This post is co-written with Leslie O’Flahavan of E-WRITE.

If your customers have opted-in to receive texts from your company, they probably realize that some of your texts are going to be automated. They understand that sometimes texts from your company were sent by an automated system and that you don’t actually have a human employee, chained to a desk, hand-typing each appointment confirmation or loyalty program welcome message!

However, even if your texts to customers are automated, they shouldn’t sound mechanical. Here are ten tips to help you write automated texts that sound human and build rapport with your customers.

1. Use familiar, conversational words.

Text is closer to speech than any other written form of customer service, so choose words that you’d use if you were talking to a customer. This text from ZocDoc uses “info” and “Just remind,” which makes this text sound like it’s coming from a friendly company. (It also fits nicely within the 160 character limit).

2. Be concise.

Wordy texts read like form letters, and no customer thinks, “Oh, you wrote this form letter just for me?” Cut the word count and you’ll come across as more personal.

Original – Not concise

Revised – Concise

3. Give consistent instructions about how to text back.

You’re going to reuse those automated texts repeatedly, so write them right. Don’t explain the same task two different ways in the same text—you don’t want to confuse your customer.

Original – Confusing instructions about how to text back

Revised – Consistent instructions

4. Use feeling words.

One way to offset the automated quality of automated texts is to use words that indicate feelings. (Everyone knows robots don’t have feelings!) Words like “sorry,” “love,” and “happy” all evoke an emotional response in the reader.

While this automated text—from a presidential candidate whose name begins with an H—doesn’t use a word that names a feeling, such as “sorry,” it uses intense, connected words to build a feeling of connection, including, “at the heart,” and “you’re with me.”

5. Use personal pronouns.

If you want your automated texts to connect to your customer, use pronouns such as “we,” “you,” and “us.” Personal words make your texts sound, well, personal.

Original – Personal pronouns build the relationship

Revised – Without personal pronouns, the text sounds cold

6. Consider using humor if it’s consistent with your brand.

If your brand voice is light, hip, or irreverent, try humor in your automated texts. Don’t try humor if it gets in the way of your message, however. (Local governments texting citizens about severe weather, I’m talking to you.)

7. Use the conventions for writing text, not email.

Your automated texts to customers don’t need to resemble the other ways you write. In fact, they shouldn’t. Texts rarely use “From” to identify the sender, and they don’t need subject lines. The wording in this text makes the sender sound both automated and unaware of how texts are commonly written.

The writing in this text has two other problems:

• “Female Hair Cut.” That’s just not what the customer would call it. She’d call it a haircut. She knows she’s female. If Headlines books a longer time for “female” haircuts than it does for “male” haircuts, that’s not information the customer needs to deal with. And the phrase “female hair cut” is just all kinds of wrong.
• “@ Headlines Hair Designers.” Avoid using the @ sign when you need to write “at.” It makes your text look like it includes a Twitter handle, which could be confusing.

8. Avoid bureaucratic words.

Text is a casual customer service channel, even when automated. Don’t use words that make you sound like a lawyer (“ensure,” “advise,” etc.)

Original – Bureaucratic wording

Revised – Plain language

9. Avoid weird abbreviations and capitalizations.

Automated texts need to be short, given the fact that space is at a premium. However, don’t abbreviate things in a manner no one would recognize. What will most customers think the “S:” means in the flood warning text? Be as clear as possible.

Weird abbreviation

Most texts use sentence case (“You qualify for more minutes”), not title case (“You Qualify for More Minutes,”) because most texts are written in short sentences. There’s no reason to write “Msg & Data Rates May Apply” in title case. It makes this text seem more robot-written than human-written.

Weird capitalization

In the text below, the customer is probably wondering, “Why are you screaming at me?” and “Isn’t an LPN a Licensed Practical Nurse?” I’d write out “license plate” this time, or at least do “Plate #.”

Weird capitalization and abbreviation

10. Paraphrase the customer’s question or need in the automated response.

The best way to show someone you’re listening (or reading) closely is to restate what he or she asked for or wanted to know. In live customer service, we paraphrase to confirm that we understood the customer’s request. In automated customer service, paraphrasing is only possible when you’re sending specific, not generic, responses.

Though automated, this text comes across as genuine because the second sentence paraphrases the customer’s question or need.

Conclusion

So, to wrap up, even if you’re sending automated texts you should write them in a personal, friendly, connected style. Every text to a customer represents a chance to build a relationship.

To learn what or what not to do when adding texting to your business, download the whitepaper here.

Image of business texting courtesy of Pixabay. CC0 License.