Yesterday, I got a text reminding me of my kids' upcoming dental appointment. Today, I got another one.

Some might say I'm a bit Type A. I like to be the type of customer that follows the rules - fills out the right forms, provides all necessary information, confirms my appointment, shows up on time, etc.

While the reminders seemed helpful on the surface, they were confusing. It wasn't clear how to comply with what they were asking.

If you're like me, you probably experience this often as a consumer.

Empowered by exciting new technology, companies often fail to reflect on the customer experience they create. When you're crafting automated communications to your customers, you've got to think through the experience from their point of view.

Six guidelines for better customer experience automation:

1. Keep each touchpoint as simple as possible. Instead of "We are needing a confirmation for Greyson and Clayton's appointment on Tuesday", the message could have asked,  "Will Greyson and Clayton be able to make their appointment on Tuesday at 2pm?" 

2. If you ask the customer to do something, be sure they have what they need to do it. The dentist's text message asked me to fill out "my paperwork". What paperwork? Where can I find it? (A reminder that without proper context, users have to piece information together for themselves.)

3. Be prepared to field responses. When a customer is confused by your automated text or email, they'll often respond with their question. This is an opportunity to correct the negative customer experience. For example, I sent a reply saying, "What paperwork are you referring to?" and nobody got back to me. It was frustrating to feel like I hadn't done what I was supposed to do.

4. Avoid threats. Both texts included threats. Broken appointments or cancellations with less than 48 hours notice would be charged $50. And if I didn't confirm within the next 48 hours, they may not be able to see my kids. These punitive messages left me feeling like a problem rather than a valued customer, and increased my stress about the text messages' unclear instructions.

5. Test it yourself. Book an appointment, purchase the item, or take whatever action triggers the automated communication series. Receive and log the communications. Are they coherent? Could they be improved?

6. Review communications together on a timeline. When you see everything the customer receives altogether, you can see inconsistencies or awkwardness. Often, companies just don't realize everything they've got set up. They inadvertently schedule multiple touches with redundant information, slightly misaligned information, or different tones.

Crafting clear automated communications is not as simple as it looks, but it really can be a breakthrough for your efficiency and your customer experience.

Analyzing user experiences is what we do. If you need fresh eyes on your customer experience, we have expert consultants ready to help. Learn about our services.