I used to be adamant that you needed an OOO switched on your emails ALL THE TIME. Last week I switched mine off. Here's why...
Your September edition of The Experience
Sending emails used to feel like it was all I ever did, Pal. In fact, in the last job I was in before COVID hit & I took redundancy, keeping on top of my inbox felt like a never-ending battle. A lot of my work as Client Care Virtual Assistant was spent replying to customers in other people’s inboxes too.
I communicate best in written form, so it never really felt like a drag to write them, but what was a drag was the unnecessary to-ing & fro-ing over little things, that, & the BS that was sign off etiquette. (Anyone else reserve “Regards” for when you were absolutely livid with who you were sending the email to & wanted to show your displeasure in the best passive-aggressive way possible?!)
I’m realising that, much like the last post I shared with you, a lot of what I do now has come from corporate habits that I’ve allowed to take root. Habits that now no longer serve me.
It’s been a journey (I started out working for myself in 2020) but I’ve now created an online business that allows me to work with my energy rather than against it, which means that I don’t send anywhere near as “pointless” emails as I used to. Emails are reserved pretty much for my client interactions only & as I work with a handful (at most) at a time, it means my inbox doesn’t see anywhere near as much action as it used to, & I’m happy about that.
That’s why I switched my OOO auto-responder off. It was actually doing the opposite of what I wanted; clogging up my inbox unnecessarily.
I used to be adamant that my clients & community switched theirs on all the time too. And I still believe that it is really beneficial for some biz owners to have it there as a way to set expectations on their availability/contactability & uphold their boundaries around that.
It’s not a one-size fits all solution for setting expectations though, & doesn’t work for every biz owner & that’s where I was going wrong. You might be like me & have most of your conversations over in your DMs on IG, or communicate best over voice note, so Voxer is where you spend a lot of your time rather than your inbox.
Your client experience, and how your set expectations with those that you work with within it, should be a reflection of YOU.
It sounds a little cheesy, but I’ll stand by the fact that only you can do what you do the way you do it, so why not lean the hell into that & build trust with your clients in the process rather than being chained to old corporate ways of doing things? (as I was)
It became clear after a took a step back from my business earlier this year (if you missed it, here’s why) that I just wasn’t in my inbox anywhere near as much, & instead I was making/maintaining most of my business connections over on IG - so why keep something that no longer felt aligned?
Even though I’ll be keeping an expectation-setting phrase or two (“I’m in this inbox once a week - so if you want a proper chat come say hey over on IG”) in my email signature, I’ve shifted my focus to setting expectations of what it’s like in my World (including DM response times) on my IG profile instead. That means updated highlights (if you already follow me, these are due to go live very soon as I write this) & updating my profile bio too. (Anyone else get in a mild panic with that simply cos you’re restricted with characters?!)
It’s all a work in progress to reflect the shift in my business & brand, & I’m ok with that.
Do you feel like you’ve been chained to your emails in the past, Pal? (or even right now) And what is your gut telling you would be a better place to focus your expectation-setting energy? X
If you feel like it would be useful to chat through this in more detail & get ideas for what a more aligned way of setting expectations could look like in your biz, come join us over in The Experience paid subscriber community. (it’s just £6pm) We have a private chat thread where you can ask as many client experience questions as you like, brainstorm & generally gain my support.
Or, get expectation-setting inspo by taking a look at one of these posts - Substack has a great feature where you can unlock one for free.
Putting Yourself in Your Client’s Shoes
Big Love x