LinkedInThe order of the email
- Subject: says what happened in plain words, with no soft wording.
- Opening: the fact, the date it was seen, and the period it covers.
- Measured: the numbers we can stand behind, each with its definition and source.
- Not measured: what we cannot see yet, said in words and never shown as zero.
- Cause: what we know, and what we only suspect, marked as a suspicion.
- Next step: what we are doing now, who owns it, and when the next update comes.
- Ask: anything we need from the client, with a deadline if there is one.
Wording rules
- Name the number and what it measures, with the same definition as the report.
- No blame on a platform, a tool or a person in the email.
- No promise of recovery by a date unless the date is already in the plan.
Made-up scenario: on a Monday, a made-up store's MER for the previous week came in below its break-even line. The email goes out the same day. It states the drop, marks the cause as not yet known, names the test that will show more, and gives the time of the next update.
