Offering more than one way to get in touch costs nothing

5 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Introduction

Businesses usually offer the contact method they prefer to receive. A tradesperson gives a phone number because a call is efficient for them. A software business gives a form because it routes neatly. Each is optimising for their own workflow and quietly eliminating everybody who will not use that channel.

The variation in preference is larger than most people assume. A substantial group will not telephone a stranger under any circumstances, and a different substantial group will not fill in a form and wait. Offering both, plus something in between, costs nothing and captures people who were otherwise going to contact somebody else.

1. Offering more than one way to get in touch captures different preferences

The premise.

Channel preference is a real and strong variable, and it correlates with age, urgency, complexity and how much the person wants to commit. One route serves one group. The people you lose to a missing channel never appear anywhere, which is why the cost is consistently underestimated.

2. Always include a phone number

The non-negotiable for most businesses.

Urgent enquirers call, and a business with no visible number is eliminated by them entirely. It also signals that a real business with real people exists. Hiding it to protect your time is a false economy in almost every trade and service.

3. Always include a form or an email address

The other half.

A large group will not call a stranger, particularly for an initial question, and prefers to write. Removing this option loses them silently. This group has grown steadily and is now a substantial share of most markets.

4. Consider a messaging option

The lower-commitment route.

Messaging feels smaller than a call and faster than a form, and it suits people who want a quick question answered. It is frequently the highest-volume channel where it is offered. It also produces shorter, faster exchanges that are easier to fit around other work.

5. Say what each route is for

The guidance that helps.

"Call for urgent work, message for a quick question, use the form for a quote" directs people sensibly and reduces the mismatch between what arrives and how it is handled. One line beside the contact details is enough.

6. Answer every channel you offer

The obligation that follows.

An unmonitored messaging account or an unanswered number is worse than not offering it. Every advertised route is a promise, and a broken one damages more than its absence would. Audit each route quarterly by using it yourself.

7. Set expectations per channel

The practical detail.

Response times differ legitimately between a call and a form. Saying so manages expectations and prevents the form from being perceived as a black hole. One line beside each route is enough to set them.

8. Record which channel each enquiry came through

The data.

Volume and conversion by channel. This tells you which routes to promote, which to improve, and whether one of them is quietly producing nothing.

9. Do not force a channel switch

The friction to avoid.

Replying to a written enquiry by insisting on a call frequently loses the person who deliberately avoided calling. Answer in the channel they chose, and suggest rather than require a change.

Be careful about messaging channels and record-keeping. Conversations held there are business records, may contain personal data, and are easily lost when they live on one person's personal device — which is worth addressing before the channel becomes important.

Conclusion

Offer several routes, because channel preference varies more than businesses expect.

Include a phone number and a written option as a minimum, add a messaging route for lower-commitment questions, explain what each channel is best for, answer every route you advertise, state realistic response times per channel, record volume and conversion by channel, reply in the channel the buyer chose, and treat messaging conversations as business records.