Support Writing

Every time you write an email from our support team, you have the opportunity to impress the customer and represent our brand. A good support interaction can soften the angriest of coaches — but a bad one can aggravate the most loyal of them. So let’s break it down.

You want to sound friendly, natural and personal. Use the coach’s name — they’ll appreciate it. Use your name so the interaction feels more personal. Strive to be relatable, not robotic.

Words are powerful — they can make or break the customer experience. Coaches don’t expect you to solve their problem 100% of the time. But they do expect empathy during every phone call, email, chat or tweet. And rightly so. Every interaction should make the coach feel understood, respected and validated. Here are some positive phrases to use:

• Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
• I completely understand how frustrating this must be.
• I’m sorry to hear about the experience you had.
• Great question, let me find the answer for you.
• I really appreciate your patience.
• Thank you for understanding.

One way to express empathy is using ​“we” or ​“our” phrasing more than ​“I” or ​“you.” Let the customer know you’re on their team and want to work with them to get their problem solved.

Remember empathy doesn’t always mean an apology. You can (and should) apologize when a coach has a bad experience. But you shouldn’t apologize for things out of your control. It diminishes our credibility — the more we apologize, the less meaning it has.

Next time you’re considering writing ​“I’m sorry,” ask yourself if you really need to. If you’re not 100% certain, think about how you can rephrase it. Turn ​“I’m sorry your internet is having trouble” into ​“Let’s rule out your WiFi as the possible cause of these upload problems.”

Put a positive lens on what you write so you don’t come across as confrontational.

The first says what can’t be done while the second com­mu­ni­cates what can. A few more words or details can make all the difference in the coach’s eyes.

In most customer emails, there’s more than one question being asked. To avoid sending a long paragraph of information back, segment your response into multiple small sections or use lists. Use bold or italic text to emphasize. But remember — if everything is emphasized, then nothing is.

For more tips on how to make reading easy, visit our acces­si­bil­i­ty section.

Every interaction is a chance to teach the coach something new. If they send an email asking how to install their Focus mount, send them those steps plus how to mount their camera.

If you want bonus points, introduce them to a new resource while you’re at it.

But be careful not to bombard. Find the sweet spot between empowering them with resources and over­whelm­ing them.

• Is this how I would talk to the coach over the phone?
• What resources would help them learn even more?
• Is my response structured, organized and helpful?