Ask Marsha: With all this electronic communication and social media, which means is best to stay in touch with clients?

With all of the ways to communicate, relationship building is not an either — or game. Many times, it is a combination. I have always believed that the face-to-face and personal touch is the absolute best way to build relationships, and that has not changed in my view. However, with our reach stretching across the country and throughout the world, that face-to-face interaction becomes much more challenging. Telephone conversations are second, because two people have an actual exchange and discussion. You can hear the other person’s reaction and respond accordingly.

All this does not eliminate the power of social media for staying in touch with people. With the 24/7 harried world we live in, sometimes a quick touch is better than nothing. Many people avoid phone calls because they fear they will get hung up too long. It is up to the individual to determine which is the best medium to use. Frankly, I enjoy seeing LinkedIn status updates about the people in my network, and I occasionally respond to them. The same goes for Facebook. Actually these Social Mediums have replaced the group list joke e-mails that just about everyone hates receiving.

Bottom line, it really depends on how much you need to stay in touch with your clients and prospects, how they prefer to receive communication, and the amount of time you have to put into it. The rules are changing, and no one really knows what they are…

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