Texting has become a primary form of communication for many people, but business norms don't always keep up with social norms at the same pace. This raises the question: is it appropriate to text your clients?
Coming to you from Jessica Whitaker, this interesting video discusses the issue of texting your clients and if it is a good idea or not. Of course, there is the formality of the issue. On one hand, it is traditionally considered more formal and respectful to use email or a phone call, but on the other hand, communication paradigms have shifted drastically in the past decade, and texting is used for a far wider range of topics. Personally, I think it is important to consider the age of your specific client. Younger clients are more likely to be used to texting as a main form of communication and may actually prefer it in some situations, while older clients may be less likely to embrace it. On a different note, keeping everything in email makes it very easy to account for all important information and easy to find if needed. Do you text your clients? Check out the video above and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
I don't know if it's appropriate or not but they text me and I text back. One great thing about texts is that you are allowed to get right to the point since they kind of expect it in the format.
Not texting in South East Asia means you are out of business. Text messages of any form (WA, SMS, WeChat, Line .. you name it) is considered basic form of communication and responses are expected fairly quickly. Entire contracts are sent back and forth via WA and payment is done in the same fast way.
Which also means: the question is highly context sensitive. What is essential and basic in SE Asia might not be welcome in other countries and cultures.
I would think that with something as important as a contract, you would want some sort of legitimate, legally accepted "paper trail", so to speak, in case you ever found yourself involved in any sort of litigation. As you said, those criteria may vary by country, so I think it would be wise to be familiar with the laws where you're working.
Of course it is. What world do you live in if you think texting is inappropriate to a client in any industry? The way you text should of course be kept professional.
In my experience the higher and more important they are (like CEO of a big Company) the more likely you get texted by them .... and it is horrible. here most people use Whatsapp and it is impossible to find something in a conversation you had 6month ago ... unlike with emails. I'm always begging to email me because of this.
What a load of rubbish!! Yes invoice and send pitches and proposals by email but if text works for your client then it should be working for you. I shoot sports events and i have my clients text me one so that I don't have to stop shooting and be on the phone but also so I can send information as to where to meet and where I am on tack. if you want to be in business you need to be adaptable.
Fax only
This video is so on point. When my clients text me, I scold them and demand they call me.
You should just add a best way to contact to the contract so you know whether to text, call, or email. That way you are always doing what is appropriate for the client.
The level of the project should be reflected in the means of communication. I may anticapate a small portrait client to text me while a Commercial Client would be emails or phone calls for immediate needs.
Generally speaking, it's best to communicate with clients by their favorite method of communication.
But when it gets down to the agreements that could conceivably wind up as court exhibits, it's best to have all that information in a single document for the client to read and indicate agreement.
For me that is most often email these days. I've never collected a fee from anyone who hasn't had an email account.
If it came to it, I'd upload a document to them by text if I had to. But I would never write contract purely through back-and-forth texts, and I'd never do a job without a contract.
Sometimes, I'm not sure if this younger generation even knows how to use a phone!
(Dad voice: Call me. It's that new app on your phone!)
"Appropriate" or not probably isn't the best way for her to have framed the discussion.
But for the way I work, I agree with her and even take it a step farther and manage everything via CRM.
The initial inquiry comes via the CRM, brochures, contracts, invoices, and emails are all sent via the CRM. I just click on a project and everything related to that client is in there.
Of course, I use text messaging for little details where it's the best tool for the job. But for managing the overall communication, I use a CRM.
Text messaging just doesn't work well for me for everything because, by its very nature, it requires an immediate response. If I'm doing something and I can't respond and I get other messages from other people, that message I didn't respond to gets flushed down and I have to make a separate note to get back to the person, etc.
I just don't prefer to work that way. Email is for things that don't require an immediate response and most things don't require an immediate response.
Video is better for SEO. It's business.