Crafting a better work experience

With over 2 billion active users per month, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world. Far more popular than Facebook Messenger which only has half the user base per month.

It’s no wonder you should be using WhatsApp as a communication channel for your company. However, it can be a hassle for your customer service team to manage your WhatsApp inbox using the WhatsApp web or WhatsApp Business app.

But luckily for you, you’re at the right place to remedy this situation.

This magic solution is called a WhatsApp shared inbox!

With it, you’ll be able to see all messages in one centralized inbox and easily manage them via assignment, labels, and collaboration.

Let’s explore what exactly a shared inbox for WhatsApp is, its benefits, and how to start using one.

What Is a WhatsApp Shared Inbox?

A WhatsApp shared inbox is like an inbox that can be accessed by everyone in a team and where they can check and respond to customer messages from that centralized place. It's super handy for improving customer service since your team can get back to people fast, even if they're not all working at the same time.

It's way better than having everyone manage their own WhatsApp convos because it keeps everything organized using assignments and labels. It also makes sure no one drops the ball on a customer request. Plus, it enables all team members to collaborate easily. It helps you keep your customers happy, and your company improves and maintains a good reputation.

What Are the Benefits of Using a WhatsApp Shared Inbox?

Just like an email shared inbox comes with many advantages, using a WhatsApp shared inbox can take your customer service to the next level and make your team more productive.

While the WhatsApp Business App can be a useful tool for small businesses, it has some significant limitations compared to a shared inbox. For example:

• It can only be connected to one device at a time
• It doesn't have any collaborative features
• It doesn't support multiple messaging channels

A WhatsApp shared inbox solves these problems by providing more advanced features and functionality for any business.

Here are some of the reasons why a shared inbox is a game-changer.

Improved Collaboration

By using a shared inbox, your team can chat internally, assign conversations to specific team members, use canned responses, and label conversations to keep them organized. This lets your team work together more effectively, reduce response times, and resolve issues faster. Plus it makes the job more enjoyable for all employees.

Better Customer Service

With a shared inbox, your team can respond to customer messages quickly and easily, no matter when they come in. Since WhatsApp conversations are accessible to all team members at any given moment, you can be sure that message will get a reply no matter if someone in the team is offline.

By using canned responses for frequently asked questions, you can provide faster and more consistent service. Additionally, a lot of tools like Missive, offer features like conversation merging that let you easily consolidate all the messages from a customer into one conversation no matter the channel used. It ensures that no customer conversations are ignored or forgotten.

Plus a shared inbox with labels and assignment lets you easily keep track of what’s going on and analyze your customer service performance. You’ll be able to better identify areas of improvement and optimize your strategies.

Consolidated Customer Interactions

A WhatsApp shared inbox enables you to consolidate all your customer communication channels into one inbox, making it easier for your team to keep track of customer conversations and reducing the need to switch between different tools and channels. By having one go-to solution for all your communication channels, you can save on time, and cost, freeing up more time and money for other important aspects of your business.

In summary, if you want to provide better customer service, simplify your communications, and improve collaboration, a WhatsApp shared inbox is the way to go.

How to Choose a WhatsApp Shared Inbox Provider?

Now that you are aware of all the benefits of a WhatsApp shared inbox tool for your business, are you considering using one? Choosing the right one is key.

To make an informed decision, consider these factors:

• Pricing: How much does it cost to use the tool? Are there any hidden fees or charges?
• Features: What features does the tool offer? Does it meet your specific needs and goals?
• Ease of use: How easy is it to set up and use the tool? Is it user-friendly and intuitive?
• Reviews: What do other users say about the tool? Are they satisfied with their experience?

Evaluating and trying your options carefully to ensure the tool meets your needs and goals will ensure that you can take advantage of all the benefits a WhatsApp shared inbox offers.

How to Create a WhatsApp Shared Inbox?

A WhatsApp shared inbox will let you manage all your conversations by connecting to your WhatsApp Business via an API.

Managing all your customer conversations with ease using Missive's WhatsApp shared inbox is easy. With the integration of Twilio's API for WhatsApp, you can import your WhatsApp number into Missive in just a few steps. This way, your team can start collaborating on all your customer conversations in a matter of seconds.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Create a Twilio account and set up their API for WhatsApp
2. Import your WhatsApp number into Missive by copying/pasting your Twilio account SID, authentication token, and WhatsApp number.

1. Update your WhatsApp number configuration in Twilio

That's it! You can now receive, send, and collaborate on your WhatsApp messages directly in Missive Team Inbox.

Best of all, the WhatsApp shared inbox can be easily accessed by all members of your team.

Try Missive for Your WhatsApp Shared Inbox

Having a shared inbox can be a huge benefit for your business and customer service.

If you’re looking for the best WhatsApp shared inbox provider for your business you should look no further than Missive. It has it all:

• Affordable pricing plans
• Robust set of features
• User-friendly interface

Missive is the perfect solution for managing all your customer conversations across multiple channels.

With Missive, you'll enjoy powerful yet simple tools that make it easy to collaborate with your entire team and keep everyone on the same page. Plus, with glowing reviews from our satisfied customers, you can be sure you are making the right choice.

Give it a try for free today!

Managing an inbox with multiple people has long been a difficult and tedious task that most people aren't even willing to take on. It’s easy to understand why dealing with shared emails without a unified, shared inbox is something people would want to avoid at all costs.

It makes filtering and classifying emails a pain as well as keeping track of who's responsible for what. And, with so many forwarding, it’s a pain to track and follow up on so many exchanges in an email thread.

If we are completely honest, we all know that forwarding shared emails to the personal email address of all team members isn’t the best way to work with shared aliases. However, as you probably know with the right tool, managing multiple email addresses is not a difficult task.

So let's explore what’s the advantage of having only one inbox.

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What is a Shared Inbox?

A shared inbox is like a group chat for emails. It’s an inbox that multiple can access to collaborate on shared aliases or any email address. It’s the perfect solution to let all team members work together when replying to emails and managing shared aliases emails.

In most shared inbox software, you can assign emails to different team members, add comments to messages, and keep track of which emails have been replied to or still need a response.

Shared inboxes can help any team in your business from customer support passing by sales, accounting, and HR. Having multiple team members collaborating to reply to customers’ questions or requests quickly and efficiently can be a real advantage for almost any business.

Plus, many shared inbox software programs also make it easy for people from different teams to collaborate. This means smoother communication and better teamwork all around.

It also makes internal communication easier, as many shared inbox software programs allow people from different teams to collaborate.

What Are the Advantages of Having Only One Inbox?

Having just one inbox for all your emails comes with many benefits. Here are the most noticeable for your business.

1. Centralized Communication to Avoid Back & Forth

Having one unified shared inbox makes it easy to manage and respond to all incoming emails by grouping them all in one centralized tool. This can include your personal emails and the shared aliases of your business.

Having one centralized inbox eliminates the need to check multiple individual inboxes. It will also save you precious time and reduce the chances of missing important messages.

It also allows teams to collaborate and communicate without the need for constant back and forth between several apps. Plus, since everyone has access to the same messages and information, it makes prioritizing tasks and responding to urgent requests a lot easier.

Another big advantage is that you won’t have to dig through endless email chains or try to find that message you know exists but can’t remember where it is. With a shared inbox, everything is organized in one location, making it easy to keep track of conversations.

2. Better Access Control & Permissions

Having your team members use their own accounts to access an inbox that groups all incoming emails brings many benefits.  A shared inbox software is a great solution to improve your access control and gives you more options for granular permissions.

With a shared inbox, you can set up different levels of access and permissions for team members based on their roles and responsibilities. This helps to ensure that confidential information is only accessed by the right people in your business. At the same time, it also reduces the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access.

Most solutions, like Missive, will let you decide what permissions you give to every team member, which email address they can access, and if they can use it to send emails. This ensures information is only accessible to authorized team members.

3. Reduce Workload & Improve Collaboration

As John C. Maxwell said in his book:

Teamwork makes the dream work

And, let’s admit it, having only one shared inbox is one of the key ingredients to achieving that dream.

With a shared inbox, everyone on the team has access to the same messages, reducing the need for each person to manage their own individual inbox. It saves time and eliminates the risk of messages getting lost or overlooked in someone's personal inbox.

Team members can see which emails or messages have been replied to, which ones are already assigned to someone, and which ones haven’t been taken care of. This prevents multiple team members from responding to the same message.

Having a single unified inbox also promotes collaboration. Team members can work together more efficiently by responding to messages on time, delegating tasks, and prioritizing messages based on their urgency. It will help any team to help avoid duplicated efforts and ensures that every message receives a timely response.

4. Improve Your Customer Service

Managing multiple inboxes can be overwhelming and time-consuming for your customer service team. Not to mention that important customer inquiries can easily slip through the cracks if they're distributed across various individual inboxes. This is where a shared inbox comes in to save the day.

By using one, all customer inquiries are centralized and easily accessible to everyone on your team. This means no more digging through individual inboxes or worrying about missing an important message.

Another benefit of having one shared inbox is that it improves your team's ability to work together more efficiently. With everyone having access to the same inbox, your team can provide a better customer experience and avoid duplicating their efforts.

Plus, since the customer service team can easily share responsibility, team members are more likely to take ownership of customer inquiries and work together to provide the best possible service.

5. Increased Accountability & Transparency

Shared inboxes can be a game-changer for team communications. Not only does it make it easier to keep track of incoming messages, but it can also promote accountability and transparency within the team.

Think about it:

When everyone has access to the same inbox, it's much easier to ensure that every message gets the attention they deserve. You don't have to worry about whether or not someone received an email or if someone already responded to it. Instead, everyone can see what's in the inbox and who is responsible for responding to each message.

A shared inbox can also promote transparency within the team. Rather than relying on individual team members to forward or share information, everyone can see all incoming messages and responses. It can come in handy if someone on the team is on vacation or on sick leave.

It can also help to prevent misunderstandings and ensures that everyone aligns when it comes to important messages.

So, how does this actually play out in practice? Let's say you're working on a project with several other team members. You receive an email from a client with some questions about the project. Normally, you might forward that email to your team members and hope that they respond in a timely manner. But with a shared inbox, everyone can see the email and who is responsible for responding to it. This eliminates any confusion or ambiguity about who is taking care of what.

6. Grow as You Grow

As a company grows, it becomes increasingly important to have effective communication and collaboration tools in place. One tool that can help facilitate this is a shared inbox.

Having only one inbox to manage all emails can actually become more valuable as a company grows. As the number of team members increases, it can become more difficult to keep track of who is responsible for what messages. With a shared inbox, however, everyone can see what messages are coming in and who is taking care of them. It can help to avoid duplicated responses and ensure that all messages are being addressed in a timely manner.

With everyone using the same inbox, there is less room for miscommunication or confusion about who is responsible for what tasks.

In addition, as a company grows, it may become necessary to have different teams or departments. With a shared inbox, it's easy to create labels for different teams, so everyone can stay organized and focused on their specific responsibilities. This can help prevent information overload and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

How to Get Started with a Shared Inbox?

With a multitude of shared inbox solutions, it’s easier than never to choose a solution that will suit your needs. You should also make sure you these shared inbox best practices to make the most out of your unified inbox.

For example, by using a solution like Missive you can easily invite all of your team and give them access to only the team they need. From there, by using rules and labels your can easily improve make your business’ email workflow to be more efficient.

FAQ

What is the importance of a shared inbox?

A shared inbox lets many people use the same inbox together. It's useful for any team who has a minimum of messages. It helps communication and teamwork by avoiding duplicate work and saving time. It's also good for customer service because the team can work together and give better responses to customers. It helps keep track of customer interactions and can improve service.

What are the benefits of a team inbox?

Using a shared inbox has several benefits for teams. Firstly, it centralizes communication and eliminates the need to check multiple inboxes, saving time and reducing the chances of missing important messages. Secondly, it allows for better access control and permissions, promoting data security and privacy. Thirdly, it reduces workload and promotes collaboration, making it easier to prioritize tasks and respond to urgent requests. Fourthly, it improves customer service by centralizing inquiries and promoting collaboration. Fifthly, it increases accountability and transparency within teams. Lastly, choosing a flexible shared inbox solution allows easy scaling as your team grows.

What is the best way to use a shared mailbox?

The best way to use a shared mailbox is to establish clear guidelines and procedures for accessing and managing emails. Here are some tips:

1. Determine who needs access: Decide who needs access to the shared mailbox and provide them with the necessary permissions.
2. Establish communication guidelines: Define how emails should be categorized, prioritized, and assigned to team members.
3. Create a filing system: Set up folders to organize emails by category, date, or sender, to make it easier to locate important emails later.
4. Avoid duplication: Avoid duplicating efforts by checking the mailbox before responding to an email to see if someone else has already taken care of it.
5. Keep it tidy: Regularly review and archive old emails to keep the mailbox organized and easy to navigate.

Collaborating on shared emails is crucial for any business, especially when it comes to providing excellent customer service. Although it can be a challenging task, it is vital for building and growing a successful business.

A considerable number of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) rely on Gmail for their email needs. However, by default, Google's email client is not built to be a shared inbox and collaborate.

In this article, we'll explore how you can share your general inboxes with your team in Gmail, enabling you to work together more efficiently.

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Can You Have Shared Inboxes for Gmail?

The short answer is yes. You can have shared inboxes for Gmail by taking advantage of some of Google's features. As we’ll see below, there are four ways to share a mailbox in Gmail. They all come with some benefits and drawbacks that should be considered before choosing which solution will be used for your team.

How Does Gmail Shared Inbox Work?

To share a mailbox in Gmail you have four options. We will explore all of them with their benefits and drawbacks.

Share Credentials

This solution is by far the easiest and most obvious of them all. While sharing your login credentials may seem like a good idea at first, there are a lot of drawbacks to consider.

Firstly, there is a significant security risk that comes with sharing your login access to a Gmail account. It could potentially put your business at risk of attacks and information theft.

Moreover, you cannot give granular permissions to specific individuals who need access to the mailbox. This means that every person who has access to the login credentials can access all the settings and information in the mailbox, which can be problematic for your business.

Advantages:

• It is easy to set up.

Disadvantages:

• It poses a security risk.
• There is no granular access control.
• It does not facilitate collaboration.

Delegated Accounts

To avoid sharing login information you can delegate your Gmail account to anyone in your organization. This means that the delegates can receive and reply to emails that come into that inbox by using their own Gmail account.

There are some advantages to delegating your Gmail account. It's easy to use and set up, and it provides better security compared to sharing credentials.

However, there are also some disadvantages to delegating. For example, there are no collaboration features, and there's no email management for teams. Additionally, the recipient will be able to see that the email was sent by someone else.

Delegating a Gmail account can be a good solution if you want to avoid the security risk of sharing passwords. However, it's important to keep in mind that there's no collaboration, and the recipient can see who sent the email.

Google Groups

By creating a Google Group, you’ll have an easy way to give your team members access to a shared mailbox. There are three options available:

• Community forum
• Email distribution list
• Collaborative inbox

While the community forum might not be useful for sharing a mailbox with your team, the other two options might be a good fit. Let's take a closer look at them.

Email Distribution List

This is a good solution for teams that receive emails to general email addresses like billing@, info@, or marketing@. With the distribution list, every email received is forwarded to every group member, but it doesn't offer any collaboration features or allow team members to reply using the shared email address.

Collaborative Inbox

That's where the Collaborative Inbox comes in. It lets group members see all the emails received to a shared email address in their own Google Group account and provides basic collaboration features like assignments, labels, and "closed" status. It also offers better security since you won't need to share any credentials.

However, keep in mind that Google Collaborative Inbox doesn't allow back-and-forth conversations, merging of conversations, or saved shared response templates. Also, it doesn't have any chat or comment features.

To summarize, here are the advantages and disadvantages of using a collaborative inbox:

Advantages:

• Better collaboration features
• Better security over sharing credentials

Disadvantages:

• Two separate inboxes for personal and shared emails
• No chat or comments features

How Do I Create a Shared Inbox in Gmail?

We won't be diving into how to share your credentials with your team because, as we mentioned earlier, it's far from the most optimal solution, especially when it comes to sharing an inbox in Gmail. And let's face it, even if you're considering this route despite our advice against it, you probably don't need a step-by-step guide on how to share them.

But, if you're looking to set up a shared inbox for Gmail, we've got you covered. Here's how you can do it.

How to Set up Gmail Delegates?

Setting up Gmail delegates is actually pretty straightforward.

If you're part of an organization, just make sure your Google Workspace admin has given users permission to use email delegation. It’s also important to keep in mind that personal accounts are limited to 10 delegates, while organizations can have up to 1,000 delegates.

Here’s how to set up Gmail delegation:

1. Open your Gmail account (you can’t set up delegates in the Gmail app on iOS or Android) and go to the Settings menu ⚙️ in the top right corner.
2. Click on See all settings and select the Accounts and Imports tab.
3. Under the Grant access to your account section, click on the Add another account link.
4. Enter the email address of the person you want to delegate access to.
5. Click on the Next Step >> button and then click on the Send email to grant access button to send a delegation request to the delegate.

Gmail users with organizational emails can delegate access to a group with the same domain. Members outside of the group are not allowed to the delegated Gmail.

Once you’re done, your delegates will be able to access the shared inbox from the Gmail account dropdown menu.

How to Set up a Gmail Collaborative Inbox?

Creating a Collaborative Inbox list in Gmail is a little take a few more steps than adding delegates to an account.

1. You’ll first need to create a Google Group. To do so simply head to the Groups page and log in to your Google account.
2. From there, you’ll be able to create a new Group by clicking on the Create a group button.
3. Enter the details of your new group and click on next.

1. The following page lets you decide your privacy settings. You need to make sure that Who can post is set to Anyone on the web to be able to receive emails in this shared inbox. We recommend you choose the same setting as in the following screenshot so messages are only visible to your invited team members.

1. Next, click on your group and then on Group settings. From there, check Collaborative Inbox under the Enable additional Google Groups features section.

1. Click Save changes.

You now have a Collaborative Inbox that can be used as a shared inbox for your teams’ aliases.

Which Solution Should I Use as a Shared Inbox for Gmail?

As we've looked into different solutions to share a mailbox in Gmail, we've found that each option has its own pros and cons. However, there's one thing we can all agree on - never share your email account password, even if it seems like a convenient option. It's crucial for your business's security.

When trying to decide whether to delegate a Gmail account or use a Collaborative Inbox, there are a few factors to consider, such as:

• Team size
• Needed features
• Use case

For example, a delegated account can be a good option for a one-person team that doesn't need to collaborate with others. But for a team of a few people who need to work on the inbox simultaneously and collaborate on emails using features like shared labels, assignments, and status, a Collaborative Inbox is a better choice.

It's important to keep in mind that Gmail shared mailbox solutions do have their limitations, especially for larger teams or teams where collaboration is crucial, such as customer support teams or sales teams.

If you want to avoid having to adjust your workflow to fit the tool you're using, you might want to consider using a shared inbox software like Missive that can adapt to your workflow and make collaboration a breeze.

Missive: The Shared Inbox Software Made for Team Collaboration

Missive is a powerful shared inbox and collaborative email management software that can supercharge your team's productivity and efficiency. It's built with collaboration in mind to help your company to grow and thrive without any limitations. With its advanced rules that can be customized to your workflow, Missive is the ultimate solution for your customer service and sales teams.

One of the best things about Missive is the fact that it offers an all-in-one platform for managing all communication channels, including SMS, social media, and even WhatsApp. You won’t need to go back and forth between multiple apps and manage different inboxes for personal and team use. With Missive, everything is integrated into one unified inbox. Missive also lets you give granular permission to an individual team member.

Even better, Missive offers integrations with other tools you already use and love, such as Salesforce, Pipedrive, Grammarly, Zapier, Twilio, and Aircall. This means you can streamline your workflow and maximize your productivity without any extra effort.

Missive also offers advanced features including:

• Shared rules
• Assignments
• Chat and comments
• Shared labels
• Tasks
• Collaborative drafting
• Shared canned responses
• Calendar
• Mobile and desktop apps

While we can’t argue that Gmail is a great tool for personal emails, it’s hard to ignore the fact that it was not built for collaboration and shared inboxes.

FAQ

How do I create a shared inbox in Gmail?

You have two ways to create a shared inbox in Gmail. The first option is to add delegates to a Gmail account so they can manage emails in a certain inbox. The other option is to create a Collaborative Inbox in Google Groups to collaborate on a shared email alias.

Can you have shared inboxes for Gmail?

Yes, have shared inboxes for Gmail. A shared inbox allows multiple people to access and manage the same set of emails. This can be useful for teams or groups that need to collaborate on a specific set of emails. By setting up a Collaborative Inbox for your Gmail, everyone who needs access can easily view and respond to emails, making communication and collaboration more efficient.

How does shared mailbox work in Gmail?

A shared mailbox in Gmail allows multiple people to access and manage the same set of emails. When you set up a shared mailbox, all users who have access to it can read and reply to emails, mark them as read, and delete them. This is useful for teams or groups who need to collaborate on a specific email address, as it allows everyone to work together more efficiently.

In Gmail, a shared mailbox is set up by granting access to another Gmail user. This can be done by adding a delegate or using a Collaborative Inbox in Google Groups.

Customer service is the backbone of any successful business. Mastering the art of providing exceptional customer service is crucial for any growing company.

The email has emerged as the leading communication channel for customer service. A whopping 54% of consumers use customer support email, according to a study by Forrester.

As a result, it’s important to have proper email etiquette. It will help you provide timely and effective customer service to your clients. You'll also be able to set yourself apart from your competitors.

In this article, we'll explore some of the best practices for customer service and guidelines for email etiquette. Following them will help you provide excellent customer service and improve customer satisfaction.

Why Having a Proper Email Etiquette Is Important for Customer Service?

Email is probably the first point of contact your customers will have with your business. This is why proper email etiquette is essential for customer service. The tone and professionalism of your email can make or break your customers' impression of your company.

80% of customers think that their customer experience is as important as the products or services you provide. Customer service will help dictate their loyalty and if they repeat business. Another study from Microsoft stated that 61% of respondents have decided to use another brand due to poor customer service.

Having email etiquette in place will also help your team be more efficient, professional, and clear. They will also offer a uniform experience to all customers.

11 Email Etiquette Tips for Better Customer Service

Proper email etiquette is crucial for providing effective customer service to clients. Here are some tips for email etiquette in customer service.

1. Use Grammar & Spelling That Shows Your Professionalism

Nowadays customers aren't just looking for a solution to their problems. They also want to choose a brand that is aligned with their vision when making a purchase decision.

Having proper grammar and spelling in your emails will not only make your business look more professional but also help your recipients better understand you.

After all those rules are there for a reason.

Making sure that your team always sends spelling-free emails might be hard, but luckily for us, tools exist to make sure our messages stay mistake-free. Some shared inbox software, like Missive, even integrated with advanced tools like Grammarly to improve efficiency.

2. Take Advantage of Canned Responses

Let’s face it, some customer service inquiries are really common and need can be answered with the same email.

Using canned responses can help you and your team by providing a well-written and detailed answer every time without having to spend the whole time crafting the answer.

However, you should remember not to overindulge in using canned responses too often. Your customer will certainly appreciate the feeling that they are talking to an actual human being and not interacting with pre-determined answers.

3. Stay Human

As we mentioned in the last point, your customers probably want to be treated as human beings and not just as ticket numbers. You should make sure that every email interaction you have with your clients is personalized and tailored to its recipient.

A study from Zendesk shows that 76% of customers expect some personalization when interacting with a company.

By showing that you care about your customers you can make a difference in client retention. It can also help build a brand that will attract potential clients.

While you should always stay professional, you should provide personalized service to your customers.

4. Make Sure You Include Details, Images, and/or Links

We’ve all heard it:

A picture paints a thousand words

And while it can sound cliché, it could be more true. Including attachments in your email is probably one of the best ways to help your customer with their inquiry.

It's especially true for software companies. Providing a screenshot can help the recipient understand what you’re describing in your email.

The same can apply to any files that could help provide more detailed information.

Another great email etiquette to remember for customer service is to provide links to relevant articles, FAQs, guides, or videos. There’s no point in writing a lengthy email when the question or issue has already been answered in detail somewhere else.

The time saved by providing links to the information will let your team focus on emails that are of higher priority.

It can also be useful to go beyond the issue experienced by your customer and send them links to resources that can help them later on.

With that in mind, you should remember that 81% of customers attempt to resolve their issues themselves before reaching out to your team. So don't just send links to useful resources and call it a day. Try to bring value to every exchange.

5. Avoid Getting Emotional

We all experienced it:

You receive an email from an angry customer and you just want to reply on the spot.

While it might be tempting to respond immediately, doing so when you’re still emotional can lead to unprofessional answers. It can exacerbate the frustration experienced by your customers.

It’s important to remember that your customers are people too with emotional ups and downs and their problems. Empathizing with them and focusing on providing a solution rather than dwelling on the issue will help with your clients' interactions.

6. Use Professional Email Addresses

If you’re still using a @gmail.com (or any provider's) generic email address for your customer service, this should act as your last warning notice to make the switch to a business email address.

Your customers will certainly see your business email address as more professional and credible. It will help them take you seriously and trust you.

7. Make Sure You Follow-Up

Sometimes you want to take your customer service to the next level. Following up on inquiries you had in the past can be great email etiquette to adopt. It can bring many benefits:

• Customer satisfaction
• Issue resolution
• Customer feedback
• Reputation management

It could be as simple as sending a follow-up email to know if your customer resolved their issue. You could also take that moment to ask them if you could further assist them or if they could leave you a review.

8. Use Language That Is Easy to Understand

The goal isn’t to show off your wide vocabulary or use the most technical jargon to prove that you’re trustworthy. Your focus should be on being easily understood by your recipient. A good rule of thumb is to aim for a grade level equal to or lower than 8. this way you’ll make sure that the vast majority of your audience understands.

Of course, this tip needs to be adapted to your audience and industry. For example, if your business is in the tech industry and you're dealing with developers, you should be using technical terms when necessary.

9. Use Short Descriptive Subject Lines

Email subject lines are important when determining if someone will open an email or not.

Using a short but descriptive subject will help your customer understand what your emails are about before even needing to open them. In fact, 64% of recipients decide whether to open an email based on the subject line.

You should aim for a descriptive subject line that is less than 9 words (60 characters) and that doesn’t use too much punctuation.

10. Be Friendly

Depending on your industry and customer base, being friendly can make your customer go the extra mile. Let’s face it, having a more casual tone can make a whole difference in customer satisfaction. It will ensure that your clients leave the email interaction with the feeling that you’re helpful and kind. And as we know by now, keeping customers is a lot more valuable than acquiring new ones.

You should also try to be thankful instead of always apologizing. For example, instead of apologizing for the wait time, you could thank them for their patience. You’ll see that the conversation will get a whole new tone from there.

11. Respond to All Emails on Time

Just so we’re clear here, we are not talking about responding to all those spammy emails that end up in your shared inboxes every day. We’re talking about all those legitimate emails from customers you receive.

You should make sure you have an SLA in place and that you are respecting it. This will send a strong signal to your customer that you care about them and they’ll also get an idea of when they should be expecting a reply.

Conclusion

Following this email etiquette for your customer service will help you provide a great customer experience. It will set you apart from the competition.

Making sure that no email is left unanswered and that everyone gets the right answer to their inquiry can be a demanding task. But, using a shared inbox software like Missive you and your team will be able to offer better service by enabling all your team to collaborate on customer service emails.

How Long Do You Spend on Emails Everyday at Work?

Probably quite a good portion of your day, am I right? From communicating with colleagues and clients to managing projects and deadlines, email is an integral part of our daily routine. However, as the use of email continues to grow, so does the challenge of managing it effectively.

According to a study by McKinsey & Company, the average worker spends nearly a third of their workweek on email-related tasks. 🤯

And this number can be even higher for managers and executives.

With so much time spent on email, it's crucial to have effective email management skills to stay productive and efficient.

In this article, we'll explore the best practices for managing your work emails. We'll cover everything from adopting the zero inbox method to using tools and filters to streamline your email workflow.

So whether you're looking to improve your efficiency or enhance your email management skills, these tips will help you keep your inbox organized and under control. Because who doesn't want to be a master of productivity?

20 Best Practices for Managing Your Work Emails

Managing your emails can be overwhelming, but with these best practices, you can turn your inbox into a productive tool for work.

Here are some tips to help you manage your emails effectively.

Inbox Zero Method

The inbox zero method is a popular approach to email management that involves achieving a clutter-free inbox by processing all emails and organizing them efficiently.

It's like spring cleaning your inbox!

The method has four basic steps that can be adapted to suit your needs and preferences.

1. Unsubscribe from any email lists or newsletters that are no longer relevant or interesting. This helps to reduce the volume of incoming emails and ensures that your inbox only contains messages that are important to you. Say goodbye to those weekly product updates from a tool you never used!
2. Create folders or labels to organize the remaining emails. This helps to group similar messages together and makes it easier to find specific emails when you need them. Plus, it looks super organized and makes you feel like a boss!
3. Create rules or filters to automatically sort incoming emails. This can help to reduce the amount of manual effort required to organize your inbox and can ensure that important emails are prioritized. Set up rules like, "any email from my boss goes straight to the top of my inbox."
4. Process each email in your inbox. This involves reviewing each message, deciding what action is required, and then taking that action. For example, you might delete irrelevant messages, respond to urgent emails, or file important messages in a specific folder. Take control of your inbox and tackle each email like a boss.

While having an empty inbox may not be for everyone, regularly cleaning up and organizing your inbox can have significant benefits like helping you prioritize important messages and making it easier to find the information you need when you need it. Who doesn't love a tidy inbox and a little extra productivity in their day?

Use Labels and Folders

Labels and folders are helpful tools for managing your inbox and can be utilized in various ways. Here are some practical ways to use them:

1. By project or client: Create labels or folders for each project or client you're handling. This way, you can easily find and refer to all related emails in one place, making it easier to manage your work and deadlines.
2. By category: Use labels or folders to categorize emails by types, such as newsletters, promotions, or social media updates. This will enable you to prioritize which messages to read or delete, and keep your inbox free from unnecessary emails.
3. By priority: Establish labels or folders for emails that require urgent attention or follow-up. This might include emails from important clients or urgent requests. This will help you manage your critical tasks and prevent important emails from being lost in your inbox.
4. By status: Use labels or folders to monitor the status of emails, such as emails that require a response, emails waiting for a reply, or emails that have been completed. This will assist you in staying organized and ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks.

The key is to use labels and folders in a way that suits your particular needs. By organizing your inbox with labels and folders, you'll be able to save time, reduce stress, and stay on top of your email workload.

Take Advantage of a Calendar

Using a calendar with your email can be an effective way to manage your time and stay on top of important tasks. Email management software programs like Missive offer a built-in calendar feature that allows you to easily schedule appointments, meetings, and reminders right from your email inbox.

One of the benefits of using a calendar is that it helps with time management. You can schedule and manage your time effectively, ensuring that you have sufficient time for important tasks and appointments. By setting reminders, you can also make sure that you don't miss critical deadlines, appointments, or follow-ups on your communications.

Moreover, a shared calendar can be an excellent collaboration tool. It enables you to coordinate with your colleagues and schedule meetings more efficiently, saving time and reducing unnecessary back-and-forth emails.

By integrating your calendar with your email inbox, you can quickly view all of your upcoming events and deadlines in one place. This can help you stay on track and prioritize tasks without having to switch between your emails and a separate calendar app.

Another helpful tip is to set specific times in your calendar to check and respond to emails.

Set Aside Dedicated Time for Emails

One way to manage your email more effectively is to set aside dedicated time for checking and responding to messages. By doing so, you can avoid the constant distraction of incoming emails and stay focused on other tasks throughout the day.

For example, you might set aside 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon to check and respond to emails. During this time, you can focus solely on your inbox and work through messages in a deliberate and organized manner.

It's also important to avoid checking your email first thing in the morning. When you check your email as soon as you wake up, you may find yourself immediately caught up in other people's priorities and needs, rather than focusing on your own goals and tasks for the day. Instead, try to begin your day with a proactive task, such as exercise, meditation, or planning out your schedule for the day.

By setting aside dedicated time for emails and avoiding the temptation to constantly check your inbox, you can help ensure that you're using your time and energy in the most effective way possible.

Use Canned Responses

Canned responses are pre-written templates or messages that can be quickly inserted into an email for common scenarios, such as responding to customer inquiries or sending out meeting reminders. This inbox management technique can save you time and help improve consistency in your email communication.

Some email tools like Missive even allow you to customize canned responses with variables to fit each individual situation. By using response templates, your responses are consistent and more detailed since you won't have to write the same email on the fly every time.

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Unsubscribe to Undesired Newsletters

Unsubscribing from newsletters and promotional emails that are no longer relevant or that you no longer have interest in is another email management best practice that can help reduce email clutter and improve your productivity. With fewer unnecessary emails in your inbox, you'll have more time to focus on important messages.

Follow the Two-Minute Rule

The Two-Minute Rule is a popular email management technique that can help you stay on top of your email inbox and prevent it from becoming cluttered with small tasks that can quickly add up.

The basic idea behind the rule is that if an email can be addressed in two minutes or less, you should do it right away.

For other emails, set a pre-determined time every week to handle them. Labels can also be useful for categorizing emails you won't be handling right away and keeping your inbox tidy.

Turn off Notifications

Being bombarded by a constant flow of notifications can really hinder your focus and productivity. Turning off email notifications is a good practice that can help you stay on track with your tasks.

Let’s be honest, do you really need to be notified and take action on your emails as soon as you receive them? Probably not.

So why not go ahead and turn off notifications? This can be done by disabling email alerts entirely or only for periods when you want to be focused. By disabling notifications when you receive emails, you’ll be able to reduce your distractions, making you more productive.

Alternatively, you could use rules to only receive notifications if you receive emails from a specific sender or with a particular subject line.

Leverage AI

Leveraging AI in your email can be a powerful way to save time, improve efficiency, and get more out of your email communications. By taking advantage of advanced features such as smart replies and email categorization, you can stay on top of your email inbox and achieve your goals more effectively.

Most AI email assistants can understand the context of a conversation and provide relevant replies, so you can handle your emails in less time. For example, with the OpenAI integration in Missive, you can generate new emails, replies and translate messages.

Touch It Once

The "touch it once" principle is another popular email management technique that can help you stay on top of your inbox and prevent messages from piling up.

The way it works is quite straightforward:

When you open an email, take action on it right away.

Here's how it works:

1. When you open an email, read it carefully and take action on it right away. This could mean responding to the email, delegating the task to someone else, or archiving it.
2. Avoid leaving emails sitting in your inbox for extended periods of time. The longer an email sits in your inbox, the more likely it is to get buried or forgotten about.
3. If you can't take immediate action on an email, file it away in a designated folder or label, or use the snooze feature to set a reminder to follow up later.

By adopting the "touch it once" principle, you can reduce the need to check your inbox multiple times, which can save time and improve email efficiency.

Use the 4D Method

One email management technique that can help you quickly triage your inbox and stay organized is the 4D method. Here's how it works:

1. Delete: If an email is irrelevant or not important, delete it right away.
2. Delegate: If a communication requires someone else's attention or action, delegate the email to the appropriate person. This could mean forwarding the email to a colleague or scheduling a meeting.
3. Do: If an email can be completed quickly and easily, take action on it right away. This could mean responding to the email, completing a task, or scheduling a meeting.
4. Defer: If an email requires more time or attention, defer it by filing it away in a designated folder or using a task management tool to set a reminder to follow up later.

By using the 4D method to triage your inbox, you can quickly prioritize emails and stay on top of important messages.

Set Specific Times to Check Your Email

Checking your email constantly can be a major distraction and can disrupt your workflow. Instead, try setting specific times throughout the day to check and respond to emails. This will help you stay focused on your work and prevent email from taking up too much of your time.

Choose a schedule that works best for you and your job requirements. For example, you might check your email first thing in the morning, after lunch, and before leaving for the day. By setting specific times to check your email, you'll be able to better manage your time and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Use To-Dos to Break Emails into Tasks

Using to-do items to break emails into tasks can be helpful and allows you to stay on top of important tasks to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. Here's a good approach to using a to-do to break emails into tasks:

1. Review your inbox: Identify any emails that require action to be taken. It could include responding to emails, scheduling a meeting, or completing a task.
2. Create a to-do item: Once you've identified an email that requires an action, create a to-do item for it in your task management tool. Be sure to include any relevant information from the email, such as deadlines or important details.
3. Prioritize your tasks: Once you've created to-do items for each email, prioritize them based on urgency and importance. This can help you stay focused on the most important tasks and ensure that you're making progress on your goals.
4. Take action: Finally, take action on each to-do item as quickly as possible. This could mean responding to the email, completing a task, or scheduling a meeting.

Some email clients, like Missive, might even come with task management built-in or offer integration with to-do tools like Todoist to make the process even easier.

Follow-Up on Important Emails

To ensure important emails don't slip through the cracks, it's important to follow up on emails that require a response. One way to do this is by scheduling a follow-up email using email management tools like Missive's auto-follow-up button. However, it's important to give the recipient enough time to respond before sending a follow-up email.

A good rule of thumb is to wait three business days before sending a follow-up email. This shows that you are respectful of their time and not overly pushy.

Set Up Rules and Filters

Setting up rules and filters can be a great way to manage your inbox effectively. Here's a simple framework to get started:

1. Identify the types of emails you receive: Start by identifying the types of emails you receive on a regular basis. This could include emails from specific people or groups, emails with certain keywords, or emails that meet other criteria.
2. Set up filters: Once you've identified the types of emails you receive, set up filters to automatically sort those emails into folders or labels. For example, you could create a filter that automatically labels all emails from a specific sender as "Priority."
3. Adjust your filters as needed: Be sure to adjust your filters as needed to ensure that they are working effectively. This could mean adding new filters, deleting old ones, or adjusting the criteria used to sort emails.

Rules can also be a great way to perform automatic actions to save you time. You can find some ideas for creating rules in Missive's rules and templates feature.

Take Advantage of a Shared Inbox

For teams that need to collaborate effectively and stay organized, using a shared inbox can be a valuable tool. A shared inbox allows for improved collaboration, streamlined communication, task delegation, greater transparency, and improved efficiency.

By using a shared inbox, team members can access the same messages in one place, assign tasks to specific team members, stay informed about important conversations and decisions, and reduce the time and effort required to manage their inboxes.

Overall, a shared inbox can help teams work more effectively together and achieve their goals.

Use Email Signatures

Using email signatures can be a great way to save time and personalize your emails. A signature is a block of text that is automatically inserted at the bottom of every email you send. It can include your name, title, contact information, and any other relevant details.

With Missive, you can create custom signatures that automatically update with your latest contact information. This can help you save time and ensure your contact information is always accurate and up-to-date.

Start a New Email Thread When Necessary

Starting a new email thread when necessary can help you stay organized and avoid confusion in your inbox. When you receive an email on a new topic or subject, it's a good idea to start a new thread rather than reply to an existing one. This makes it easier to keep track of related messages and find specific information later on.

When starting a new email thread, make sure to include a descriptive subject line that accurately reflects the content of the message. This can help recipients understand the context of the email and prioritize it accordingly. Additionally, be sure to address the email to the appropriate recipients and include any necessary attachments or links.

Starting a new email thread can also be helpful when you need to follow up on a previous conversation or ask a new question. By starting a new thread, you can ensure that your message is clear and easy to understand and that the recipient has all the information they need to respond.

Avoid Multitasking

While it can be tempting to try to tackle multiple emails at once, multitasking can actually be counterproductive. Studies have shown that multitasking can reduce productivity and increase the likelihood of errors and mistakes.

Instead of trying to juggle multiple emails at once, try to focus on one email at a time. This will help you stay focused and ensure that you're giving each message the attention it deserves.

Use Tools for Email Management

Using email management tools can be a great way to manage your inbox more efficiently and effectively. There are many tools available that offer a variety of features to help you streamline your email workflow. This software will make it even easier to adopt the best practices we have explored.

Here are some reasons why using tools designed for email management like Missive can be beneficial:

1. Collaboration: If you’re working with a team, you might want to consider a collaboration email client. With a shared inbox, like the one offered by Missive, you can collaborate more effectively with your colleagues, assign tasks, and track conversations.
2. Organization: Email management tools can help you organize your inbox by automatically categorizing messages, creating filters, and highlighting important messages.
3. Efficiency: By using features like canned responses and email templates, you can save time and effort by not having to write the same email over and over again.
4. Reminders: Tools like Missive allow you to set reminders to follow up on important messages, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.

By using an email management software you can take advantage of all of these features and more to manage your inbox more efficiently and effectively. If you’re a Gmail user, you might want to look at the best email clients for Gmail.

Conclusion

By adopting these best practices, you can manage your work emails more effectively and improve your productivity at work. Remember to tailor these practices to your specific needs and preferences, and don't be afraid to experiment with new techniques to find what works best for you.

In the world of real estate, email communication is a critical aspect of building and maintaining relationships with clients.

As a realtor, you need to ensure that your email address not only looks professional but also reflects your brand and expertise. While using your broker's email address may seem like a convenient option, it may not provide you with the level of control and flexibility that you need to effectively manage your email communication.

Plus, it comes with a major drawback that you’ll probably want to avoid.

Whether you're a new or an experienced professional, here’s how to properly set up an email address for your real estate agent business to succeed in the competitive world of real estate. We’ll also explore how to properly manage your communication to be able to achieve the holy grail of email; inbox zero.

Should You Use Your Broker’s Email or Create Your Own?

As a realtor, chances are your broker is providing you with an email address that uses their own domain. But should you use it?

The simple answer is:

Don’t use your broker’s email

Instead, consider creating your own email address that you have full control over.

Here’s why:

By using your own email address as a real estate agent you can keep the same email address even if you switch brokers. You’ll also have more control over your email communication with clients.

Some of the drawbacks of using your broker’s email address include:

• If you switch brokers, changing your email address can be a hassle for you and your clients.
• If your broker changes their domain, you'll have to update all of your contacts with your new email address.
• Your broker may use an email provider with limitations, such as a low sending limit or emails that aren't optimized for deliverability.

Creating your own email address can give you more control over your email communication with clients. This way, you can keep the same email address even if you switch brokers.

How to Set Up Your Own Email?

You might be tempted to use a free email provider like Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo and while it may seem like a great option, you might want to consider the fact that they don’t look professional. Do you really want to have another company name in your real estate email address?

As a client, you would probably think that yourname@yourdomain.com is a lot more professional and inspire trust than yourname@gmail.com.

There are many email providers that let you create a custom email address. You can find one that is easy to use, secure, and affordable.

Choosing Your Realtor Email Address

If you already have a domain, setting up your email address is straightforward. However, if you don't have a website yet, take the time to decide on your business name. Your domain will likely be the name of your business or a variation if not possible.

Before settling on a name or domain, be sure to check your local laws to make sure it's compliant. You want to make sure that the business name you choose suits you as it can be costly and hard to change down the line.

Your email address should be easy to remember and understand. One of the most common practices is:

yourname@yourdomain.com

It’s short, professional, and gives all the relevant information. Since it’s a really popular formula it also is really remembered by your clients or prospects.

You have many variations of this. Let’s use John Doe as the name in the example:

• First name: john@yourdomain.com
• Using your only first name is a great solution for an email address that is easy to remember and friendly, however, if you start having more people joining your company and someone else with the same first name joins, you’ll need to rethink the format
• First name and last name initial: johnD@yourdomain.com or john.d@yourdomain.com
• Using your first name and last name initial is a great solution if you have more than one person at the company with the same first name.
• First name initial and last name: doeJ@yourdomain.com or doe.J@yourdomain.com
• Using your first name initial and last name can be another great solution if you have more than one person at the company with the same first name. However, this format may look less friendly.
• First name and last name: johndoe@yourdomain.com or john.doe@yourdomain.com
• Using your full name can be a great solution if you consider that it represents your brand.

Choosing an Email Provider

Google Workspace

Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite) offers a professional email service that's easy to set up and use. Prices start at $6 per user per month and include a custom domain, 30GB of storage, and access to other Google apps like Drive, Docs, and Sheets.

To set up your own email with Google Workspace, follow these steps.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 offers an email service called Exchange, that integrates with other Microsoft apps like Office and OneDrive. Prices start at $12 per user per month for access to a custom domain and 50GB of storage.

To set up your own email with Microsoft 365, follow these steps.

iCloud

iCloud offers a simple email service that's free with an Apple ID. However, to take advantage of custom domain names, you’ll need to subscribe to iCloud+ which starts at $0.99 per month with 50GB of storage.

To set up your own email with iCloud, follow these steps.

Your Web Hosting Provider

Many web hosting providers offer email services along with their hosting plans. Prices and features vary depending on the provider.

To set up your own email with your web hosting provider, make sure your web hosting provider offers email services and follows their instructions.

How to Manage Your New Email Address

Once you've chosen an email provider and created your own email address, it's time to think about managing your inbox effectively. Using one of the best email clients for your new Google Workspace (Gmail) or Outlook email address will help you follow email management best practices.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

Use an Email Client Designed for Email Management

Whether you choose Google Workspace (Gmail) or Microsoft 365 (Outlook), using a dedicated email client will make managing your emails much easier. These clients offer features like labels, folders, and search functions to help you keep your inbox organized and find important messages quickly.

Missive, for example, is one such email client that can help you manage your emails more efficiently. With its unified inbox, you can see all your emails in one place, including your Gmail and Outlook emails. Additionally, Missive allows you to collaborate with your team, or delegate to an assistant, assign tasks, and leave comments within your emails, making it easier to work with others.

Create Rules

Rules allow you to automate the process of sorting and filtering incoming messages. You can set up rules to automatically move messages from specific senders to designated folders or apply labels to certain types of messages. This can help you keep your inbox organized and reduce the amount of time you spend manually sorting through your emails.

Rules can also be useful to send out-of-office replies whenever you are not available.

Set Up a Signature

A professional email signature can make a big difference in how you're perceived by others. It's an easy way to provide contact information and add a personal touch to your emails. Most email clients allow you to create a signature that will automatically be added to the bottom of every email you send.

You can include your name, job title, company logo, and contact information, among other things. This can help establish your brand and make a good impression on your clients or customers.

Set Up Response Templates

If you find yourself writing the same responses to certain types of emails over and over again, response templates can save you a lot of time. Most email clients allow you to create templates for common responses, which you can then insert into your emails with just a few clicks.

Some of them, including Missive, let you create a custom template using variables so they can dynamically change depending on the recipient. You can create a template for any type of email, such as a welcome email, a thank you email, or a follow-up email, among others. You can also customize each template to suit your specific needs.

Set Up Auto-Follow Up

It's easy to forget to follow up on emails that you send, especially if you send a lot of messages each day. From leads to potential buyers passing by clients s, setting auto-follow-up reminders can help ensure that important messages don't fall through the cracks.

Most email clients allow you to set reminders to follow up on emails after a certain amount of time has passed. But, some more advanced ones let you create a follow-up email in advance to send in certain conditions that are met. This can help ensure that you don't forget to follow up on important emails.

Connect Your Social Media

If you use social media for business purposes, you may want to consider connecting your accounts to your email client. Some email clients come with advanced features like the ability to connect your social media accounts to receive and respond to your DMs and new posts alongside your emails. This can allow you to receive notifications and respond to messages directly from your inbox.

Connect Your Calendar

Connecting your calendar to your email client can help you stay on top of your schedule. Some email clients allow you to view your calendar events directly within your inbox, and some even allow you to schedule meetings and events from within the email client.

Organize Your Inbox

Keeping your inbox organized is key to effective email management. Consider using labels or folders to group related messages together, and be sure to archive or delete messages you no longer need.

Set Up Collaboration

If you work with a team or an assistant, you may need to collaborate on emails from time to time. A few email clients allow you to share access to your inbox or specific folders with other users, making it easy to work together on important messages. Some of them even let you chat and comment directly in an email conversation on collaborating on drafts like you would in Google Docs.

Add All Your Aliases

If you have multiple email aliases, make sure to add them all to your email client so you can send and receive messages from each of them. This will ensure that you don't miss any important messages that are sent to one of your alternate addresses.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as a real estate agent, having a professional email address is essential to build credibility with your clients and ensuring effective communication. While your broker may provide you with an email address using their domain, it is important to consider the potential limitations and risks of using it.

Setting up your own email address can provide you with more control and flexibility, and there are various options available, such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, iCloud, and your web hosting provider.

Once you have set up your email address, using an email client such as Missive can help you manage your inbox more efficiently and effectively. By creating rules, setting up signatures and response templates, using auto-follow-up, and connecting your social media and calendar, you can save time and streamline your email communication.

Remember, your email address is an extension of your brand and should be treated as such. With the right tools and strategies, you can ensure that your email communication reflects your professionalism and expertise in the real estate industry.

You can try Missive for $0 by downloading the app.

Decluttering your inbox can feel like an overwhelming task, especially when you are bombarded with numerous emails on a daily basis.

But, with a few simple tips and tools, you can get your work email organized and under control.

A great way to overcome email overload!

Let's explore the best strategies to declutter your emails and keep your inbox organized.

Tips to Declutter Your Inbox Fast

Here's how you can quickly declutter your inbox and increase your productivity at work.

Unsubscribe from Unnecessary Emails

One of the quickest and easiest ways to declutter your inbox is to unsubscribe from emails that are no longer relevant to you. This includes newsletters, promotional offers, and any other email that you no longer need.

Use the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the email or go to the website's "subscription" settings to remove yourself from the mailing list. Alternatively, you can use the unsubscribe button in your email client like Missive.

Create Folders and Labels

Creating folders and labels can help you categorize and focus on your emails. For example, you can create folders for work projects, client emails, and personal emails.

You can also create labels for important emails, such as "Urgent" or "To Do". This way, you can find what you need without having to sift through hundreds of emails.

Use Stars or Flags

Another tip to help you declutter your inbox is to use the "star" or "flag" feature in your email client (star for Gmail inbox, flag for Outlook). 

This allows you to mark important emails from specific senders that need your attention, and keep them separate from the rest of your messages. This way, you can see which messages need your immediate attention, and which ones can wait.

Use Filters

Filters can help you categorize and sort your emails. For example, you can set up filters to automatically move emails from a specific sender or with a certain subject line into a specific folder. This can help you keep your inbox organized and free from clutter.

Archive Old Emails

Archiving old emails can help you free up space in your inbox and keep it organized, without deleting them entirely. Archived emails are still accessible if you need to refer to them later, but they are no longer cluttering your inbox.

Most email clients have an "Archive" button or option that you can use to archive emails.

How to Organize Emails to Stay Clutter Free?

Once you've finally decluttered your emails, it's important to keep them clean. Here are some email organization strategies you can use to keep your cluttered mailbox far away.

Use the Two-Minute Rule

The two-minute rule states that if you can complete a task in less than two minutes, you should do it right away. The same rule applies to emails. If you can quickly respond to an email or take action on it, do it right away.

This way, you can clear up your inbox and avoid letting emails pile up.

Turn Off Email Notifications

Email notifications can be a major distraction, especially when you are trying to focus on your work. To avoid being distracted by constant email notifications, turn off your email notifications and check your inbox at designated times during the day.

This will help you stay focused on your work and avoid being sidetracked by emails.

Use Email Templates

Email templates can help you save time and be more efficient when responding to common questions or requests. For example, you can create a template for out-of-office replies, meeting requests, and follow-up emails.

Simply customize the template as needed and send it out. This way, you can respond to emails quickly and avoid having to write the same thing over and over again.

Follow Email Etiquette

We write a lot of emails. That means that we also write a lot of emails that elicit a response, even when we don't really need one. One sure way to have less email is to follow a few simple rules of etiquette.

For example, if you need a response, ask for one. But don't add questions that apply to other topics. You'll find yourself with clutter once more. You'll probably find that emailing at specific times keeps the clutter down as well. If your recipient is in a different time zone, try to email during a period when they'll be able to see it sooner rather than later.

This can help to keep you from waking up to an overloaded inbox of replies from late-night emails.

Use Rules to Automate

No matter which email client you use, chances are that it includes some built-in features to help you automate and filter email. Missive, for example, offers powerful rules that you can use to optimize your workflow or automatically file certain emails into designated folders. Putting these to use can help you keep your inbox clear of clutter, often automatically.

For instance, send all promotional emails to their own folder. Newsletters? They get their own, as well. The only things that should find their way to your primary inbox are emails that are timely, important, and able to be handled soon.

Shared inboxes for shared work

Every business has at least one contact point that is shared (usually it's your support@, info@, or sales@ email addresses). It's very common (and easy) for people to create a personal inboxes for these shared email addresses — but they quickly find that they can't have multiple people successfully work out of those inboxes without overlapping work. P.S. Shared, collaborative inboxes is what we do best at Missive. 

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Conclusion

In conclusion, decluttering your inbox can help you increase your productivity, focus on your work, and finally achieve inbox zero. By unsubscribing from unnecessary emails, creating folders and labels, using filters, following the two-minute rule, turning off email notifications, archiving old emails, and using email templates, you can quickly get your inbox organized and under control.

Using an email management software will also help to keep your inbox clean.

FAQ

How do you declutter email fast?

To declutter your email fast, begin by removing newsletters or promotional emails that you no longer want or read. Delete or archive unnecessary messages like spam or outdated ones. Give your inbox a little love by creating folders or labels and setting up filters to automatically sort incoming emails.

Make it a priority to respond to important emails promptly and develop a habit of regularly reviewing and managing your inbox. By following these simple steps, you'll be able to declutter your email swiftly and keep things organized.

How do I declutter my Gmail email?

Decluttering your Gmail inbox is easy. You can use the same steps as you would with any other email client. Start by unsubscribing from newsletters or mailing lists that you don't use. Delete spam and outdated messages. Create labels to categorize emails for easy finding.

You should also consider using a top-notch email client for Gmail that can make your email management a lot easier.

In today's never stopping business world, managing your email inbox can be an overwhelming task. With so many emails to read, respond to, and organize, it can be difficult to keep up and attain inbox zero.

However, with new AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, etc) and innovations launching weekly, managing your inbox has never been easier.

Using an AI email assistant tool brings many benefits. They can save you time and energy by automating repetitive tasks, such as crafting responses and correcting grammar and spelling errors, and executing more complex tasks like processing the contents of an email and performing predefined actions based on certain conditions.  

In this article, we will explore the best AI email assistants available to help you manage your inbox, and write and reply to your emails more efficiently. Some of these ai tools are email clients, others are writing assistants, and one just helps you process a lot of emails (SaneBox).

What are AI Email Assistants?

AI email assistants are tools that use artificial intelligence to help you manage your emails. They are built to analyze and generate emails for you according to your instructions (commands or prompts) or the context from previous messages.

AI email assistants use natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) algorithms to understand the context and intent of your prompt to craft an email tailored to your need. Language models are trained with tons of data to make sure they are able to understand a wide variety of topics.

Some tools we’ll explore below can also understand the messages you receive and the sentiment behind them, and craft responses that are customized to your recipient according to your specific instructions.

Why You Should Use an AI Email Assistant?

Using an AI email assistant lets you unlock the full potential of your email communication and take your productivity to the next level.

While canned responses are helpful in eliminating the tedious task of typing out the same responses over and over again, an AI email writer truly comes in handy when you need personalized emails.

AI email assistant lets you communicate effectively and efficiently while spending less time managing your inbox.

But that's not all. An AI email writer will also help you avoid common mistakes such as grammar and spelling errors, making sure that the messages you send are mistake-free and professional.

Another important advantage of using AI for your business emails is that it can help your team communication, by providing a consistent and professional tone throughout all of your emails, no matter who’s sending the email. It can be especially useful for your team to provide better customer service.

With all that in mind, here is our curated list of the best AI assistant you can use to write better emails in less time.

The Best AI Email Assistants to make you more efficient in your inbox

Imagine having a virtual assistant to who you can delegate email responses, freeing up your time for more important tasks. An AI that understands the context of your emails and provides accurate responses, saving you the time of crafting the perfect response.

The AI email assistants we’ll explore are meant to help you write and (sometimes) reply to emails more efficiently.

Let's dive into the best AI email assistants.

1. Missive - Best AI email client for teams

Missive is a team email and collaboration tool that allows you to manage your inbox and shared business mailboxes, collaborate on emails, and assign tasks all in one place. It's available on the web, Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and iPadOS. It supports all email providers like Gmail and Outlook, as well as SMS, WhatsApp, social media, and more.

With the OpenAI integration, you can quickly create and reply to emails, fix grammar and spelling errors, translate messages, and even customize the AI to your specific needs using your own prompts. Because the integration is fully integrated into Missive, it is intuitive, and agnostic of the platform you're using.

Plus, since Missive is a collaborative tool meant for businesses, you can save and share your custom prompts with your team in Missive.

Going beyond simple AI drafting, Missive has integrated AI into it's automations (called AI Rules). By integrating AI into Missive's flexible and powerful automation system, AI can help you determine the contents of an email and then take predetermined actions.

Here's a powerful example: A commercial real estate company gets hundreds of inquiries that relate to buying and selling. There are separate workflows and individuals that need to be involved for buying and for selling.

Here's how AI rules helped them automate that whole process:

One of the key features of this integration is the ability to let the OpenAI model use your canned response to generate replies for you. This way, your support team could use the integration to instantly reply to customer requests with the best answer according to your company information.

For example, your customer support team could generate accurate replies to any request using AI. The same method can be used by the sale team or any other department.

Plus, Missive lets you select between the most updated ChatGPT modelsto have faster responses or better and more accurate generated replies with the latter.

Best of all the OpenAI integration works on all platforms, so you can quickly reply or send emails using AI even when you’re on the go. Another advantage over the competitors is that it supports almost all languages.

Price

Missive offers multiple pricing tiers, including a free plan. However in order to use the OpenAI integration you need to subscribe to at least the Productive plan at $30/month. A free 30-day trial is available.

You will also need to have an OpenAI account and pay per usage. However, the cost is minimal compared to the fixed plan offered by other solutions. From our test, a month of use costs less than a fancy coffee.

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2. MailMaestro (formerly Flowrite) - Best AI email extension 

MailMaestro (formerly Flowrite) is an AI-powered email writer tool that can help you be more productive in your inbox. The tool utilizes NLP and ML to understand the context and intent of your emails, allowing it to craft messages accordingly.

MailMaestro offers a selection of predefined templates to create emails ranging from sales to customer support, passing by HR. The tool integrates with popular email clients such as Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and iCloud Mail via a Chrome extension.

However, there are some limitations to consider when using MailMaestro. The email client integration only works on Chrome, so you will need to use the standalone web app if you are not using Chrome or if your email client is not supported. And since it acts as an add-on to your email client on the web, we found that it isn’t always intuitive to use. Additionally, MailMaestro only works on desktops and only works in English.

Price

$16.20 /month (€15 /month) with a 30-day free trial.

3. SaneBox - Best AI for inbox cleaning

SaneBox is an email filter that's supercharged with AI. If you have hundreds or thousands of emails in your inbox, SaneBox might be able to help. 

SaneBox uses AI to automatically sort and filter your emails based their importance, before they ever reach your inbox. 

You can also banish annoying senders and get an executive summary of what you need to catch up on. 

SaneBox is primarily for individual inboxes, it doesn't have any team features like collaboration. It's solely great at cleaning and filtering a really busy inbox. 

Price

Snack: $7/month (1 Email Account, 2 SaneBox Features)

Lunch: $12/month (2 Email Account, 2 SaneBox Features)

Dinner: $36/month (4 Email Account, 2 SaneBox Features)

4. Shortwave - Best AI for AI-first email

Of all the options on this list, Shortwave is riding the AI wave the hardest. 

Everything in their email client has AI touching it—from search, to drafting, to categorization. 

The interface is quite different from traditional email clients (expect a learning curve if you're coming from Outlook or Gmail), so if you're looking for something fresh and bleeding edge in the email management space, then Shortwave might be for you. 

For team collaboration, Shortwave has a few similar features to Missive. They allow you to share your email threads, email templates, and labels, with other members in your organization.

A feature unique to Shortwave is the AI assistant built into their email client that can answer natural language questions. We personally found the agent a little inconsistent during our testing, but the team is likely working on fixing reliability. 

Price

Free: Personal account with 90 days of AI search history

Personal: $8.50/user/month with 1 year of AI search history

Pro: $18/user/month with 3 years of AI search history

Business: $30/user/month with 5 years of AI search history

5. Rytr - Best AI for multi-use writing

Rytr is an AI-powered writing tool that can be used for a wide range of content creation, including website copywriting, marketing sales copy, and full blog posts. However, the feature that is the most interesting for us allows you to write emails. They also offer a Chrome extension that makes the process even more convenient when using an email client in your browser like Missive, Gmail, or Outlook.

From our test, we saw that Rytr supports and works in more apps than Compose.ai. It also offers a free version that generates content of relatively good quality.

One of the downsides is that their email writer tool is quite simple as you can only create new emails by selecting the language, the tone, and the key points you want to cover. Rytr also cannot be customized and doesn’t work with a long selection to paraphrase. Additionally, it cannot understand messages and create replies automatically. To be able to do that, you will need to provide it with all the information from the previous messages.

Price

Free: Up to 10,000 characters per month.

Saver plan: $9 /month for 100,000 characters per month and custom use case.

Unlimited plan: $29 /month for unlimited characters per month and custom use case.

6. Warmer.ai - Best AI for sales emails

Warmer.ai is an AI-powered email personalization tool that uses natural language processing and machine learning to help you write more effective and personalized outreach emails.

It is built specifically for sales emails, as it automatically analyzes the business or person to which you want to pitch and crafts a personalized email for them.

Their goal is to help you increase open rates and conversions by personalizing subject lines and email content based on the recipient's profile and your goals. It can help you understand your email audience better and segment them based on different characteristics.

However, the drawbacks of the tool is that it can only be used to create outreach emails and the pricing may be too high for some users.

Price

Starter: $59 /month for 150 credits per month.

Basic: $97 /month for 325 credits per month.

Plus: $279 /month for 1,500 credits per month.

7. Superhuman - Best AI for keyboard warriors

Superhuman has built a devoted email following through their powerful keyboard shortcuts.

They recently upgraded their AI assistant to help users get through their inbox faster. They have AI tools that automatically organize your inbox, help you draft and adjust voice and tone depending on who the email is coming from, and some basic AI workflows like auto follow ups on existing email threads. 

Price

Starter: $30/user/month, includes some AI features

Business: $40/user/month, includes advanced AI features and integrations

Honorable Mentions

Jasper

Jasper.ai is an AI-powered content creation platform. While they offer an extension that can be used in Gmail to create emails using their AI. It is primarily built for longer-form content creation like blog posts, making it an expensive tool if only used for emails.

You

You is an AI search engine, and while its primary focus is to provide you with the best result for your research, they do offer a basic email writer. It’s not the most elaborate tool but offers an easy and free option for people who rarely need help from an AI tool. You’ll also need to switch back and forth between their web app and your email client.

Copilot

Copilot is one of the most used AI models in email, due to their direct integration within Microsoft 365 and Outlook. Copilot offers up AI assistance on drafting emails and replies, summarizing email threads, and allows you to adjust tone and voice based on your preferences. If you're already an Outlook user, you don't have complex workflow needs and you don't want to download another app,Copilot might be the perfect AI assistant for you.

How to choose the right tool for you?

Choosing the right AI tool for your emails can be a daunting task, but luckily all the tools on the list offer a free trial or a freemium version which lets you try them and find the one that fits your email management needs the best. 

It's important to consider the specific AI features and capabilities that you need. Making a list of the AI-powered features that are most important to you before exploring each option can help you when evaluating each option.

Additionally, it's also important to consider the cost of the tool and whether it fits within your budget. Most tools offer a fixed plan no matter your usage. As attractive as this might be, from our experience, the fees are often a lot more expensive than paying by usage like you would with the OpenAI integration in Missive.

Another factor to consider is the level of integration with your email client. From our test, most tool that works via an extension work only with Chrome and doesn’t integrate well with email clients other than Gmail. So if you're an Outlook user that wants to go beyond Copilot, you should look at Missive, SaneBox, and Superhuman as your primary options. 

Conclusion

AI email assistants are a powerful tool for streamlining communication and increasing productivity by helping you generate emails, create replies, translate, and fix your grammar and spelling mistakes.

Some tools like the OpenAI integration in Missive also let you customize your prompts so the AI response can be even more personalized.

Using an AI email writer is a great way to help manage emails, but I suggest you follow our best strategies to overcome email overload to help you and start using a great email management software to avoid a cluttered inbox.

FAQ

Is there an AI that helps write emails for free?

The best way to get started with an AI to help you write emails for free is by using the free version of ChatGPT on your browser. However, you'll need to create your own prompts and copy/paste emails and the generated reply between your email client and OpenAI conversational AI UI.

What is the AI that helps you write emails?

At the moment, most AI email assistants are usingOpenAI and more specifically ChatGPT as their AI model to help you write emails. But many are adding the ability to choose your own agent.

Can AI write an email for me?

Yes, artificial intelligence can write emails for you and auto-categorize emails. However, you should always double-check the generated responses and actions, to make sure it's doing what you've intended and that all the information is factual.

Are emails taking over your work life? You're not alone. We've all felt that our inbox never ended, stressed by notifications popping up every few seconds, and stuck to our desks. But don't worry, it doesn't have to be this way.

According to research by Gloria Marks, emails are a major cause of stress at work. It's no surprise when the average person checks their email 74 times a day while at work. That's more than 9 times per hour! No wonder we're not getting anything done.

But don't worry, we're here to help. While some of you might be tempted to delegate your emails to an assistant with tools like Gmail delegation, with some strategies and the right tool, you can turn that inbox from a source of stress into your productivity powerhouse.

In this article, we're going to show you how to take control of your emails, reduce the overload, and get back to doing what you do best. Let's get started!

What is Email Overload?

Email overload, or email fatigue, is the feeling of being overwhelmed when you receive too many emails in a short period of time, making it hard to keep up with them all. It can lead to missed emails, missed deadlines, and an overall sense of being swamped.

And unfortunately, it is a familiar problem for many people.

Emails can be very stressful and make it hard to be productive if they're not managed properly.

There are a few common causes of email overload. But the most common is simply receiving too many emails from colleagues, clients, and unwanted outreach. Another cause is subscribing to too many newsletters or marketing emails, which can clutter up your inbox quickly.

The solution to overcome email overload is to implement email management best practices, like the inbox zero method.

It is important to notice when you are getting too many emails and do something about it, as it can hurt your work.

How Many Email Is Too Many?

There is no official answer the number of emails that is considered "too many". Someone manageable inbox may be overwhelming chaos for you.

But how do you know when you've reached the tipping point of too many emails?

A good rule of thumb is that you have too many emails when they start to negatively impact you. You may feel like you can't keep up with your emails, be stressed out, miss important opportunities or deadlines, or have trouble concentrating on other tasks.

But it's not just the sheer number of emails you receive, it’s also about how you manage them. Even if you don't receive a lot of emails, if you're not managing them effectively, it can still lead to email overload.

With all of that in mind, a good way to determine how many emails are too much for you is by tracking how much time you spend on email each day. If you're spending too much time on emails and it's stopping you from doing your job, you probably have too many emails for your current workload.

What Is the Problem with Email Overload?

An inbox full of email can be more than just a nuisance. It can affect your work and your mental health. And unfortunately, we usually don't realize that our email is taking up too much of our day until it's too late.

Here are some of the ways it can affect your productivity, cause you stress, and cause problems at work.

1. Decrease your productivity

When your inbox is constantly overflowing, it can be hard to stay focused and get things done. Constant notifications and interruptions can make it hard to keep your focus, resulting in a decrease in your overall productivity.

2. Increase in your stress levels

Constantly feeling like you’re behind and that you need to check and respond to emails can be overwhelming. It’s no surprise that many studies concluded that it increases your stress and chances of burnout which can be harmful to both your physical and mental health.

3. Missed opportunities

Having so many emails to go through makes it very likely that you’ll miss or overlook some important emails in your inbox. It can lead to missed deadlines and opportunities.

4. Decreased professionalism

If you're unable to respond to emails on time or if your responses are disorganized or unclear, you could give the impression that you are unreliable or disorganized. It can result in a detrimental effect on your professional reputation.

These are some of the reasons why it is important to take control of your inbox. By implementing the strategies that we’ll explore below, you can avoid the negative effect of email fatigue on your work.

9 Strategies to Fix & Manage Email Overload

Now that we have explored what is email fatigue, you might be wondering:

How do I stop email overloading?

Well, email overload can be tackled by implementing strategies to better manage your emails.

We also recommand you have a look at the best email management software, as using one will drastically help you in your quest of conquering email overload.

Here are some tips to help you overcome email overload.

1. Set Aside Dedicated Time for Checking and Responding to Emails

Instead of constantly checking your inbox, set aside specific times of the day to focus on emails. This can help you stay focused and avoid the constant interruptions that come with constantly checking your inbox.

When you check your email only at specific times, you can focus on your work and avoid getting distracted by constant notifications.

Another positive aspect of only checking your emails at dedicated times is to be able to prioritize which emails need your attention the most more easily. Indeed, by constantly checking your inbox throughout the day, it can be more difficult to see the emails that are the most urgent.

A good way to start is by dedicating specific times of the day to checking your email, such as in the morning, after lunch, and at the end of your work. This can help you stay on top of your inbox while still allowing you to focus on other tasks throughout the day. We recommend that you also set a limit on the amount of time you spend on emails during each session and that you make sure to stick to it.

2. Turn Off Notifications

Set your email to check for new messages at specific intervals. This will give you a chance to focus on your work and not get distracted by constant notifications.

By turning off notifications or simply disabling certain notifications, you can avoid the constant interruptions and distractions that come with constant email alerts. It can help you focus on your work and make sure you are not getting distracted by incoming messages. Additionally, by reducing the number of notifications you receive, you can make sure that you follow the first strategy which is to check and respond to emails only during dedicated times.

Another way to use this strategy is by setting your email client to check for new messages at specific intervals, like every hour. It will give you a chance to focus on your work, but still, get the new messages on time. You can achieve this in Missive by following this simple guide.

3. Use Filters and Labels to Organize Incoming Messages

Another strategy to help manage email overload is to use filters and labels to organize your incoming messages. By using filters, you can automatically sort your emails into different folders based on criteria such as sender, subject, or specific keywords. This can help you quickly find the emails you need later and keep your inbox organized.

Filters and labels can be used in a variety of ways to better organize your inbox, here are a few examples:

1. Create filters based on sender: You can set up filters that automatically sort emails from specific senders into designated folders. It can be useful to organize emails from specific people, such as your partners or clients.
2. Create filters based on subject: You can set up filters that automatically sort emails with specific subjects or keywords into designated folders. It can be useful to quickly find emails that are relevant to specific projects or topics.
3. Create filters based on priority: You can set up filters that automatically sort emails into priority folders like Urgent, High Priority, Medium Priority, or Low Priority. It can be useful to quickly find important and time-sensitive messages.
4. Use labels to categorize and find emails easily: You can use labels, like tags, to categorize your emails and quickly find them in the future. You can use labels like “Project A”, “Invoice”, etc.

With Missive rules and labels organizing your emails is easy. Best of all, they can also be used to manage shared mailboxes and emails.

Using filters your messages will be easier to find and you’ll spend less time searching through your inbox. You’ll also be able to prioritize and manage your emails, allowing you to respond to the most important and time-sensitive messages first.

4. Unsubscribe from Emails You No Longer Need or Want

If you find yourself with an inbox cluttered with newsletters and marketing emails then this tip is most likely for you. Unsubscribing to all the email subscriptions that you no longer read will reduce the number of unnecessary emails you receive.

A lot of us accumulate a large number of email subscriptions over time, like newsletters, marketing emails, and promotional emails. But these messages can quickly clutter up your inbox, making it challenging to find the important emails you need.

By unsubscribing from these emails, you can significantly reduce the number of messages you’ll need to go through in your inbox, making it easier to find the emails you need to read and respond to.

To stop receiving these emails you can either do it manually by unsubscribing to each email list you don't want to be part of anymore (or never wanted to in the first place) or use a third-party tool that can help you unsubscribe from multiple emails at once. Some examples are Unroll.me and Cleanfox.

This tip will help you to prioritize and manage your emails more efficiently, allowing you to respond to the most important and time-sensitive messages first.

5. Use The Right Tools

Using the right tools is an important aspect of managing email overload. While popular email clients like Gmail and Outlook can be good for managing your work emails, they might not be the best solution for achieving an empty inbox or at least keeping it at a manageable level.

Missive is a great option that offers several functionalities that can help you manage your personal and shared inbox.

With the right tool, you can:

1. Automatically sort, categorize and block unwanted emails: With Missive's rules, you can easily sort, categorize, and block unwanted emails, making it easier to find the messages you actually need.
2. Schedule Emails to be sent at a later time: Missive allows you to schedule emails so they can be sent at a later time. It’s especially useful for responding to emails outside of work hours.
3. Set reminders to follow up on emails: With Missive you can easily set reminders to follow up on emails so that you don't forget about important tasks.
4. Create a to-do list inside conversations: Missive lets you create tasks directly inside email conversations so you can stay on top of the job that needs to be done. Having a to-do list can help you prioritize and track your progress on tasks related to your emails.
5. Archive emails: With Missive you can easily archive emails that are no longer needed. This will help you with the organization of your inbox.
6. Manage and collaborate on shared emails: Missive brings together email, chat, and tasks in one place. It allows you to collaborate with your team via chat directly in an email conversation, assign tasks, and track progress, all from within your email inbox.

Missive can be a great tool to help you achieve inbox zero by providing a set of functionalities to manage, prioritize and organize your emails. It can help you overcome email fatigue.

6. Take Breaks and Set Limits

Constantly checking and responding to emails can be demanding and time-consuming.

It's important to take breaks and give yourself time to recharge during your day. Consider setting limits on the amount of time you spend on email each day to prevent burnout.

Another good piece of advice is avoiding check your emails before or after work. It will help you separate your work and personal life, and reduce the feelings of stress or burnout related to your work emails.

By taking breaks and setting limits on the time you spend on email, you can reduce feelings of overwhelm and stressed, and increase your productivity. It's important to find the right balance for you and stick to it to be more productive and efficient when managing your emails.

7. Communicate Expectations with Colleagues and Clients

Communicating clear expectations with your colleagues and clients is also a great strategy to reduce email overload.

Make sure that your colleagues and clients know what to expect in terms of your availability and response times. It will help manage their expectations and reduce the number of emails you receive.

You can start by setting up guidelines for response times, sharing your availability, and creating protocols for the different types of communication your receive.

With clear expectations, you can avoid confusion and misunderstandings that can lead to unnecessary email traffic. For example, if you let your colleagues know that you only check email at certain times of the day, they'll be less likely to expect an immediate response from you outside of those times.

Additionally, by setting up protocols for specific types of communication, such as using Missive chats or Slack for internal communications, you can help ensure that your colleagues don’t fill your inbox with unnecessary emails.

Another key aspect of managing expectations is setting up an out-of-office message when you're away, with clear instructions on who to reach in case of emergencies.

By communicating your expectations and establishing clear guidelines, you can create a more efficient and manageable email system for yourself and your team.

8. Use AI to Help You Reply and Craft Emails More Quickly

Utilizing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to help you reply to emails, compose new emails, and even translate communications can be useful to avoid being overwhelmed by your inbox.

With the OpenAI integration in Missive, you can leverage the power of AI to automate some tasks and work smarter, not harder.

For example, the new Missive integration can suggest quick responses to emails based on context. This can save you time and streamline your email management.

Additionally, it can also assist in composing new emails or help you write emails more clearly and efficiently. The OpenAI integration can even translate communications for better international collaboration or support

By using AI to assist you with email management, you can work more efficiently and have more time to focus on the other tasks that counts the most.

9. Use Templates

Using email templates can help you respond to common types of emails more efficiently

One of the best ways to use email templates is by using a tool like Missive which has a built-in response templates feature. Missive allows you to create and manage your library of responses, which you can easily access and apply when responding to emails. This can save you a lot of time and make your email communication more efficient.

You can create templates for different types of messages, such as follow-up emails, sales pitches, automated out-of-office responses, and even reply to frequent support questions. Once you've created your templates, you can easily access them from within Missive and apply them to new messages with just a few clicks. Best of all you can also share them with your team.

Overall, response templates in Missive can help you to streamline your email communication, and save you time in the process, by allowing you to easily use pre-written messages. This can help you to respond more efficiently, and maintain a consistent and professional tone throughout your emails.

By implementing these strategies, you can more effectively manage your email inbox and reduce the feelings of overwhelm and stress that can come with email overload.

Conclusion

Email overload is something many of us struggle with. But there are lots of ways to conquer it.

Strategies we’ve explored in this article will help you manage your emails and make your communication more efficient and less stressful.

It's also important to recognize the signs of email overload and identify the causes, keep track of the time you spend on emails to make sure it's not taking away from your most important tasks. With the right tools, like Missive, and strategies in place, you can take control of your inbox and get back to being productive and successful.

Offering an amazing customer experience to your customers plays a crucial role in the success and growth of your business. But, even when following the customer service best practices, top-notch service can only be achieved with collaboration between your teams.

By the end of this blog post, you'll have a better understanding of the value of customer service collaboration and how to put it in place in your business to improve customer service and retention.

Table of Contents

• What Is Customer Service Collaboration?
• Why Is Customer Service Collaboration Important?
• What Are the Benefits of Collaboration in Customer Service?
• How to Provide Exceptional Customer Service Through Collaboration?
• How Can Customer Service Teams Collaborate on Emails and Calls?
• Conclusion

What Is Customer Service Collaboration?

Collaborative customer service is the practice of having many customer service team members work together to address customer inquiries, complaints, and issues.

Team members share information, coordinate efforts, and communicate to ensure that customers' needs are met in a timely and satisfactory manner.

Overall, collaborative customer service is a valuable practice for any business looking to provide exceptional customer service and meet the needs of its customers.

Why Is Customer Service Collaboration Important?

Not all customer interactions are the same. Businesses often receive varied customer queries making collaboration within a service team crucial for providing exceptional customer service. It allows team members to share information, knowledge, and resources with one another.

Collaboration can help ensure that customers receive timely, accurate, and helpful help and that their needs are addressed in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

Now, more than ever, customers are looking for fast and accurate information at the tip of their fingers. That means that your company needs a unified front to be able to speak to all customer touchpoints, including sales, onboarding, success, and support.

Maintaining each department in the loop throughout a customer's lifecycle helps ensure your customer feels valued. Service team collaboration helps build trust and loyalty that your customers can rely on and lean on. Increasing retention time by earning that trust is more cost-effective than having customers churning and having to bring on new clients. Studies have shown that it's five times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain one.

What Are the Benefits of Collaboration in Customer Service?

1. Increased Knowledge Sharing

Since requests can be so varied and nuanced, knowledge sharing is imperative. Most of the time, there is a resolution in place that exists somewhere, and similar workarounds that solve the same issue.

Sharing knowledge also helps create self-help guides so your customers can try to solve their problems or answer their questions before contacting customer service. A study from 2017 by Harvard Business Review revealed that 81% of customers attempt to resolve issues themselves before reaching out to an employee.

2. Improved Resolution Time

In support, each team member has their own unique set of strengths they bring to the table. Some agents are stronger in resolving certain customer inquiries, as teams work on different client request types. What takes one person 30 min to work through, may take another 5-10 minutes. With constant communication, collaboration, and a knowledge base, you’ll be able to reduce those gaps in knowledge.

As agents build on their experience in solving customer requests, they start becoming subject matter experts. They are the go-to people within the team and company for specific areas of expertise that can help reduce time to resolution by helping increase the knowledge of the whole team.

3. Improved Customer Satisfaction

No one individual is more important than the collective group. Promoting collaboration and teamwork helps drive efficiency and a better end-user experience.

4. Improved Work Environment

Collaboration within a service team can help to foster a positive and supportive work environment. It can improve morale, team bonding, and motivation among team members, leading to better service.

Since better collaboration often translates into better customer satisfaction it can also mean better employee experience. Indeed, a recent study published by the National Library of Medicine has shown that positive interactions with customers during service interactions had a positive effect on employees.

Using the right collaboration tools will also insure that the work environment encourages teamwork.

How to Provide Exceptional Customer Service Through Collaboration?

Exceptional customer service requires collaboration between all members of your business, from the front-line staff to the management team. By working together, everyone can ensure that the customer experience is positive. Even small businesses following customer service tips need to collaborate to provide exceptional customer service.

Encourage Open Communication Between Teams

One way to do better customer service through collaboration is by encouraging open discussion. It can be done by building strong cross-departmental relationships through shadowing opportunities and combined team meetings.

A format I’ve found useful is having retro-style meetings—a structured format that gives both teams time to reflect on what went well, what didn’t go well, and what we can improve on. This helps establish clear expectations and goals to strengthen internal relationships between teams.

Collaboration can be promoted in recurring meetings with such topics as customer spotlights or team showcases to highlight some of the exceptional recent interactions colleagues have had to share their takeaways with the wider group. Showcases help inspire what going above and beyond means and it also helps uncover some knowledge gaps in resources and training.

Encourage Collaboration Between Sales & Customer Service Teams

Sales teams set the right expectations early on and customer support teams make sure to deliver on the expectations and promises made to the customer. It’s all about working together to agree on what those expectations should be and product limitations.

Customer service teams are crucial and important for sales teams. It’s important to discuss escalations, trends, and ways they can work better together.

Having a recurring meeting with an agenda for top-of-mind items that come across either team helps get both departments on the same page to improve customer transitions and handoffs between one another.

Another effective method is shadowing one another. It can help each team gain a new perspective while learning about the product and taking a page from each other's book.

Personalizing and setting the right expectations from the start will help build trust and loyalty your customers can rely on.

Share KPIs

Another key factor that helps promote customer service collaboration is sharing the same KPIs across teams and departments. Customer support teams are only as good as what the cumulative scores indicate (CSAT, Median Resolution Times, Productivity, SLAs, etc.).

While it’s great to have top performers on your teams, the impact isn’t as powerful when there are other performers also contributing to the team’s reputation.

Encouraging team-wide goals to hit certain metrics embodies a one-team mentality through collaboration. We’re only as good as our team KPIs are.

Fail Fast, but Learn Fast

Encouraging an autonomous environment allows us to encourage failure as an opportunity to improve. Within a no-judgment zone, we can all learn from each other’s failures and foster a healthy environment where, as a team, we uncover what went wrong and how we can all learn from the takeaways.

Make it known it’s a lesson for the entire team, as we’re all in the same boat and, more likely than not, a similar interaction will be coming around for the team to handle. We don’t know what we don’t uncover, so sharing both the good and the bad will help identify and uncover roadblocks along the way.

How Can Customer Service Teams Collaborate on Emails and Calls?

Customer service teams need to be able to collaborate on emails and calls to provide the best possible service to clients.

A system for assigning responsibilities to each department in the company is important for emails. Your customer service team should also have a structure to guide them on how to follow up with customers after sending an email and who will be responsible for it.

Calls should be recorded and shared among departments so they can all learn from each other's customer interactions.

Choosing a great shared inbox software and good call center software can be the key to better real-time and asynchronous collaboration. Integrating both inside one powerful platform like Missive and Aircall via the Aircall integration can help your teams communicate without having to jump between multiple apps. With features like assignment automation, Missive becomes an essential communication tool for your business.

When Should You Call a Customer?

Calls are a great way to communicate with customers when the interaction can go a couple of different directions or if the interaction will require multiple back and forths (customer needs to do A and after that, you’ll need them to do B for solution C).

Most of the time, it’s easier to explain your intent and demonstrate the best options over the phone than by following up via email.

Customer service agents should get in the customer’s shoes and call a customer when they anticipate a lot of questions coming, have to explain something complicated, or when it’s of urgent priority.

It’s also important to note that it’s always best to call early when the customer is most engaged and least frustrated.

When Should You Email a Customer?

Contrary to a phone call, emails should be the preferred method of communication when there’s less urgency. It’s also efficient when you need to keep multiple parties involved and want to allow the responsible parties whether that be from the customer’s side and/or other internal teams to respond with the most thoughtful impact.

When you need to break down complex, thorough concepts into bite-size pieces, it’s best to offer a call afterward to go over them.

Emails are also a great way to provide direction and purpose and drive the conversation in the right direction after phone interactions.

How Can You Collaborate on Calls?

Even if only one agent was on the call it’s important to keep everyone on the same page. The agent on the call is the primary point person and is the lead for providing the customer with the right information. This person is also in charge of delegating and leading the situation to the desired end result.

That sequence of events should be communicated to the relevant internal parties. Whether that be transferring the call to another internal team, taking detailed notes, asking critical investigation questions, or creating a follow-up customer service email ticket to document the interaction.

With calls, it can be tough to create a structure and assign team members to conversations. To solve this routing problem, most businesses either round-robin incoming calls or ring multiple agents simultaneously. There is no right solution. It all depends on the team, the number of agents available, and the expected volume.

Round-robin helps ensure fairness amongst the group. It’s great for reporting purposes and keeps the team honest. However, it can also lead to an increase in abandoned calls and current workflows being interrupted.

Ringing simultaneously to all team members is an approach that relies on team autonomy so that the agent with the best availability can pick up the phone (which helps limit distractions amongst ongoing investigations and workflows).

Conclusion

Customer service collaboration is key to offering a great customer experience. It involves sharing information, coordinating efforts, and communicating between your team members to ensure that the customer's needs are met in a timely and satisfactory manner.

Collaboration allows team members to share knowledge, resources, and expertise to provide timely, accurate, and helpful assistance to customers. It also helps to improve resolution time, customer satisfaction, work environment, and team bonding.

By effectively implementing collaboration in customer service, businesses can provide exceptional customer service, build trust and loyalty with their customers, and improve retention rates.