{"id":7856,"date":"2015-08-25T17:46:28","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T00:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intercom.com\/blog\/?p=7856"},"modified":"2024-10-22T19:17:03","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T18:17:03","slug":"seven-properties-of-effective-messages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/seven-properties-of-effective-messages\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven properties of effective messages"},"content":{"rendered":"

The messages you send to customers need to work hard and work fast if they’re to engage with any real purpose. Attention is fleeting, your customers are busy and the swathes of digital detritus we’re hit with each and every minute are effortlessly filtered out.<\/p>\n

Not only do messages need to be targeted if they’re to reach the right customer, they also need to be expertly crafted if they are going to produce the desired result.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the type of message you’re sending – whether it’s a super-hyped product announcement or a gentle we haven’t seen you in a while mood<\/em> appraiser – there are some fundamental characteristics every message should have.<\/p>\n

We’ve identified seven unshakable tenets of message craft. Get these right from the get-go or everything that follows will be a waste of time.<\/p>\n

1. Be personal<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve all experienced the let-down; a message from a business we\u2019ve been dealing with forever that opens \u201cDear Sir\/Madam\u201d. Being recognized as an individual with a name, particular needs, wants and desires even, is a rare and wonderful thing. Making the effort to establish a personal tone, without getting all hail-fellow-well-met about it, is the best start to meaningful engagement with your customers. At Intercom we start most of our messages, \u201cHi first name<\/code>\u201d which falls back to \u201cHi there\u201d, if for some reason we don\u2019t have the person\u2019s first name.<\/p>\n

From a message style point of view, we mostly use our in-app chat or plain text emails to send messages to our customers for the very good and simple reason that they feel handwritten and direct. We know they’ll get better engagement than something that looks like it was sent to the masses.<\/p>\n

But remember dear frendo, not everything should to be all 1:1 either. It’s important to moderate the “Hi Buddy” factor – no one likes false friendliness from folks they\u2019ve never met. These are your customers and users so don\u2019t speak to them like you would your close friends. A safe barometer from our customer support team suggests a good personal tone is akin to leaving a voicemail for an aunt you\u2019ve never met: warm and friendly, but respectful about what you don\u2019t yet know.<\/p>\n

2. Personalize the message<\/h2>\n

So, while you’re keeping it all warm and personal, you also need to ensure the content of your messages is personalised – that means specific and appropriate to the user.<\/p>\n

A powerful feature for creating personalised messages is to include custom attributes in each message, specific to each user. For example, you could contact everyone who has nearly reached storage capacity in your photo sharing app, and let them know exactly how much space they have left. Or why not message users who have incorrect integrations? Maybe you could mail your customers about their incomplete orders? Or, you could message your customers about their unfinished projects to encourage them to revisit them.<\/p>\n

3. Be polite<\/h2>\n

This one should really go without saying, but let’s say it: “be nice to people”. It\u2019s amazing how many business emails come across as arrogant or rude, when clearly that was never the intent. Here’s a short checklist to keep you on the right side of nice:<\/p>\n