A Little Courtesy is All I Ask

Email, text messages, social media, blogs and chats - all are relatively new ways for businesses to advertise and communicate with customers, potential customers and colleagues. In the old days, there were strict rules about communication. Letters required a certain format and employees were trained in phone etiquette. With the newer forms of communications, however, we seem to have forgotten how to treat people. Instead, we often appear cold and unresponsive. Not a good thing, either in business or personal life.

Why is Courtesy Important?

Depersonalization is a huge obstacle when it comes to doing business online. Many potential customers comparison shop on the web, but run to their local store, to that familiar face, when it comes time to buy. Shopping carts are abandoned for a number of reasons, but one of those reasons is that people do not feel special when shopping online. They want do deal with someone who knows their name. They want to deal with someone who treats them with respect. Obviously, it is more difficult to do that online, but there are ways to improve the courtesy factor. Here's how:

1. Answer emails and answer them promptly. Whether it is a customer, potential customer, employee or colleague, answer those emails, preferably within one business day.

2. Personalize the experience. In emails, return phone calls, on Facebook or wherever, use the person's name if you have it. If you don't have it, get it.

3. Do not blow people off. Don't say, "I'll get back to you on Tuesday" and then forget about them.

4. Answer back immediately, even if you don't know the answer yet. If someone sends you an email or communicates with you in some way, let them know you heard them. Email or call them back. Let them know that you are working on getting the information they need. There is nothing worse than sending an email and getting absolutely no response.

5. Be polite and respectful. Every day business requires that we deal with all kinds of people from every age group. Some may be older. Others may be from a different culture. Treating everyone with respect and common courtesy is not only good business sense, it's the right thing to do.