Handling General Emails and Phone Calls
About a year ago a friend of mine sent a ‘test’ email to the info@ general email addresses at 15 museums asking for information on group tours. He did this to see the variety of responses he would receive. Six of the museums called him within 24 hours. Five called or emailed within 72 hours. Four never replied at all.
Right now, you may be thinking, “We have processes for handing general emails at my museum.” While you probably do have processes, when was the last time you tested them? The staff has likely changed since the last time you checked these processes, and its quite possible these emails are not being handled as well as you may think. Every time you get an email to your general email accounts, it is an opportunity. You never know which person will go from a general inquiry to long term supporter.
The same is true for general phone calls. These are phone calls in which they don’t ask for a specific person but have more than a general information question. How are these handled in your museum? Are they treated like opportunities? Do some calls get lost in the system?
Take a few minutes and run some tests specifically on how your general incoming emails and phone calls are processed. This is not a small thing. There are museums with multi-million dollar donors that once called to ask a general question.
Article by Frank Bennett, www.WorldClassMuseum.com