Perhaps Steinmetz has put her finger on the key-timeliness. What is more important to clients: that they hear our actual voice or that they get a response from us, in one form or another, as quickly as possible? And if the latter is more important, is the phone or e-mail a better method for a quick response?

Maybe the answers to these questions lie in the survey form Jon Ford of Financial Planning Solutions Inc. in Cedar Falls, Iowa, recently sent to all of his clients. With an 88%response rate, Ford learned:

93% of his clients feel they "always" get timely responses to their questions and concerns, while 7% feel they get a timely response "most of the time";

The same percentages of clients feel they have "frequent enough" contact with Ford;

Ford's clients' preferred methods of contact were (respondents could have more than one answer so the totals below exceed 100%):

Telephone 43%

Face-to-face 43%

E-mail 36%

Written 29%

Asked if they would like to receive information via email, 71% answered yes, and 29% answered no;