If you are in the corporate world or a business owner, email is one of the best ways of communication, and as such getting stuck in back-and-forth emails can be very frustrating and time-consuming.
Imagine using the time you were supposed to do other pressing issues to continue sending emails back and forth with a client.
Unproductive communication can turn customers to become cold and frustrate employees. Therefore, an email’s primary goal should be to offer the most appropriate solution in a concise manner.
So the question now is what can you do to improve your email productivity and cut down the rate of sending emails back and forth?
? QUICK ANSWER
- Ask Specific Questions
- Demand For A Video Call
- Cut To The Chase
- Establish A Response Time Deadline
- Understand The Clients Point Of View
- Have Specific Times For Emails
Through thorough research, we have compiled proven ways in which we can speed up the interaction with customers and clients in the workplace using emails.
What Are Back And Forth Emails?
This is a conversation or dialogue between two or more people that spans over email about a business topic. It can also be a discussion between two or more people over mail that results in little resolution.
Back-and-forth emails are sometimes difficult to track especially when there are multiple participants. An example of a back-and-forth email is the budget debate of a company.
Reason To Reduce Back And Forth Emails
Reducing back-and-forth communication is essential. Because time is money. The time you will use to settle unproductive communication can be used to lose a potential client.
There are a lot of reasons why you would have to consider cutting down back-and-forth email. Below is a list of some of them;
- A little issue takes a long time to resolve
- Both parties’ response is slow
- Poor customers satisfaction
- Lack of resolution
- Difficult to offer the most appropriate solution
When To Stop Responding To Back And Forth Emails?
The most appropriate time to halt unproductive communication is when the email becomes repetitive, the conversation gets boring or dull, or the correspondents cannot find a solid detail to back up their explanation.
You ask for specific details regarding the issue or problem and when that can’t be provided, it is best to stop the back-and-forth email.
Best Ways To Reduce Back And Forth Emails
Reducing back-and-forth emails may be the best way to become more productive. The main goal of an email should be to offer solutions.
Therefore, in other to have productive communication via email you need to employ certain tactics. These tactics will help improve certain communications via emails.
Below are some of the ways to reduce back-and-forth emails;
Ask Specific Questions
When sending your initial email, request specific details. This will give them room to respond with the right information you need.
With this, the two parties get to save time and have time to work on other pressing issues rather than going back and forth with asking and answering each other’s questions.
Demand For A Video Call
If the issue is a huge one and you feel it needs proper review then it is best to demand a detailed video call. Distance should not be a problem.
Instead of going back and forth with emails that may be unproductive, schedule a video call at a time that is convenient for all parties involved.
With a video call conference, you don’t only get to voice your questions but can also share your screen while explaining the problem in-depth.
You will get to understand the problem, give it a thought, and also prefer solutions. It is better than using long emails to explain a problem.
Cut To The Chase
You might want to go on with being informal and demanding too many pleasantries. That will make the email longer.
The best thing is to go straight to the point with questions that hit the nail on the head. The subject should contain exactly the summary of the email.
While the body will have detailed but specific questions.
Establish A Response Time Deadline
Another way of reducing back-and-forth emails that may linger is by demanding a response deadline.
This is very effective because the other party will try their best to with up with the said time thereby reducing how long it will last.
Understand The Clients Point Of View
Put yourself in the client’s shoes and understand where they are coming from. View it as if you are the client. Understand that they are also in need of an answer.
A personal touch to the questions being asked can soothe all anger or worry. This will help them know that you have their best interest at heart.
This may also bring in more clients if others find out how effective your company is in solving problems.
Have Specific Times For Emails
How many hours a day do you schedule for emails? Do you just check it any time you feel like or do you have a number of hours that are scheduled for it?
Instead of going back and forth to check your email every day, set aside a few hours that will be enough to attend to all your emails.
To help you more, set an alarm that will remind you when to check your email each day. With this, you will be more productive because you will have it in mind that you still need to check other emails in that said duration.
FAQ
Are you still confused and want to ask more questions? Check out these frequently asked questions and their answers to see if your questions are here.
And if they are not, use the comment section.
What Are Back And Forth Emails?
This is a conversation or dialogue between two or more people that spans over email about a business topic. It can also be a discussion between two or more people over mail that results in little resolution.
Back-and-forth emails are sometimes difficult to track especially when there are multiple participants. An example of a back-and-forth email is the budget debate of a company.
How Do I Stop Back And Forth Emails?
Below are some of the ways;
- Ask Specific Questions
- Demand For A video call
- Cut To The Chase
- Establish A Response Time Deadline
- Understand The Clients Point Of View
- Have Specific Times For Email
What Is The Word For A Series Of Emails?
A Series of emails is also called an email thread. This includes all sent, received, original, and forwarded emails.
Also, Check Out How To Deal with Fake Coworkers
What Are The 3 Email Rules?
In simple terms, the three email rules work like this: The sender sends an email asking for help, clarification, or advice The respondent answer via email with his/her thoughts, comments, questions, etc.
The sender now sends another email with questions or an appreciation for questions answered. Three emails have been sent hence the name 3 email rule.
Conclusion
Reducing back-and-forth emails is very necessary if you are looking to reduce misunderstandings, and increase productivity and the speed of resolving problems.
There are other communication services we can make use of if emails tend to be difficult in solving some problems. Carefully read through the article and understand how to reduce back-and-forth communications.