How To Use an Instant Messenger for Your Business?

From time to time I write about some tools we use here at VR to keep the business running. Today it's going to be about Instant Messaging. We use instant messaging here a LOT since we're on different floors and very spread out. Maybe too much. But it can be a really useful tool and very cost-effective since for the most part it's free. It stops our one-on-one email traffic and if we need to move quickly on something it's easy to do. But to most positives there are negatives to be aware of too. Here are a few that we've run into.

Positives

* It's great if you're in multiple locations and you need a cost effective way to communicate.
* It saves us money on long distance.
* You chat with someone while on a conference call to steer the conversation.
* It's great if you can't leave your desk and need a quick answer to a question.
* It saves you on foot traffic if you've got a long way to walk for a quick discussion.
* Stops the shouting between offices if that is a factor.
* We use live chat to talk to customers real time because many of you can't wait for a call or email back from us. Some of our reps have multiple windows open chatting with you.

Negatives

* For long drawn out conversations, pick up the phone. I've been a victim to this too many times.
* Sometimes tone is misconstrued and conversation can take a turn for the worse.
* Putting a smiley face on the end of a nasty note does not make it ok to say nasty things:-)
* Managing people from afar 100% by AIM doesn't really work. People still need to talk.
* It can be an interruption when receiving them since either a tone is heard or something pops on your screen.
* People tend to be more courageous with what they say vs. talking face to face or on the phone.

How to use an instant messenger in your business:

Be Considerate! - Don't just start typing. A nice "U There? before you start typing is always considerate. It's the proverbial knock at the door.

If you are not paying attention and are talking to someone while someone is instant messaging you simply say "hold". Then get back to them. If you're not going to get back to them for a while let them know so they are not sitting around waiting.

Pick Up The Phone - If you're unsure about how the tone of a conversation is going, pick up the phone or have a face to face conversation.

Use Your Status. I'm terrible at this but getting somewhat better. If you're not available or do not want to take messages, tell people that by saying "unavailable" as your status. With many programs you can go as far as to use a custom status and tell people where you are or when you'll be back.

Your Picture - Remember in many programs your picture will show up to anyone you're chatting with. Make sure it's appropriate.

Be Careful - Don't put crucial information like user names and passwords in IM, it's not secure.

How are you using instant messaging for your business? What do you like and what do you hate?

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