Blogs in Motion: E-Commerce and Electronic Communication

Welcome back to the Trailer Blocks Blog!

It's time for a new entry in our Blogs in Motion series and while we do have a few different topics we want to cover, there's one in particular that's been standing out as of late. As you may already know, Trailer Blocks operates exclusively as an e-commerce business, a practice that has its upsides and its pitfalls, but one that suits our methods quite well. As a result, the bulk of our correspondence with our customers occurs via email and form submissions to ensure accuracy and efficiency in processing inquiries and orders. We also use social media channels to keep everyone up-to-date regarding our general operations. However, a trend has begun to form. A handful of people seem to asking us the same question:

"Why don't you guys have a phone number?"

It's a legitimate question as many businesses tend to communicate with their client base extensively via phone calls and voicemails as opposed to emails and social media. We thought we'd answer that question by first briefly outlining why Trailer Blocks uses e-commerce for our enterprise.

Online operations grant businesses a global platform for their goods and services that would've been unimaginable only a few years ago. More importantly, e-commerce allows businesses to essentially eliminate the traditional "9-to-5" method of running a business. Digital stores allow you to browse, compare and buy products at any time of day or night, from your desktop at home to your mobile devices on the go. Quite simply, e-commerce allows both customer and vendor to take care of their business at their own convenience in a direct, informative manner.

You are likely already familiar with e-commerce in some respect. Whether you're a small business owner yourself or if you've used sites like eBay or Kijijij, the digital realm of business is becoming more and more familiar to the general public with every passing day. Many online stores do indeed have a phone line or chat support, so why don't we? When it comes to specialized products like ours, the written word is far more effective than the spoken one at communicating the technical details that a customer requires. The products we offer here at Trailer Blocks have a very specific purpose and we've found that clients that reach out to us for more information tend to fall into one of two categories: one, those who know exactly what they need and simply want to confirm some details and two, those that are unsure of what they need and require a bit of assistance. In both scenarios, we've found that email correspondence and form submissions provide mutual benefit for us and our customers. A written trail of data is far easier to track down and analyze than a phone call or voice message that may get lost or miscommunicated along the way.

Additionally, with the advent of instant communication, digital correspondence allows our staff members to be knowledgeable about all our active orders and inquiries at all times, as opposed to only knowing about a critical issue Monday morning from checking the voice messages. In some cases, it takes the effort of the entire Trailer Blocks team to help a client, something that is almost impossible without transparent, written communication. We understand that the lack of a phone number may throw off some prospective clients, but "e-communication" at Trailer Blocks is critical to ensuring we are delivering accurate customer service.

We hope you've enjoyed this insight into our preferred method of communication and we'd like to hear from you about it. Please feel free to contact us anytime with your questions or feedback at: contact@trailerblocks.com and follow us on Twitter for the latest news and updates.

We have some exciting events in the works and more Blogs in Motion to come, so keep an eye on us here and we'll have more for you in the days to come.