Apologizing to customers when you’ve done something wrong will not only help keep your business but will allow those customers to get emotionally attached to your brand, which brings about loyalty. The instinct of a human being is to get all defensive and give reasons why they did something wrong. But when someone decides to take full responsibility for their action and even include an apology letter in the mix, such a person would not have a hard time staying in business.

If you had made a mistake with a customer and you believe saying “I’m sorry” will solve everything, that’s not always true. You need to say more emotional and heartfelt words yet stay professional, especially when it comes to writing an apology letter to customers. Coin your words in a way that the customer can sense your sincerity and feel pacified.

This post is going to show you a step by step method to help you write an apology letter to your customers.

Don’t take it personally

Arguments, disagreements, and misunderstanding are norms when dealing with people, especially if they have to be the ones that purchase your goods and services. So when your customer makes a complaint and even takes hit on your products and services by leaving a bad review or something of that nature, don’t take it personally. You should know that it is part of the things you face running a business.

Once you’ve decided to apologize, focus on the apology, and don’t bear any grudges. Forget whatever might have transpired even if you were not at fault. You only need to think about how to keep that one customer. There would be other customers you’ll enjoy doing business with, so there’s no point ruining your mood with one.

Start with I’m sorry

Say the words I’m sorry with all sincerity and don’t even think of adding the “ifs” and “buts” to defend your actions. When you take responsibility for your mistakes, you don’t need to bring up defenses, only give explanations to why you made the error. Apologies will go a long way to make the customer forget what happened and give the brand a new chance to make a great impression again.

Admit you were wrong

Let the customer know you were wrong even if there is a slight chance they are the ones mixing thing up here. It could be complicated, especially when you know you haven’t done anything wrong.

But the truth is that the customer is king and you need them for business to thrive. And even if your business gets to a state where you don’t have to get involved in mobile marketing again, you still need to retain customers, and the only way to do that is accommodating any inconvenience that may come from them.

If you had done something wrong, be it talking rudely to the customer or making a mistake with their purchase, then it shouldn’t be an issue to admit you were wrong. State your actions and admit your faults. They need to know you know the reason why you are apologizing.

Give an explanation

It is nice to give an account of what had happened that caused the misunderstanding. But be careful not to become defensive at this point as it could only escalate issues. Let the reason be brief and straight to the point, no need for long narratives. The customer deserves the right to know why the orders got mixed up; delivery delayed or why they didn’t get good value for their money.

Acknowledge your mistake prevented their goals

They may have needed the dress that was not delivered on time to go for an important event or wanted to purchase something they urgently required to carry out a task. Whatever they wanted to buy was towards a goal which you have prevented due to your mistake. So, you need to acknowledge that you stopped them from achieving their goals which would show you understand the magnitude of your error and you are ready to take steps in correcting them.

Tell them how you’ll fix it

Fine, you have tendered an apology. But how do you fix the problems to ensure it doesn’t occur again? You need to show that you care for your customers and require them to be comfortable with making a repeat purchase. If they were not satisfied with their previous purchase, it would be hard to make a repeat.

First of all, you need to offer an incentive to encourage them to make another purchase, such as providing a discount or make their next purchase come with a gift. Also, tell the customer steps you’ll take to ensure they don’t get such treatment again.

Ask for forgiveness

You will need to fulfill this part to allow the customer to be heard. You must have been doing all the talking (writing), explaining how your business failed and how they are going to make up for it.

But asking for forgiveness in a simple sentence like, “Hope you can forgive me?” allows the customer to provide a reply and would make them send a response to your letter which would serve as an acknowledgment that your letter was well received. It also shows that the message was not an automated one but something written by a human.

However, remember always to sound professional, don’t get carried away and make the customer feel uncomfortable in the process. It could make them see you as creepy and desperate.

Offer customer support

Let the customer know that you’re available to attend to them at any time of the day if they need further assistance. It shows you are ready to have them back not only to make more purchase but to assist them if they need help. You can also provide them with feedback options where they can tell you the improvements they will like to see in your business for continuous patronization. You can give them a link to a private page to submit their feedbacks rather than your social media page.

Wrap it Up

Whatever kind of apology letter you’re sending out, focus on the main points that we addressed earlier in this article: 

• Don’t take it personally. 
• Start with I’m sorry. 
• Admit you were wrong. 
• Give an explanation. 
• Acknowledge your mistake prevented their goals. 
• Tell them how you’ll fix it. 

If you follow these simple guidelines, your apology letter will sound sincere and will allow you to rectify the situation with the customers that you wronged.