Tools for Asynchronous Communication

I had a recent conversation with a friend about my preferred methods of communication. The conversation inspired some added reflection and the desire to share my thoughts. I don’t have a very segregated life between personal and business matters, so I try to leverage the same mediums or techniques in both areas.

Traditional Channels

For many people today, the traditional modes of communication are email, call and text. My advice to anyone in a professional setting, especially in sales or account management, is to “communicate through your clients’ preferred medium.” If your clients like to text, then text. If they want to have a live conversation, don’t ignore the call and send a text in response.

I’ve heard people say, “I’ve emailed that person three times, and they haven’t gotten back to me.” Then I ask, “Have you texted them?” Texting is far more mainstream and is quickly becoming the replacement to email. Email has become a place to receive information rather than to communicate. I have found that less than 50 percent of people respond to emails on personal matters, i.e. school, sports, church, etc. so texting may be a more successful medium.

I also have found it very effective to leave long, detailed voicemails to convey urgency, topic, decisions that need to be made, etc. When I receive a voicemail with a message such as “Hey, just checking in,” I feel it isn’t very urgent. I also hate sales voicemails that say something like “I have a very important matter that needs your attention today.” Unless it’s my bank telling me that someone has run off with my credit card and is on a shopping spree, most sales calls aren’t urgent, and I prefer that sales reps identify who they are and give some context to the nature of their calls.

New Channels

My new preferred channels of communication are Voxer, Slack and voice text. In my conversation with my friend, he asked, “Aren’t Voxer and Slack the same thing?” The applications certainly have similarities, but they also have several differences. In lieu of a full product overview, I will share why I use each channel.

Voxer

Voxer is currently my preferred medium because it is asynchronous and can be done with audio. I am too young to have used Nextel Walkie-Talkies, but Voxer seems to have some similarities, as I can send a voice message through my phone.

Since I’m out and about so much, I love the ability to send a single voice message to one or several individuals with updates and requests. Instead of coordinating a meeting or conference call, I can send a 1-10 minutes monologue with updates and what each team member needs to do.

For those receiving those messages while sitting at their desks, they can text back or send a voice message. I prefer to speak instead of type for speed, greater description and intonation. I have found Voxer extremely beneficial with friends, family and vendors. In my opinion, it’s as effective as a phone call—just asynchronous.

I have been given some feedback that my use of Voxer reflects on how busy my life is and perhaps I should slow down a bit. My response to that? Yes, I probably should, but in an effort to maximize efficiency, Voxer is my current preference.

Slack

Slack is the platform we use at Menlo Group for the majority of our internal communication. We aren’t quite there yet, but Slack has almost replaced internal email. We have a variety of Slack channels we use for specific projects, clients, topics, etc. I have talked to a few folks that are using Slack externally with clients, and I really like that idea, but we haven’t approached that quite yet.

Slack integrates with many apps we use at Menlo Group, thus automating many of our processes. For example, I receive Slacks when a new opportunity is created, when money is deposited into my account or when a deal is closed. The closed deal channel is my favorite feature because the entire team is notified when someone closes a sale or gets a lease signed and then we celebrate and congratulate those involved.

Voice Text

I have been an Apple user for over 10 years, so my exposure to the Android platform is very limited. With Apple’s iMessage, I can send audio text messages that are similar to Voxer. Since Voxer has become a critical tool for me over the past couple years, I have begun using voice text in a similar manner.

I communicate with several clients and vendors that will text me and say, “Please call me.” Then I will call them, and they will be unavailable, responding instead with texts such as “Can I call you later?” or “Sorry I can’t talk right now.” These instances illustrate the need and benefit of voice text. Instead of the original “please call me” text, they could have sent a voice text, articulating the situation, urgency and what I can do to help. When we connect on a call, I'll have already found the answer or obtained the information.

We live in a fast-paced world that requires more efficient and effective solutions. Since I am always in pursuit of a better way, I would love to hear of other mediums or tools people are using to communicate with friends, family and work teams.