Introduction
Dealing with the death of a person is never easy. Extending support to someone who is grieving the death of a loved one is also a challenging task at times. This challenge gets a little trickier if you are not on casual terms with the person you need to extend your support to. For instance, what if you need to send a condolence email to a client? It is not easy to write condolence messages; it is even tougher to write a professional condolences email. If you are wondering how to send a professional message that still offers genuine sympathy, read on to know what to do.
Step 1- Understanding email etiquette with clients
Although generally upto the individual’s style of writing, there are still some hard rules you need to adhere to when emailing clients and sending a condolence email. Three of these rules are-
1. Professional tone
When you are communicating with a client, maintaining a professional tone at all times is absolutely essential. You should never include the use of emojis, slang, abbreviations, and shortcuts. This is especially true for a condolence message in a professional setting.
2. Appropriate level of emotion
It is crucial that you are able to express the right level of emotion in a professional condolence message. Sounding dry and unsympathetic is quite rude but coming across as overly enthusiastic and exaggerating is also inappropriate.
3. Showing sincerity
Although you are sending a condolence email, you may not have known the deceased directly. However, as it is quite likely that you know your client well enough, you need to let them know that you are sincerely sorry for their loss while offering your support. You can tell them in a sincere way that you are sorry for their loss, and you are offering your support in any way you are capable of.
Step 2- Picking the right subject line
What is the proper thing to write on the subject line of a condolence email? If you are sending an email with a blank subject line, it can easily get lost, or someone may receive it in their spam folder, or it may even be ignored completely. Here are a few ideas to help you pick an appropriate sentence for the subject line.
1. Condolences
Although this subject line is short and quite concise, it lets your client understand what the email is about as soon as they read it. This allows for a professional condolence message.
2. With Sympathy
Using this as your subject line adds a little emotion to the overall serious email by letting your client understand what it is about, and that you’re sending a genuine message of sympathy.
3. So sorry
If you know your client fairly well, you can use this simple phrase for the subject line of your message. It immediately conveys to your client how you have received the news of the death of someone important to them.
4. Sorry for your loss
You can also use this subject line to combine a sense of professionalism with your genuine sympathy and sincerity. It can be used for a short professional condolence message.
5. Just checking in on you
If quite a few days have passed since the death of the person and you know your client well, you can use this subject line. However, if you don’t know the client well, it would be best to avoid this sentence. This is because it can sound like you’re wondering when they’ll get back to work instead of genuinely checking up on them in light of their loved one’s death.
Step 3- Appropriate Salutations
Salutations are an important part of every type of communication. Here are the appropriate salutations to use in a condolences email.
1. Dear (Name)
If you are on a first name basis with your client, you can use this salutation. This is because suddenly changing from a first-name basis to a more formal address can make them feel like you do not care.
2. Dear (Mr/Ms/Mrs Name)
This salutation is one of the most common ones. It works for nearly every professional client email. It’s slightly formal, but not overly stiff. However, if you know the client very well and you’re generally on a first-name basis, avoid this salutation.
3. Mr/Ms/Mrs (Name)
Use the client’s name alone only if you have already established a first-name basis with each other.
4. Hi/Hello (Mr/Ms/Mrs Name)
If you want to sound more sincere but you’re not on a first-name basis, you can consider starting your condolence email with a “Hi” or “Hello.”
5. Greetings (Mr/Ms/Mrs Name)
If, for example, you have never directly communicated with the client to whom you are sending the condolences email, or you’ve only had very formal exchanges earlier, you can use this salutation.
Step 4- Writing the actual email
Once you’ve chosen the proper subject line and the appropriate salutation for your email, it’s time to start framing the official condolence message. Follow these suggestions and you’ll craft a beautiful, appropriate professional condolence message.
- Do not make assumptions that the client’s beliefs about the afterlife align with your own. Avoid using specific references to religious concepts unless you’re absolutely sure it matches their beliefs.
- When you are struggling for something to say, it is easy to include cliche things. It is best to avoid them as it comes across as insincere and rude.
- In a condolence email to a client, there may not be a lot you can do. However, it is essential to extend your support. Simply adding a line that says, “Please accept my condolences and let us know if there’s anything we can do.” might mean a lot to your client.
Step 5- Checking everything before sending
- Once you have finished writing the condolence email, make sure to read it over one final time and check the spelling, grammar, and tone.
- Ensure that the email goes to the correct email address. The last thing you want is a typo in the email address, which will mean your client does not receive the condolence message at all.
Conclusion
It can be difficult to send a professional condolence message to a client if they are dealing with the loss of a loved one. This article helps you to send a message of sympathy and sincerity in a professional manner to a client. Beleiv is one of the best funeral services in Bangalore and is always ready to extend its support to you when you or a loved one is dealing with somebody’s death. Thus, reach out to Beleiv for any and all purposes regarding funerals, ceremonies and grief support.
Also Read : 45+ Condolence Messages on Death of Father
