How available are you to your clients and prospects?
One of the biggest issues that many people have with businesses is the lack of support.
Example: We’d bought my son an mp3 player for Christmas last year and within a couple of days, he had an accident and the screen cracked rendering it useless. I knew that because of the way it was damaged, it might not be covered under warranty, however, I went to their support area on their web site to contact them about it. The only way they had listed on there to contact them was via an email address.
I sent them an email with an explanation of what had happened along with a picture. From the information on their site, they did handle repairs at the users cost, so I inquired as to how much it would cost to fix it along with a couple of other questions about the process.
I waited over a week and when I didn’t hear back, I sent another email. It has been over 6 weeks and I still haven’t heard back from them.
Needless to say, I will not be doing business with that company again!
So what can you learn from this?
If possible, try to have at least 2-3 different methods for prospects and/or clients to contact you.
This can be via phone, email, support forums, social media, texting, etc.
Even if they don’t have direct, immediate access to you, they should be able to reach someone on your team or get a response back to their call or email within a timely basis. (24 – 48 hours at most.)
By making sure you or someone in your company can be reached for questions or concerns, you’ll greatly increase your trustworthiness.
Share on the blog: What types of contact methods do you have set up in your business? As a consumer, what methods of contact do you prefer when trying to get in touch with a business? Share your thoughts in the comments below. 🙂
Image Credit: dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I really like how you interact with your email list Jenn! So i am new to this internet. I have been reading a lot of stories and yours really grabs my integrity to listen and read every thing you put out there! Cliff
Thanks Cliff. I do slip up sometimes in being consistent, but I don’t give up. I encourage you to do the same! 🙂