Have you ever gotten upset that someone did not respond to your email? Did you ever think that maybe they did not receive it? Today we assume with so many people being available on laptops and blackberries, emails are delivered without a problem. Not true! Emails go down and spam filters can block your message, emails may even be blacklisted, and many times you may not even know that it happened. If technology were not enough of a hindrance,we also have that pesky problem of time. The average business person receives a variety of items in their inbox; client correspondence, co-worker questions, enewsletters, support notices, and let's not forget personal emails and jokes. Over the weekend, across a holiday, or while on vacation many people's inboxes fill-up and if they don't respond, a follow-up may be needed. If most people receive between 40-100 emails a day, it is entirely possible something will get missed.

I sent 2 emails to a client confirming a meeting time and assumed it was received until she called the office to say she never heard from me. I checked my sent messages folder - they went out. Yesterday I did not realize another client had sent me a message about the project we are working on; it had gone into my junk folder. I check my junk mail folder every 2 days, but her email was important and she thought I was too busy to connect. That kind of miscommunication can cause a breakdown in a business relationship.

Emails are a tool for communicating, but we can not assume everything is received in the recipient's inbox. Ask people to confirm receipt if you don't hear back. Don't take it too personally; follow up with a call and ask if the message was received. Your message may have been blocked and the person you're trying to reach may be wondering why they have not heard from you either.

Has this happened to you? Tell us your story.

Labels: client coomunication, email followup