Ever since its emergence in the nineties as an inexpensive
and easy way to communicate - e-mails have quickly gained
popularity and replaced most paper-based communications.
However, extremely large number of e-mail communications
has created many problems - lack of response being a
major one. Why people do not respond to e-mails ? In
previous issue - we examined 3 scenarios and 15 cases.
In this issue, we examine the first one: Scenario -
A with 6 underlying cases.
Scenario
- A : John receives your e-mail but does not respond..
Possible Cases:
- Case 1 : John decides not to respond
- Case 2 : John is undecided or waiting for something
he will respond later
- Case 3 : John feels your e-mail does not deserve
a response
- Case 4 : John is on vacation
- Case 5 : John deletes your mail without reading,
thinking it to be another spam or virus
- Case 6 : John receives your garbled e-mail and
decides its too much taxing, deciphering your mail
(perhaps you sent html formatted mail that John's
mail client read as plain text)
If John is on vacation and does not set vacation mail
autoresponder in his mailbox - there's not much you
can do. Important point is - consider this as a possible
reason for non-response - do not jump to a conclusion
on John's attitude. Perhaps a telephone call may be
the right way.
If John is undecided or is waiting for something
- sending a reminder after 2-3 days may yield immediate
response.
That leaves us with two choices - John does not respond
or he deletes your e-mail.
There are many reasons why John may delete your mail
without even reading. We shall discuss that later.
For cases 1 and 3, - there's not much you can do
if John deliberately does not respond for some special
reason or thinks poorly of you. However, it may as
well be your e-mail - its style and content - that
did turn John off !
Style
and Content - How professional is your communication
?
Internet is borderless, anyone is free to surf web-sites
in any part of the world. It is also free - the surfer
need not reveal his/her identity to anyone. This anonymous
feature has done wonders to nurture free thinking
without fear of identity loss and reprisal - necessary
elements for democratic society. It has also given
small and medium business enterprises a level playing
field.
However, this anonymous nature of Internet has also
helped scamsters, con artists and cheats to operate
globally under anonymous or fake cover. At the very
least - the sender may exaggerate his/her position
in domestic market or make false claims - there's
not much the recipient in a far away land can do to
check the claims physically.
In such circumstances - communication style plays
a significant role. In the virtual world of cyberspace,
often the only means your customer has to evaluate
you is your communication - your language, presentation
and style. Your e-mail/web-site/ presentation etc.
are your faces to the world - and these must inspire
sufficient confidence in your customer to transact
business with you or at least take you seriously.
This is a marked difference from traditional business
and you should be aware of this feature of e-commerce.
You may be a leader in domestic market - but your
overseas client may not know that. A badly written
letter with lots of typos does not convey a positive
image and mostly go un-answered.
What makes an offer professional or get distinguished
as serious ? The hallmarks of a good communication
are precise and relevant content, pleasing format/style
and professional presentation.
We shall discuss elements of format, content and
style of professional communication in next issue.
