Make Contacting You Easy

Thursday, October 15, 2009
By Pattie Baker

This one sounds obvious, but do you know there are still business websites out there that don’t give an email address for contacting the company?  I just visited one this morning, and could only find a post office address and a phone number.  C’mon, folks.  Get with the times.  Email is mandatory.  Cell phone numbers are standard in many industries.  Twitter and Facebook links give ways for customers to follow, and respond to, your business.  I have a friend who joined Twitter simply because it’s the best, fastest way to voice opinions to major corporations.  The days of the letter to the CEO are gone.  Now the whole world can know what you think, and see how the company handles it, in split-second time.

Don’t love all the techno-babble?  Hire someone who does, and have him or her handle online customer communications.   You’ll be surprised the positive results you can get from hearing about a customer concern long before that customer complains to others offline, and then handling it proactively.

Some rules of the road here re: customer communication:

  • Give customers a variety of easy ways to reach you
  • Make sure your email address is accurate and your link is working on your Kudzu profile
  • Respond within 24 hours (sooner, if possible)
  • Be positive
  • Be solutions-oriented
  • Underscore your brand values with every customer contact
  • Stay on top of trends to consider emerging communications methods

Here’s an example of a law firm I found on Kudzu’s San Diego site that includes phone, fax, email, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin on its website’s “contact” page.