder setup, I would think the 2nd email would be perceived as a "real" one since they've already gotten a clearly automated one and now logically would be expecting a "real" one.
 
Great idea. I'd never really thought beyond the picture in an email, or the personal touches/questions in the email... (remembering that their dog is a certain breed, or their cousin twice removed had a baby-CRM is my hero).

I do do alot of linking from any email I send, whether it's about inventory or about our building, or even about service or parts; the blog comes in really handy for linking to just about anything... Especially lately the Fusion that has won a bunch of awards!

We do have a staff page, one for management and one for sales staff. The staff write their own bio and some are quite detailed, others are "Come see me". You might be surprised at how many people search for a specific sales persons name in Google! We have one sales person (Lindsey - 700 or so friends) that has connected their "friend request" box with their listing on the staff page, and we are testing out connecting comments from customers with that person's staff listings (Peter is our test right now - 5 days up and 2 visitors), as well as the "person specific" page could eventually contain some personal photos of family, dog, kids, awards etc... (depends on the staff's comfort level)

We also have a Facebook Fan page, where we have been adding community events (we also have that on our website), community event pictures, sales events pics, one video so far, and we are currently doing a sale based on mostly email and Facebook communication (no flyer or newspaper or DM). **We have Facebook unlocked for specific computers in the dealership.

Our dealer principal has always been about "Family", Customers and Staff are both Family, the dealership is people... Our motto: It's About Making a Difference (expands to The People at SMFord Make the Difference).

Here's our stuff:
Facebook: Steve Marshall Ford Lincoln | Facebook
Community Events: Cruiser Crew Nanaimo upcoming events. Including the Cruiser Crew, Curiser Truck and Zigster the Trickster.
Community Photos: Photographs of events attended by the Steve Marshall Ford Lincoln Cruiser Crew in Nanaimo, BC and surrounding area.
Sales Staff: Meet the sales consultants, finance managers and leasing manager representing Steve Marshall Ford in our Sales Department of the Dealership.
Peters Comments: BC Used Cars and Trucks or New Cars and Trucks in Nanaimo, BC's Ford Lincoln Dealership

I think I also like the idea of uploading all of our staff to Facebook Fan Page-it's so easy!! Maybe we'll get that done today! (We have photos of everyone in the building, but only Sales and Management up on our company website).



oh noes. just read CFrentzen's reply, and it's so different from mine!! *sigh* I did all that typing, I'm posting anyway!
 
We've had some success with salespeople sending a quick video intro....works good for internet salespeople who typically don't see a customer until the virtual sale has already been made and it's just the final details being sorted out.

Thanks to Todd Smith for the idea!
 
Stephanie Hudson
Younger Toyota - Hagerstown, MD

I love this discussion because I remember when I first got into this business I had a close friend and collegue tell me to post my picture in as many places I can so people see me as a person not as a computer. I hated the idea beacuse I like Dan am not too fond of my picture. However, since then it has worked and opened some doors for customers to feel more comfortable with emailing me. We like Karen post bios for our Sales Guys on the Meet the Staff page, which is viewed 500-600 times a month. Some sales guys to do not want personal info out there and I do not force it but those who share get the leads and conversions because they take this e-commerce relationship serious.
Maybe I am alone but I feel that customers still want personalized and quick service even though they are communicating via the computer and not in person. Another process in place is getting my sales guys Linked In and posting that on the Meet the Staff, its a great networking tool on a professional note. Facebook is great and I leave that up to the sales guys discretion to share, since its much more personal.

The question I have is how do you make your emails more personal if that is the right word.... so customers do not take them as automated? What information do you put in it? I can sit and write the most professional follow up and personally send it and I get a generic reply back from a customer asking is this automated?
 
I hated the idea beacuse I like Dan am not too fond of my picture. However, since then it has worked and opened some doors for customers to feel more comfortable with emailing me.

You've got a great picture! I personally believe that if you're good looking, you should exploit that. I'd rather buy a car from you than some slob with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Some sales guys to do not want personal info out there and I do not force it but those who share get the leads and conversions because they take this e-commerce relationship serious.

Some people are not proud of what they do for a living. These are the same people will will hardly ever sell more than 10 cars a month, even after being in the business for 10 plus years.

The question I have is how do you make your emails more personal if that is the right word.... so customers do not take them as automated? What information do you put in it? I can sit and write the most professional follow up and personally send it and I get a generic reply back from a customer asking is this automated?

There's a lot you can do and I am sure many others will give you feedback here. Have you ever tried putting this at the bottom of your e-mails: "Sent from my Blackberry." That seems pretty personal to me.
 
Great ideas. I think the simplest way is to use an email address with your name. [email protected] or whatever your URL is. Sent from Dan - Heritage Honda with the signature as Best regards, Dan and/or however you chose to close an email.

@Jerry Thibeau Good idea, would be great to add to a dealership bio page. You could do it in a few minutes with a Flip cam.