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.
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