Communications

It's interesting how many different ways people like to communicate.
I know people who seem to use Facebook (and, more specifically, their public "wall" on Facebook) as their primary communications medium.
I know others who would rather send a Twitter "DM" than write an e-mail.
And others who will pick up the phone for every little conversation.
And still others who go out of their way to meet in person.

At the same time, it's amazing how poor many businesses are at dealing with the multitude of preferences their customers may have.

Personally, for example, when looking for a new service provider, I love coming across "contact us" forms. If done well, they give me a great opportunity to send the provider a large amount of pertinent information up front, so I don't have to explain my needs to such a degree during our first phone call or meeting. Unfortunately for me, most service providers offer (at best) a form where I can submit a callback number.

Brands need to recognize that consumers' preferences about this stuff are all over the map. When a client asks me "Should we be using Twitter?" or "Should we advertise our mailing address?" or "Should we include our phone number on our Web site, even though people can just e-mail us?", I usually answer "Sure. Why not?"
Unless it's likely to require a significant investment of time or money to operate a communications channel properly, it certainly doesn't hurt to make it available. Setup a Twitter account as long as you'll be checking it daily -- even if you only post a few times a week... As long as you check the post as soon as it arrives, what can it hurt to advertise your mailing address?...

And finally:
It's even more amazing how many brands miss the most simple of tactics for communicating with customers: Calling people back.
I'm currently going through the process of selling a home, buying a lot, and hiring builders for that lot. I've had to deal with real estate agents, mortgage brokers, land owners, banks, construction firms, inspectors, government officials, cleaners, stagers, and so on and so on.
Sadly, a huge number of people I've contacted or replied to simply don't get back to me in a timely way. I wait days for urgent information to arrive (without receiving even a "It's on its way" in the meantime). I virtually tell suppliers that I have money ready and waiting for them, and they don't bother to get in touch. Are you so busy that you can't even spare a couple of minutes for a conversation with me? Not even an e-mail note? If so, lucky you. But you aren't getting any more business from me if I can't count on you.