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🤹 2 Busy 2 Business - 10 ways to up communication in Sept.

In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 179 - 2 Busy 2 Business, we wanted to talk about good communication (or the lack thereof... ahem... Bev).

Corrie led with a personal story where she left her client, Bev, in communication purgatory wondering when or if Corrie had gotten her inquiry. See, Bev was a referral from another client, Ashley, who loved a 4 day waiting period for cookie communication. But unlike Ash, Boss Bev needed a confirmation within 24 hours or not a happy camper she was.

And Bev was totally right in feeling like she got ghosted (too early for Halloween costumes, my twin sister). So thus we audited the 10 avenues we typically get bogged down with when we get too busy - and added some tips on how to sharpen up the communication skills ahead of Santa's sleigh.

(ps - do you know we have a Baking it Down Instagram that stores all these lil graphics for quick reference?)

A lot of this stuff we've covered in past podcasts, but the goal here is to optimize these communication channels for the busy season. 🚿 You know - where we're too busy to even shower let alone check our after-hours auto-responder. 🤗 The better the communication = the happier your clients. 💵 The happier your clients = the deeper their pockets.

👍 Rule of thumb: good communication means more money. It's as simple as that (and much easier said than done, oh do we know).

🤹 1. Autoresponders / Away Messages

• 🔴 Set a response window - setting an expectation of when you'll get back to someone buys you more time. Be liberal here, if you know it'll take you a while to reply, give yourself 48 hours. But ensure you're definitely getting back to them within the time frame or risk a bad review.
• 🟡 Have your booking form in your auto-responder - Your auto-responses can include clickable links to your website or form that way you're spending less time "back and forthing" and more time making money while your website does the labor in the background.

🤹 2. Google Business Profile

• 🔴 Use Maps app to reply to questions / get profile updates - Google Business Profiles are hooked to Google Maps - so having the app on your phone can give you immediate notifications of communications and reviews.
• 🟡 Remove phone numbers if you can't handle phone calls - if you simply don't communicate over phone calls, remove that from your GMB listing. While I'd like to think I'm good at answer the phone, it's just another avenue to potentially miss a lead, detail, or order change. 

🤹 3. Website Forms

• 🔴 Ensure you gather all needed information in your form - audit your form. Are you gathering all the info you need there? Because if you're not, you're adding more back and forth which can be a stumbling block come busy season.

🤹 4. Facebook Messenger

• 🔴 Have in your notes app a readily available copy/paste for quicker response times - most smartphones have built-in notes apps. Use these to paste faster replies. I like to leave [BRACKETS] for info I can quickly replace to make my "copy pasta" seem more personable.

🤹 5. Social Media Comments

• 🔴 Replying to comments as soon as they're posted increases engagement - when someone comments on your posts, reply immediately, and ask questions. This gets people back to your post, replying to your question, and thus increasing engagement.

🤹 6. Reviews

• 🔴 Reply immediately to reviews - this shows you care about past clients and gives future clients a warm fuzzy feeling as well as making you look active on the internet.