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What's your Preferred Business Method of Communication?

I was reading the November issue of "Success Magazine" and came accross the results of a poll asking what method of communication business people preferred or more precisely the question posed was;

What is your preferred method of communication in business?

Good Question!

The results were; drum roll please.

40% email

39% face to face

13% phone

5% online social networking

3% text

Considering the amount of email I receive and also how much I send out I guess I'm not surprised with the result, but I wouldn't really put myself in that category.

I'm more of a face to face type of guy!

BUT, in todays business world that's just not always possible. When we do a mortgage for a second home, usually I never meet the customer. That's kinda sad in my mind.

Is the phone dead as a communication method or just passe'?

You tell me.

I really can't see the social networking outlets or texting as a preferred method. I wonder in what type of business this would be successful?

I did however, find this info interesting and wondered how this data should fit into my marketing plan for 2010.

Don't forget to get going on that!

So, stop and give this some thought.

What's your preferred method?

and

Do your clients/associates know your answer?

Posted by Jay Beckingham on 10/18/2009 06:18 AM

Comments (15)

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15 Comments on What's your Preferred Business Method of Communication?

OCT

Yes, my clients know that email is my preferred method of communication. I always ask if it is ok to communicate via email...most say yes. We are all too busy to do much else nowdays. I'm surprised it is only a 40% perference.

I usually prefer email even if only because I can work anytime day or night with email (how sad is that?) without worrying about disturbing someone. After my son goes to sleep at night I'm often up looking for possibilities for my buyers which I then email to them.

I had one client (a very young one) that I only spoke to on the phone a couple of times in the 6 weeks that he was under contract. We had email conversations that went back and forth 30-40 times.

Most of us send and receive high volumes of email. However, an email or phone call is not a substitute for a face to face contact. Keep up the good work.

for me...it all depends the time of day. When I get up in the morning (around 5:30pm)..no one wants a phone call. I thank God for the internet/email....every day I can get 2-3 hours of work in before anyone even wakes up.

Sandra,

that's a good point about asking the client, because if they are not active with their email they may not be receiving your messages.

Julia,

i wonder, sometimes, what my clients think about those 3 am emails. maybe they don't notice.

jay

Roy,

i agree, but in southwest florida there are times that that's just not possible.

Debbie,

personally i'm just amazed sometimes on how much work i can accomplish during those early morning hours. it's not just the lack of interuptions, often it seems my head is clearer.

jay

We actually just went to a seminar where the speaker said "Email is NOT the way to go and try to stay away from it." He said "Face to Face should be the only way to communicate"!

I think too many people rely on e-mail as an effective way of communicating sometimes because they DON'T have to deal with someone face-to-face. I personally prefer the phone, where at least you can measure some level of response by the recipient, although I was surprised to see only 13% rely on this "old fashion" method. Great post!

larry & Sheila,

he must be in the 39%, but i'm not ready to ignore the 40% who prefer email.

Craig,

i was also surprised. i would have thought that face to face would be the most personal form and the phone next. maybe that's the problem, it's too personal.

jay

I am an email and face to face guy. Trying to use the phone more. Good post and good info!!

Hi Jay...There's nothing, in my opinion, better than face to face....it's obviously more time consuming, but if it's an important piece of business, it's a necessity.....the majority of my business is new construction......emailing is second and detailed emails are done only after a face to face meeting happens.....if face to face is at the bottom of the list, you'll be missing body language and identifying a certain personality.....once you know who you're dealing with, email is fine.....but be careful, email comes with many interpretations and a miscommunication of a fact can destroy a relationship.....until I've closed a builder, all of our communicatin is face to face.....even if I have to find him on another construction site.

I agree that face to face is the best way of business communication. With reference to the email communication we need to underatand who is our target client first, remember not all the residential clients are for the email communication!

For business (corporate) without a question email with a follow face to face presentation is the best way to introduce your services.

Jay, Distance and time constraints often dictate whether face to face meetings are possible. I like face to face meeting because I believe it has a stronger relationship building component. I like email when there are lots of details going back and forth. I like text for very brief comments and acknowledgments (if I know they are Techies). Phone and face to face definitely have constraints in this busy day. Considering how people are even meeting and marrying through Internet social networks certainly tells the story. People are willing to develop even the most important relationships of their lives via means we would have never considered 15 years ago.