According to an article I read today in Realtor Magazine Online, more consumers prefer to be contacted by email rather than by telephone. The survey was conducted by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® , but nearly half of the real estate practitioners polled by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® communicate via telephone. 

Personally, I prefer to communicate with my clients by email. I feel I can be quick and to the point and it is just more efficient for me. However, it does not and should not replace actual verbal communication. Because emails can be interpreted wrong if you are not careful, a follow up phone chat may keep relations stronger. A post in WorkShak focuses on a study by two scholars, Michael Morris and Jeff Lowenstein, pertaining to the dangers of email and other computer based interactions. They have identified some common problems with email communication;

• Lack of facial expressions and tone of voice can lead to misinterpretation
• Lack of personal rapport makes for more fragile relationships
• The prospect of instantaneous communication creates an urgency that pressures e-mailers to instantaneous respond before carefully planning their reply.

In my business, I tend to write the email, re-write the email, then read it aloud before sending to be certain that the words that I choose are not going to be  misinterpreted.  Because you should know, if there is a possibility of misinterpretation in an email, it will be misinterpreted. A good rule of thumb is, if the communication is more than a few sentences,
include voice or a personal visit when communicating with clients or
colleagues for utmost report.

How do you prefer to be contacted??? Is email too impersonal for you??? Weigh in today!