Viva’s Blog: Before you hit “send”

In a world burdened with voiceless emails and texts, the power of a phone call is severely underrated. It’s easy for an email or tweet to get lost amongst all the other messages cluttering up our busy lives. Even in today’s tech-crazed world, a phone call still has the power to grab your attention and create an emotional connection.

Email has become the default communication method for business people. Last year, according to The Radicati Group, 109 billion emails were sent each day. Too many business people opt for email and miss the opportunity to make a connection with a colleague. Just like a picture is worth a thousand words, a single call is worth many emails.

Don’t hit “send”. Just call.
One major benefit of a phone call is efficiency. A call can result in faster problem solving. It’s easy to ignore an email and delay responding. It’s not so easy to ignore a ringing phone.

Asking questions and providing feedback is a snap over the phone. A five-minute call can often accomplish what it would take numerous emails over many days to complete. Emails often land in an inbox and remain unopened or not-actioned for days. During a call, problems can be solved and answers and recommendations can be acted upon without having to wait for replies.

Ever negotiate pricing via email? A large online distributor tested negotiating pricing via phone versus email. The pricing they were able to secure during phone conversations was consistently 5%-10% less than what they were able to negotiate via email.

Don’t hit “send”. Just call.
Phone calls are more personal than emails. Calls to customers, prospects, colleagues, partners and suppliers (and even friends and family!) are more effective in terms of relationship building than emails. How often do your business emails include back and forth about your weekend plans, kids’ sports games or a recent vacation? When you talk to an actual person, a little personal banter comes naturally. That’s how relationships are built.

Don’t hit “send”. Just call.
Phone calls provide the opportunity to hear what’s on your customers’ minds. Listening to a customer’s words about what you do for them, what competitors do for them, and what’s stressing them out is invaluable input. Your customers’ words are the foundation of your marketing messaging. You don’t receive that incredible gift when you use email.

Don’t hit “send”. Just call.
Phone calls are transparent. Both parties are able to assess the other person’s mood, intent and tone. Emails are too often misunderstood and misinterpreted.

Don’t hit “send”. Just call.
Phone calls stand out. Online communication doesn’t. The average business person receives 85 emails a day. Add to that the snaps, tweets and other social media posts you’re exposed to each day and the email you so carefully crafted may not even get read.

As digital communication accelerates the pace at which people form and broaden relationships, it is also decreasing the efficiency of resolving issues. The next time you want to deepen your relationship with a customer or are tackling an issue over email, ask yourself if it is something that would be better served by a conversation. Don’t hit “send”. Just call.

Read more Viva’s Blogs at www.VivaLaBrand.com

Traveling to the Ann Arbor, MI, area October 26th? Come join me as I present at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.