I’ve never been a fan of voice mail systems or recorded menu options when I call a business. I like talking to someone. So for better or worse humans answer the phone at Back40. I’ll admit that many times that person is an intern, but when the phones heat up, there’s a good chance you’ll be greeted by a designer, project manager, web developer – or me. And I like answering the phone, because I like talking to our clients.
Its about service & relationship. I enjoy catching up with a longtime client. And I enjoy being of service when the conversation rolls around to what we can do for them. How can we solve their problem? What can we do to make their life easier? How can we increase their bottom line? It’s a business relationship.
When Craig Bodine calls from AGRIP (http://www.agrip.org) and I answer the phone, he always refers to me as the big cheese. I like that title. I think. We usually talk about our kids, the church he’s growing and about his company website.
When Kim Steen from Shawnee Medical Center Clinic (http://www.smcclinic.com) calls, we may start off talking about her website, and then we talk about my granddaughter, her husband’s business – and then back to the website.
I’ve known both Kim Steen and Craig Bodine for over 10 years.
Sometimes clients call and they just need to talk to the project manager or a have a quick question about our content management system, Javelin. They don’t always have time to talk about how big their kids are getting. I can handle that, its give and take. We’re in a long-term relationship. Maybe next time we’ll share “experience, strength and hope” for an hour.
I used to answer the phone at Back40 Design because I was the only one to answer the phone. I was Back40 Design. But after 11 years of growth, now other folks at the office share in answering the phone – and I remind them that these are more than our loyal customers. These are relationships. What could possibly be more important than that?
Contact us about your project….Well, scratch that. CALL ME about your project. I will answer. I will listen. I will provide you with results. Let’s get started on a long-term client relationship today.