I use mainly online methods personally (email, social media, blog subscriptions)

@deairby I use a combination of e-mail, phone calls, and face-to-face interaction to communicate directly with my customers. 

E-mails are quick and can be a productivity booster over the other two but e-mail can get lost, misinterpreted, or misunderstood. It’s much easier to articulate well thought out sentences in an email but that still doesn’t guarantee that your reader will translate these words as intended.

Phone calls, on the other hand, allow for a fluid two-way conversation where both parties can take such things into consideration: inflection, tone, timing, pace, volume, as well as ques to understanding, such as “uh huh” or “mhmm”, or misunderstanding, such as “huh?” etc. With a phone call you can talk with your client (as opposed to to your client through email) and more importantly, listen.

@rich-brooks @altweddingfair Great input, Rich, thanks. I know, Heidi, how do they function?

@deairby

Most certainly email.

IMHO, email is the best CRM/Marketing tool there is.

A phone call would be most ideal but because it’s so time consuming it might not be a viable option depending on how many customers you have.

@deairby 

IMHO = In My Honest Opinion 

My initial contacts are generally face-to-face (networking groups or by appointment) and then by phone. We haven’t started a great deal of internet marketing as of yet.

Once an account has been established, we do periodic emails and touch base by phone on a schedule.

I always ask if there is a preferred method of contact and try to adhere to their wishes as to the frequency of contact.

@deairby

LOL I know what you mean, but yes, quite a few still prefer the phone. Because so many of my clients do keep regular office hours and are corporate type accounts, the phone is a regular means of doing business.

Also, I think it depends on how the initial contact is made. if it is by phone, then follow-up by phone is ok.

I have very few clients that were introduced to our program by email or internet at this point.

I hope to learn enough from you and some of the others here to change that.

If I actually measured it, I would have to say that my primary form of communication is via email.  It’s very easy to ask a quick question on a project without getting tied up on a long phone call.  

With that said… although someone usually initially contacts me via my website or email, I ALWAYS schedule an in-person or phone consultation with them to discuss why they are contacting me and what their needs are.  A 30 minute consult is well worth my time and theirs.

For training sessions, I use Skype a lot, as we can do screen shares and I can walk them through the session.

I’m with @lisaschulteis and it depends on your client. Some prefer talking on the phone and do not like emails; thus, Skype is a nice bridge to help communicate while training them and sharing files in real-time. However, communication is an art form, so be wise to Email Etiquette.

Stay professional at all times even when it seems you are becoming close friends with your client. That is a slippery slope where your client will then start asking for favors and freebies. Once you have slipped into that “friend-zone”, it is very hard to get out of it. If being friends stay professional, then be “friendly” but I mean that in good etiquette. Little off subject, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

@seancookceo-salyrisstudios – You are right… there is a very fine line between “friendly” and “friends” when it comes to clients.  When the client thinks they have crossed into the “friends” category, it can be a very slippery slope.