Mohammad Nurul Alam
E-mail communication is a vital tool in the apparel industry that every professional needs to do in a corrective manner. But sometimes people in production fail to get the meaning of the message and act something differently. This miscommunication happens when the sender feels the e-mail could complete and convey the message only by clicking send button. As most of the apparel communication is being done by merchandisers and so effective mailing communication is foremost important for him. The present article will help to focus on effective e-mail communication if the individual tries to practice and follow them as well.
1) Subject line is important
Having a clear subject line is most important for appropriate communication. It drives someone to be crazy when he gets an email from another one and the subject line is a tease or does not relate to the content of the email. Again, this will annoy and put in trouble when the reader is trying to search through emails for specific content, but the subject line does not match that content.
Related facts of the subject line
- Subject line has to be very organized and well-defined. Suppose a buying merchandiser writes to the factory then he must put as the subject line – Buyer’s name 1st then the factory name, after that related season and order number and finally the reason for what email is written.
Example: ‘H&M, ABC Garment, S24, 9957, Air shipment’. This example subject line is widely used in the apparel industry where everyone can find the e-mail by any keyword, no matter what years of time have passed.
- If the subject line has been written like the above there will be fewer chances to send an e-mail to the wrong recipient. Because in the subject line, the factory name is written so the sender can easily know the e-mail where to send it.
- Subject line should be very short mostly used by keywords of the topic. Always avoid long subject lines that may annoy the recipient.
2) Use of bullet points and highlight
Bullet points make the matter much easier for the recipient to get the information quickly. Because most of the time people try to read e-mail in a hurry mood and so chances to miss the important points. It also helps the reader to identify the main topic of the email. If the e-mail sender is expecting the recipient has to go into action after receiving the email, highlight the point that may call to action.
Facts of bullet point
- Bullet point has to be short and simple but the meaning should be clear and easy to understand.
- The point must represent the entire e-mail of the topic.
- Too many bullet points also make the e-mail content poor and irrelevant.
3) E-mail writing should not be in anger
Writing an email while someone is in an angry mood and while he feels burning inside is not the proper time to do so. Because the angry man fails to realize the situation and handles it very badly. Practically showing anger in the e-mail is not decent and professional rather it may cause one to be looser on the battlefield.
Example: If a merchandiser writes to a supplier in a manner that seems to be a personal attack or it goes beyond professionalism then the matter could be a serious violation of compliance and damaging to self-image. In this regard, the supplier can easily ride on the ethical drive in the conversation and can crash the merchandiser and can move the situation in his favor.
Factors of not to write when in anger
- Writing an emotionally charged message the sender should take time to be cool and feel the real situation. Or
- He may write the message and take time to send the e-mail to review it furthermore.
- Later on, the message should be edited so that it features what really should to say.
- None should edit the message immediately after finishing the message, as writer probably still angry.
- Need to leave the e-mail draft alone for a while before finalizing it for sending.
- A little time and time distance can provide the email writer with the perspective that he needs to keep from making a difficult situation.
4) Need to send Error-Free Emails
Matter has to remember that once someone clicks send button of an email and they never can get the message back! (Most of the time recall message does not work) So e-mail work to be finished and checked it for accuracy is the foremost important task before to click send button.
Some common errors in the e-mail
- The wrong subject line does not match to e-mail body.
- Spelling recipient’s name wrongly.
- Wrong e-mail address or copying some recipients who are not related to the subject.
- Missing e-mail signature.
- Wrong documents attachment.
- Unconsciously sharing the confidential file.
- Putting the information without checking the real fact.
5) Using inappropriate language
If someone is sending emails for business contacts or other professional reasons, then it has to be sure to use formal language and formatting appropriate for business communication.
Example: When an e-mail sender is saying no to the recipient then he should tell a soft tone, not in a direct hit language
‘I cannot do this’ is seeming rude but ‘I am not able to do this’ is more decent professional.
Some facts of appropriate language
- Avoiding slang, texting abbreviations and emoji’s very important.
- The email sender may be somewhat less formal because of personal contact with the recipient, but he should still keep in mind that an email should be always formal.
- Super-casual text or direct message never can be acceptable.
- In case of multiple recipients, e-mail has to be more easy and understood by each individual.
- The language should be perfect and accurate.
6) Use of media tools images, videos, screenshots
By using media tools such as images, videos and screenshots one can make the things easy for the other party to understand. Because showing instead of telling is an effective task to explain.
How to do media tools.
- Image – a picture can tell hundreds of words if it has been done properly.
- Image should be representative of the entire topic.
- Image format must be readable for another party so that he can know the fact.
- If possible text and indicators should be added to the image.
- Video clips also have to be meaningful and to the point.
- A garment merchandiser should feel that people at production are less educated and so the e-mail communication has to be easy by supportive documents and files.
7) Showing respect to the recipient
The mail recipient may have less education or not much to be equal in position to the sender so emails has to be short and to the point, and easy to understand. Using indecent word or defame someone in the mail is considered unprofessional.
Example: if e-mail is written to someone for false information by saying ‘We notice you lie always’ this statement is not decent rather it could be said ‘We notice you provide wrong statement to us’.
The facts have to keep in mind in favor of recipient
- Educational standard of recipient.
- Level of understanding message.
- Capacity of receiving information.
- Always starting e-mail with good greeting.
- Ending message with goodbye.
In conclusion it could be said e-mail writing is an art that everybody should know and practice it regularly. In the apparel industry people are not much caring about e-mail language and most of the time it has been seen situation gets worse due to inappropriate of words and expression. So everyone in this industry should maintain e-mail etiquette.
