I’m far from perfect in my business methods, but one thing I’ve tried to do is maintain timely communication. Nothing is more frustrating to me than sending an e-mail or leaving a voice mail and not hearing anything for several days, and I don’t want to cause that frustration for someone else.
There’s a few reasons I can think of that someone would intentionally delay replying to a message:
Don’t have all the information at hand
Maybe you’re waiting on a little piece of information before replying even though you have most of what the other person needs, or maybe you’re not exactly sure what the solution to a problem that’s being experienced is. Either way, sending a quick message of acknowledgement will calm nerves and let the other person know you’re on it.
Avoidance
You knew this message would come and you know they won’t like your reply. They’re order is delayed, or something has been lost and can’t be replaced in a timely manner. Regardless, delaying a reply to avoid the situation can only make things worse.
Exerting Control
Not replying right away, or at all, could be a way of showing that you have more power than the other person. Replying could show that even though you have limited time you still reliably engage with employees and clients - improving your image and making sure you’re in the loop.
Procrastination
You read or hear a message and know you need to reply to it. You probably even think of what the reply will be. But you don’t send the message. By procrastinating, you waste a ton of time re-thinking about the situation or worse never getting it off your mind when you’re trying to focus on other more important tasks. If it takes less than two minutes, why not just reply to it now?
I think clients really do appreciate fast replies, even if the communication isn’t 100% perfect. You’ll be known as someone they can go to when they have a question that needs answering, have a problem that needs to be solved, or need an opinion about a potential new and exciting project (that you can then be chosen to work on!).
Or maybe there’s an even better way to show clients you care?