A lot of business buying has switched from response-based to search-based. That is, when businesspeople consider a purchase, their first stop is the Internet for research. Yet, for “considered decisions” involving strategic, high-ticket or intangible products and services, buyers usually augment their e-activities with phone calls. Therefore, phone agents must be professionals. Because the buyer likely knows all the specs, competitive offerings, and often the prices, it's not a simple “Do you want large or small?” anymore.

Then there's e-mail. For most workers, the morning's first activity is to retrieve the overnight messages. Then they exercise their index fingers, deleting the 88 spams and other unwanted stuff. But they'll read e-mail — if it's relevant, timely and focused on them, not the marketer. I recommend using e-mail to stir a response by phone, or to propose a Web site visit and conversation as the next steps.

Contact by phone is slower, but it's a potentially richer experience. Always ask your prospects and customers which media they prefer, and under what circumstances they like to be reached. The wise integration of media, with the contact's OK, yields better results than any single medium does on its own.