Consumer Centric Contact

Once upon a time, it was easy.  If someone wanted to contact us we would give them our phone number - office or home - and either they or I would initiate the call and if the other answered, guess what, we were communicating!  If they didn't get us or I them, a message would be left, either via a human and later via voice mail.  We even had pagers - not too long ago, and now, they've gone by the wayside.

Now, it's much more complicated.  There's email, twitter accounts, facebook, text messages, email messages, home phone (maybe), cell phones and office phones and efaxes.  So, when someone wants to communicate with you how do you keep in touch without missing some important information?  How do you get information to people in a way that's easiest for them?

 In the past year I worked with five clients who didn't have an email address, didn't have a smart phone, didn't have access to a fax.  Took a lilttle extra time, but I think the relationships were stronger because of more face-to-face time. You know what, we still got to the closing table.

Today, it's best to ask!  I might check twitter once a day with tweets from some people I want to follow appearing directly on my phone.  Whereas I'm on email many times a day.  I'm on facebook as time permits.  I always have my smart phone with me, but that's only for texts and phone calls.  Don't call the office, you won't get me, but I will get a message and usually when people call, they want me, not my voice mail.  Oh, and I never answer the home phone.  I only have it to service my alarm system.  Don't assume that everyone wants text messages or pays for the service.  My motto, ask before you text.

I can do a lot of things with my Windows Mobile Phone, but it doesn't mean I'm going to.  How can you be talking to a client, opening a lockbox with your phone, reading email, checking facebook, looking at the twitter stream and keep your wits about you?  I can't!  I might go onto facebook with my mobile phone if I'm bored silly in a doctor's office, but other than that - I do it from my laptop or desk top.

The smart phone does make a difference, though.  When I drive down a street and a client asks, why aren't we looking at this property, I can look it up and see why I didn't have it on the list (maybe it was too expensive or not configured for their needs) and I can look at faxes without having to run to the office.  I can even take pictures of things, if I need to.  I can use it to show short videos to clients, too!  It's kind of like a "Swiss Army Knife".

Moral of the story - I ask how people want to be contacted and then act accordingly! 

What do you think? What's your preference?