My Voicemail isn’t Working – Fabulous!

For the last six weeks, my voicemail hasn’t been working on my mobile. For a sole trader, you would think that would be a disaster. Well, I must tell you I am very happy about it.

Can it be fixed? Yes, easily with one phone call to O2. So why haven’t I spent the 15 minutes doing just that? It’s because I am relishing the tranquillity and discipline.

We have generally become too reliant on our mobiles and speedy communication. A bold statement I realise from a pretty switched-on business person but I realise for me it is all too disruptive. For instance, it is far too easy for someone to quickly leave a voicemail and think they can tick one more piece of communication off their list. All they’ve done is create extra work for me.

A lot of the time I can’t understand much of the voicemail message. There is either noise on the line or around me, the caller has spoken too quickly or rambled or sometimes the message just gets cuts off. It is so frustrating and normally means I then must phone the caller back to figure out the reason for the call and that results in a detailed conversation there and then when it isn’t necessarily the most convenient time. I also sometimes forget to call back if I can’t do it immediately which then results in another phone contact.

Often you will find there was no urgency for the call. Indeed, they can be unwanted sales calls. In my opinion, I believe an email is still the best way to communicate for business. It allows me to clearly understand the reason for the contact and provide a timely, thoughtful response.

I can hear many of your shouting that just shifts the burden to a very full inbox. I get it and, yes, I can easily get frustrated by too many emails too. It isn’t necessary to send a ‘thank you’ after you think you've completed an email communication. Overall though, I am a disciplined person when it comes to my emails and I can prioritise my responses. And I hope it ultimately provides the same to those who have sent them.

I should admit I just made the call to O2 to fix the problem. Seems it is a bit of a complicated issue and will require an engineer but I have been assured that it will be sorted within 5 days. This doesn’t mean I’ve gone back on my desire for a more peaceful voicemail-life. Even fixed, I still have control as to when to turn the message system on or not and believe I will be managing just that! If you want to get my best attention, send me an email please as the first point of contact. I thank you.

Must you be Perfect or is Close Good Enough

So what do you think is more important for business? Speed to market or getting everything exactly right before taking action? I wouldn’t proclaim to have the absolute answer but it is something I run across a lot lately.

I do have an opinion. I think, to coin a very old phrase, the early bird catches the worm.  I have yet to find a perfect website, social media campaign or youtube video but so many still hit the spot and get a response and that’s what counts. If you spend so much time looking for the 100% right words or the perfect photo, you will lose time gaining business.

Being in the digital age means everything is manageable. If you aren’t happy with some of the copy, change it. That’s why God invented the CMS. I often tell my clients that 95% is pretty damn good when it comes to getting their new website ready. The rest can be updated as you go so get it out there. If the odd mistake is noticed, then thank the bearer of the news and make the change (you could say they won the prize for first spot). The fact that someone took the time to look at the website in the first place and notice the error means you’ve won. Another old adage – any publicity is good publicity.

I have also spotted many slip ups in Twitter and Facebook. That could be something as simple as sending out publicly what you thought was a DM or private message to just plain bad spelling (the curse of the predictive text – I have done my fair share of funny posts). Well there again the beauty and speed of social media channels means you get a second slice of the pie. You get the chance to update or do a second mea culpa message. You may get noticed but isn’t that really what you want?

There are a few things I do find hard to excuse such as using lower case ‘i’ when referring to yourself or apostrophes where they don’t belong. I slightly despair at what texting and social media has done to our grammar and spelling especially with younger people. I can understand how it happens but wish more care was taken or at least considered.

Overall, my advice is get out there and get selling yourself and your products or services. Spending a lot of time and money for perfection at the beginning of your journey is a luxury few SMEs can afford. There is plenty of time to update. Your website and marketing should be an ever-evolving thing.