Is the phone call dead?
When I began teaching at Loyola University Chicago in 2018, a student in my Principles of Advertising class asked me, “How do you know when to call a client?”
Some answers immediately came to mind:
- When discussing budget matters, don’t do it over email. Pick up the phone and call.
- When there’s a misunderstanding in an email and the tone seems off, don’t respond hastily via email, pick up the phone and call.
- When it’s a sensitive topic, such as providing feedback, pick up the phone and call.
- When you’ve made a mistake, don’t apologize via email or text. Take responsibility and pick up the phone and call.
- When it’s your client’s birthday, rather than send a text, pick up the phone and call. It makes for a much more personal connection.
I am a big believer that human connection is still crucially valuable when it comes to business communications—for both customer-facing and internal communications.
Things can be misconstrued over email. And via text. So, be the person who makes a phone call.
What stories do you have about the difference a phone call made?
