5.3 External Communication
(Or: "How to turn angry clients into raving fans")
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5.3.1 Professional Email Templates
Your First (and Last) Impression
🚀 Must-Have Templates
Scenario Subject Line Key Phrase
New Client Onboarding "Let's Get Started, [Name]!" "Here’s your dedicated point of contact..."
Payment Reminder "Gentle Reminder: Invoice #123" "To avoid service interruptions..."
Delayed Delivery "Update on Your [Product] Order" "We’re applying a 5% discount for the inconvenience..."
🔥 Horror Story:
An intern used "Hey dude" in a client email. The $50K deal went to a competitor who wrote "Dear Mr. Sharma"
Template (Delayed Project):
markdown
Subject: Update on [Project Name] Timeline
Dear [Client Name],
We’re writing to transparently share that [specific reason] has impacted our original timeline.
✅ **New Delivery Date:** [DD/MM]
✅ **Compensation:** [Discount/free upgrade]
✅ **Next Steps:** [Action item]
We deeply value your trust and are available at [phone] for live updates.
Best regards,
[Your Full Name]
[Company] | [Phone]
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5.3.2 Complaint/Escalation Handling
From Fire to Finesse
💡 The 4-A Framework
1. Acknowledge (Within 1 hour)
o "We take this seriously and are investigating"
2. Apologize (Without blame)
o "We’re truly sorry for the frustration caused"
3. Act (With visible urgency)
o Assign ticket # + dedicated handler
4. Amends (Go beyond expected)
o Refund + 10% future discount + handwritten note
Escalation Pathway:
Diagram
Code
💀 Nightmare Scenario:
A Bengaluru SaaS company:
• Auto-replied "Ticket #4567 received" to a ₹1.2Cr enterprise client
• Took 9 days to respond
• Client churned + left 27 negative reviews
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🛡️ Comms Health Check
"Does your external voice build trust?"
Parameter 😱 Amateur Hour 🛠️ Professional 🛡️ World-Class
Response Time 3+ business days Under 24 hours Under 2 hours + SMS alert
Tone Overly casual Polite but stiff Warm yet polished
Crisis Handling Defensive Process-driven Turns critics into advocates
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🚨 Comms Emergencies
"When clients explode:"
Disaster First Response Long-Term Fix
Public rant on social media 1. Public apology
2. Take conversation offline Implement social listening tools
Legal threat 1. "We’re reviewing carefully"
2. Loop in lawyer Create escalation playbook
Mass complaint 1. Priority response team
2. Root cause analysis Build early warning systems
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📌 Founder's Comms Toolkit
1. The Sentiment Analyzer
o Use Grammarly Tone Detector before hitting send
2. The Ugly Folder
o Archive all complaint emails → Quarterly review for patterns
3. The Surprise & Delight Kit
o Pre-stocked:
• Handwritten cards
• ₹500 Starbucks vouchers
• Branded chocolates
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🎯 Final Thought
"Every customer complaint is a free consulting session—if you’re wise enough to listen
