For entrepreneurs who haven’t implemented a mobile marketing strategy, there are a number of compelling reasons to do so. In 2021, a startling 72% of e-commerce sales were predicted to occur through mobile devices. Compared to the numbers just five years prior, that is a more than 20% increase.
When it comes to corporate text messaging services, there are more factors to take into account than eCommerce transactions. Over 78% of Americans report looking at their phones within a few minutes of waking up. Even Forbes has created an article with a way to avoid the temptation because it has become such a common habit. A business text messaging service is necessary, though, as it’s reasonable to say that phones have become just another accessory for many of us in the present era.
What do these numbers reveal? They make a clear statement on the state of communications and marketing today. If mobile isn’t a big part of your marketing communication strategy, you’re losing out on a lot of opportunities to increase sales, deliver value to your customers, and foster brand loyalty.
Business Text Messaging: Key Component of Modern Marketing
In today’s day and age, not only is it a big challenge to attract new customers, but it is even more so to retain the interest of existing ones. Search ads and online banners don’t have the same impact they previously had. Companies and their rivals have more options than ever before to reach a wider audience. Businesses now have to actively fight for and sustain attention, which is a flimsy and ephemeral idea. Even while email is still useful, it’s a good idea to add a text messaging service to your company.
Email vs. Text Marketing
How many email addresses do you juggle with? On average, how many emails do you receive on a daily basis? Did you get overwhelmed by the deluge of emails you get? You’re not the only one whose personal and professional inboxes are overflowing with emails from all directions.
Text message open rates are 98% but email open rates are barely 20%. The typical person reads a text within 3 minutes of receiving it, so not only are people opening the majority of them, but they are doing so urgently.
Email marketing used to be the most popular, but right now, texting is the way to go. Compared to emails sent to a random distribution list by a sender who is invisible, text messages are more visible, timely, and personal.
Customers Accept Business Text Messages
You may be concerned that you’ll be a bother if you haven’t started using a text messaging service to communicate with potential and future customers. Being sensitive and not wanting to annoy your audience is admirable, but don’t be afraid. Over 90% of customers would think about subscribing to get SMS from a company, per a recent consumer survey.
The FCC controls business text messaging after learning from the experience of autodialers and cold call receivers. Recipients must grant formal authorization with an explicit opt-in to receive SMS from your organization. This indicates that the person you are texting wants to receive them. The first obstacle has been overcome.
Naturally, you must then ensure that your communications are valuable enough for your recipients to want to keep receiving them. You can keep using a text messaging service for business to efficiently reach your audience by making sure the messages you deliver are worthwhile and resonate with them.
Improve the Customer Experience
Business text messages need to be short and direct due to character constraints. This may initially be difficult for marketers who are accustomed to employing other outreach strategies. In the end, this conciseness ensures that you don’t add more text or information to your messages than what is necessary.
You can utilize a business text messaging service in a variety of ways to improve the way your customers interact with your business.
Send Offers and Promotions
Text messages with deals and promotions are quite popular among people worldwide and are a wonderful way to connect. Offering a discount code that may be used online or in-store, you can distribute blanket offers to a huge distribution list. To let people know that you have a limited-time promotion, you may also promote an impending sale.
You can take things a step further if you’re combining your business text messaging with your CRM. Leverage customer segments to send promos that demonstrate your understanding of the recipient’s preferences based on past purchases or expressions of interest.
A great way to employ business messaging is to assist your existing or potential customers in saving money. Try including a link to a voucher or coupon in a compelling message.
Send Invitations to Events
A business text messaging service is a great way to notify your users in a timely manner. Notify your audience of any upcoming events, such as the debut or withdrawal of a product.
Send a text inviting your subscribers to join in an event, such as a product launch or an online or in-person gathering. Make it simple for them to sign up or RSVP.
Run Contests
Organizing competitions and enter-to-win opportunities is another excellent method to promote brand engagement while offering a reward. This could take several forms, depending on your product or service and brand personality.
You could conduct a campaign in which the recipient responds to your text message to participate. Another option would be to send a link to a form and ask them to complete it so they can be considered. Other strategies include completing a survey to provide feedback or purchasing something to enter a contest.
Solicit Feedback
There is more than one aspect to business text messaging. To make improvements, you may also get in touch with your customers and ask for their opinions on your products or services. Both personal and impersonal feedback is possible. They can respond to your content, click on a form link, or provide their input in another format, such as anonymously.
It’s also possible to solicit testimonials or evaluations from your customers, but you should be tactful when you text them. Avoid coming across as demanding.
Schedule Reminders
Customers can benefit from text messaging, which increases their loyalty and trust in your business. Setting up reminders for key events is especially effective if you integrate your CRM with your text messaging app. For instance, if you use Salesforce as your CRM, you can do this by using a native SMS for Salesforce app. Plan these reminders ahead of time if your product has a limited warranty that may be extended or needs maintenance.
To cut down on meeting no-shows, you can also email reminders for appointments and events. Make it simple for recipients to cancel or reschedule if necessary, in these messages. Either a lot more appointments will be kept, or employees will have more time to perform other things instead of waiting for unscheduled meetings. You’ll probably see both.
Streamline Customer Service
According to a survey, 66% of customers are more positive about a company that allows text messaging than one that doesn’t. It’s no secret that calling businesses these days makes people nervous. Nobody wants to wait for their queries or issues to be resolved when stuck in an automated customer support IVR. You can update your customer support strategy in a few different ways.
To develop an automated response system, consider utilizing a business text messaging service like GirikSMS. Keywords in your automated responses can direct a customer to their answer or to a different stage of the process when they text your help line. You can use two-way conversational texting to resolve their issue and have the conversation immediately transfer to a live person if your system is configured for it.
Give your customers the option to contact you however it is most convenient for them. It’s probably not making phone calls.
Be Where Your Audience Is
Text messaging is undoubtedly the way of the future for customer service and marketing. In today’s day and age, when attention is fickle, you need a solution that helps you to build deeper, more meaningful relationships with your audience. As long as you reach your customers and prospects where they are, which is probably on their mobile devices, communicating with them in a manner that is convenient to them while providing them with useful information is a terrific approach to build relationships.
GirikSMS makes it simple to create, send, and monitor messages for your subscribers. Our 100% native Salesforce SMS platform is purpose-built to provide businesses with a user-friendly, robust, and scalable platform that caters to businesses of all sizes.
