When I set up my business I knew from the start my direct form of communication with my clients was going to be email — stick with me here. Now many of you are about ready to check out because I said the “E” word – email, but it’s in your benefit to sticking around. I’m about to show you how to apply this one tip for effective communication with your clients.
Many hate email because their inboxes are flooded with no “inbox 0” in sight.
This is understandable because when email came out, text messaging followed shortly after blurring the lines. People didn’t have enough time to figure out and train themselves on how to properly write and handle email. Email came and then bam! Text messaging popped up and it was a mess from there.
When running a business you need to make life easier on yourself by redirecting the conversation back to email.
Why email?
Email is your only paper trail. It’s a place that you and your clients can: refer back to as needed. It’s searchable and you can organize it. Texting is neither of these.
- Refer back to as needed
- It’s searchable
- And you can organize it.
Texting is neither of these.
While texting can be convenient it’s also a hassle and opens the door to miscommunication for both parties. Plus, you’re too accessible with texting. You need office hours so that you can reflect, evaluate, and really breath in order to grow your business. With all these ways to communicate —email, messaging apps, social media, etc. — you are spending way too much time trying to piece together the conversation. I don’t know about you but time is money and wasting that plus valuable brain power is not how I like to spend my days.
Now that we are clear on why email is the better choice let’s talk about how you can start liking it more.
When setting up email communication for your business you want to designate email addresses. Example,
- info (general inquiries)
- marketing (marketing)
- guests (guest bloggers or speakers)
- podcast (related to your podcast)
- etc.
You have to create the system for your business but you see how I’ve designated certain inboxes (similar to filters and/or folders) for the various parts of my business. By doing this I am setting the right expectations for my clients and filtering the conversation. Once they email the appropriate inbox, I can set up filters and automatically add them to folders.
I promise you if you make the time to set up this communication system and always redirect the conversation back to email (a simple “please email me” or “please follow up with me via email”) then your clients will be more than willing to respect your wishes. Remember, it’s in their best interest too!
For more training on email, including how to properly write your emails (saves you time and gets you closer to an “inbox 0”, check out my free webinar.