Soul Proprietor - Online Communication Breakdown

In this day and age, most of us communicate with our clients and colleagues over the internet. It’s convenient, fast, and simple.

I find it better than the old days of playing phone tag, which often wasted countless hours of my day.

Now I can just zip off an email – and go from there.

Yet there is still room for error – and you can’t always blame the internet or Mercury retrograde. Yes, sometimes emails do get lost or the wifi goes rogue. But I’ve found the biggest culprits are human error, disorganization, or laziness.

For example, last month I had a huge misunderstanding with a client who was trying to book an appointment. He read my email wrong and I read his wrong. We ended up with a scheduling snafu but were able to trace the problem and remedy it with a fresh appointment. The good thing about email is that you do have that nice written record to see who goofed up. In this case, we both did but mostly me. This could have been avoided if I had read the email with greater care.

How do we keep those communication woes to a minimum?

A simple system, attentiveness, and good habits.

Here are a few tips to consider:

Outline your communication process on your website so clients know what to expect once they have made a payment or booked an appointment.
Create a thank you page with clear instructions on what the client needs to do after making their payment. Set it up with your payment processor (ex: PayPal) so that the client is taken to that thank you page when the transaction is complete. If you want to make it even easier, include a link to an online scheduler so the client can easily pick an appointment (for the record: I don’t use one of those because I like to feel out my client via email before allowing them to schedule with me).
Auto-responders are a great way to let a client know you’ll get back to them…or that you’re out of town.
Every day, set aside a time of day where you can get to your emails. No excuses! Stay at it until you’re done. I aim for Inbox Zero every single day. I usually accomplish it. Keeping a clean inbox means an email is less likely to get lost in the shuffle.
Read emails CAREFULLY. If something is not clear, be sure to ask follow up questions. (Memo to self: always wear your glasses when you read your emails.)
Client or colleague not responding? You may want to send a follow up email or two. Still no luck? I’ve actually sent snail mail to nudge people who have paid for a reading and not bothered to send in the questions or set up an appointment. A note in the mail – usually in bright green stationery – always gets their attention!
On rare occasion, a client or colleague may drop off the face of the earth. In that situation, there is not much you can do. If someone doesn’t get back to you, you can only nag them so much before it becomes an aggravating and anxious waste of your energy. If a colleague drops the ball midway in a project, you may have no choice but to go on without them. It sucks but it does happen.
If you need to drop off the face of the earth or reschedule, let people know. Never, ever leave anyone hanging. People will understand and be more forgiving if you are honest and upfront. (PS responding in a timely manner is a pro move.)

We’re more connected than ever before but even so, connections get dropped, people flake out, and misunderstandings happen. Good communication says “I care about you.” Ultimately, isn’t that what heart-centered business is all about? Care enough to communicate well with your clients and colleagues – and they will care about your business.

“Never leave your customers wondering.” ~ Kevin Stirtz

Blessings,

Theresa