Client Servicing on Phone vs Email
By Palin Ningthoujam on Jun 17, 2008 in clientservicing
In PR agency workings, client servicing experts would talk about going out for lunches with clients and many other hi-funda things when asked about the best ways to get pally with your client. I won’t go into such advanced details, but focus on two simple day-to-day client contact mediums for an executive or a manager – the phone and the email. What’s the big deal, you’d asked.
Perhaps there’s no big deal. But given that most of the smaller agencies in India (and even some of the big ones) do not have a standardised system of client servicing manual, it’s important for the young PR professionals to know the advantages and disadvantages of both these contact mediums.
Phone -
1. Works well if the client contact is manageable and is the friendly type. You can explain issues and things in proper and in length over the phone than on email.
2. One disadvantage is that you don’t have any written record if things go wrong or the client suddenly turns around.
Email -
1. Many of us in our earlier years tend to think getting into a mobile phone chit-chat everyday with the client will break the ice and help get into a smooth client-agency relationship. Not true for some kinds of clients. If the client contact is the hard-to-please type with unreasonable expectations, make sure your correspondence is more on the mail, copied to his/her boss and yours. On every mail. Why so? Because on the phone, you are more likely to get gobbled up with no very less room for negotiations. For example, if the client contact calls in the morning and asks you to draft a case study and provide it to him/her by the end of the day, demand that she/he send you an email on that. I think most of the unreasonable client demands are done on the phone, hardly on the email. Well, I don’t have any stats to prove it though.
2. Disadvantage is that email is time consuming (writing, sending, receiving, reading), and many clients in particular sectors are not that comfortable with the emailing business.
What do you say? Any more tips. Please share on the comments.
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On Jun 17, 2008, bhawna said:
well, i think both of these mediums are important and may have to be used collectively. For example at times you write an email to your client requesting something. This is done to have a written proof that you have asked for this thing at this date with xyz deadline. You may still have to call him to explain or for a reminder. If a client takes a long time to revert you have to use both email and phone medium judiciously. Email for written proof and follow up calls to keep reminding him.
cheers!
On Jun 17, 2008, Palin Ningthoujam said:
i agree with that.
On Jun 17, 2008, Genesis Bible said:
yes , both are important .. it depends on the type of business you need to do at the moment … and the type of response .. etc
On Jun 23, 2008, himanshu kapadia said:
i come from an era where e mails were not used often, i have a simple rule for youngsters forget tel or mails, physical meetings are the best try and visit your clients atleast once in a week even if there is no work have a coffe, and follow up with a phone and mails.
On Jun 24, 2008, Msn said:
thanx for this post
On Jun 27, 2008, Coral Snake said:
these are some good points , i believe to alleviate any trouble , it may be best to work with the clients you most trust and have the best relationship with , on the hone, for others, emails may work best
On Jul 29, 2008, Jonathan R Moseley said:
This is a great post. I appreciated your Pros/Cons approach.
My viewpoint on the matter are as follows:
The contact method is determined by:
1. The Volume of Response vs. Personal Interaction.
2. The Objective with the Customer.
The Contact Method – Volume vs. Interaction:
1. Email = High Volume, Low Interaction
2. Phone = Medium Volume, Medium Interaction
3. Visit = Low Volume, High Interaction
The Objectives with the Customer:
1. Immediate Acknowledgement/Response
2. Documentation for Tracking/History
3. Check-Up, Update, or Clarification
4. Deliver Final Resolution
5. Retention of Customer Loyalty by Extra Courtesy