Ways in contacting suppliers effectively!

fudjj

Now I know it can be frustrating trying to contact suppliers via email because the annoying fact is that many, if not most, simply do not consider email inquires as a priority. Even worse than that, many inquiries some how end up in the trash and never get a respose at all.

Now in a perfect world, email inquiries would get the same attention as a walk in or phone inquiry does, but as we all know, the world is far from perfect!

By all means, if you would prefer to use email as your first line of attack, then you have nothing to lose. However, we would recommend using phone contact if you want a speedy and guaranteed response. Now of course not everyone wants to make International calls due to the cost, but Skype is a great alterantive to using your phone.

You can get very cheap pay as you go plans through Skype, somethiong like 2.5 cents USD per minute or they also offer pay up front plans that offer sensational value for those wanting to maintain that phone contact, especially when there is a problem you need resolved quickly. In fact at the moment they have a free trail for 1 month, so you can check that out on the following link.

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So what do you need to make a Skype call?

Well you need to instal Skype, that's easy enough and of course it's free to download. Secondly, you'll need a set of headphones with a mic and that's it. All very straight forward, simple and mega cheap and you'll never have issues with suppliers not responding to an inquiry ever again.

Just bare in mind time differences, make your calls during office hours in the country you are calling and when making the call, remember you need to entre the international dial code, the the country code and then the area code, followed by the number istelf.

phillip_s_95123

Just want to know some dropship suppliers let you see their catalog and you do Not have to contact them ,but others make sure that you contact them before you can see their catalog. Can someone just start dropshipping products from a supplier's catalog without asking the supplier?

fudjj

Hi Phillip and welcome to the forum,

You could of course just start marketing products from the catalogue, but not a smart move. Without an account with the supplier, you won't be able to process any orders with them, So you would be stuck having sold an item and then no way to actually purchase and have it sent to your customer.

So quite possible, but most definitely not recommended because that's a road that leads to nowhere!

crunchie

I have found the problem with email inquiries is follow up and follow through. When someone contacts us via phone or in person we know they are serious. Email inquiries, even with a response, often go unanswered by the initiator!

fudjj

I think you've hit the nail on the head as to why many suppliers don't respond to email inquiries quickly, if even at all in many cases. I can see the point you are making in regards to the time wasting aspect from a suppliers point of view, but it's extremely frustrating from the inquirers perspective and I think very short-sighted by the supplier.

I personally view emails as just another contact avenue, same as phone or anything else. If a business isn't going to treat email inquiries with the same level of customer service as they do phone inquiries or any other form of inquiry, then they shouldn't offer it as a contact solution in the first place in my opinion because not treating those inquiries as bona fide only serves to create a negative customer impression and ultimately, a bad customer service reputation.

I would say that is the number one complaint I see from members, no response to email inquiry. That always makes me scratch my head and wonder why any business would run their customer service like that, it might save some time, but it ultimately leads to fuelling negative feedback about their level of service.

It just makes no sense to me whatsoever and I often wonder what sort of accumulated damage to that business that lack of service incurs over time with the way people tend to vent online these days.

I think suppliers that do ignore email inquiries need to clarify in their own mind as to what their end goal is. Do they really want their phones tied up all day taking calls that lead to no sales at all because surely, there can only be two outcomes by employing this type of ignore email policy that appears to be rampant among many suppliers these days?

1, they force inquiries onto the phone and then tie up their phones with waste of time calls or 2, they get slammed online for their lack of customer service. I just don't see any positive that can possibly come from that whatsoever.

I've been involved in a business where we had a 3% conversion rate. Yes, that's 97% of inquiries were complete time wasters, but that was the nature of that business and we just had to accept that. We treated every inquiry with the exact same level of service, phone or email, made no difference.

We knew that the vast majority of emails were a waste of time in conversion terms, but customer engagement builds relationships that can then bear fruit later down the road. That's a lesson I think many suppliers in this game could learn in providing a higher level of customer service and treat email inquires with the respect that the customer deserves.

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