Check your spam folder!

Normally, you'd see photos of flowerish stuff here, but I thought I would do something a little different today. So if you'll indulge me for just a moment..... :-) 

It's a well known fact that many of us use the internet as a primary means of communication these days. Yeah, we still use the phone, but how many of us use our phones more for email/internet/apps than we do for actually making calls? And like you, I've experienced times where I send an email, to receive nary a reply! 

Yep, it's frustrating. When planning a wedding (or other large event), chances are good that you've reached out to quite a few different companies via the internet. This could be through a contact form on a company website (like ours), or through emailing them directly. But if you haven't heard back from them, I promise you, most of the time these people are not  -- I repeat NOT -- ignoring you!  

As a quick side note, my first step when receiving an internet inquiry is to respond the same way - via an email, through the internet. If I don't see a response in a reasonable amount of time, a second email and a phone call are the next steps. Past that, I'll assume you've moved on or are no longer interested. Hard sell is not part of my vocabulary.

Solving this problem could be as simple as checking your email spam folder. While there may be other issues at play, this is by far the easiest to be aware of. Chances are, those companies have already responded to your message but it went straight to your email's spam folder, where it will probably be automatically deleted after so many days. Or, maybe they're having internet/email problems themselves. 

Regardless, as beneficial and necessary as they now are, spam filters now seem to be a hiccup for small businesses. In my own experience, Yahoo! is notorious for this. I have no way of tracking the other email providers, but they are definitely a repeat offender. And there's really no way to know unless I call and specifically direct the person to check their spam folder, or resend the email while I have them on the phone.

If this is indeed happening, I believe the easiest fix is to simply add the sender's email address to your address book. There are also ways to "whitelist" the good email addresses, but I won't go into that. (I know just enough to get myself in trouble!) Here's an article that helps back this up:

Why Does My Email Go to Everyone's Spam Folder? | eHow.com

So, the moral of the story - don't give up! We, the small businesses of the world, are listening and responding back to you. Just keep trying. And remember to check those spam folders! I would love to hear feedback on this issue, please feel free to share your experiences and suggestions.

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net