The texting wave is coming and businesses will be receiving text messages. The earliest adopters will be businesses that are progressive and efficient. The efficiency of text messages is not just something that benefits the customer of a business, it has huge communication and efficiency benefits for businesses.
These benefits comes from the nature of text messages, SMS, also known as a short message service.
Texting is extremely efficient…
A text is better than a phone call.
A phone call requires you to be ready exactly when your customer calls you. This is not always possible even with a dedicated receptionist.
Picture a receptionist in a dental clinic – a client walks in for their appointment and at the same time, the phone starts ringing. The receptionist asks the person in front of them to wait while they answer the phone and they ask the caller to ‘hold please’.
You’ve probably been both the walk-in and the caller on the phone – everyone is on hold!
Now picture the same situation, but instead of a call, the receptionist hears a ding on their computer letting them know a text has come in. The receptionist gets the walk-in customer settled for their appointment and then replies to the text.
Nobody is on hold. Nobody is stressed out.
You can reply to a text when you’re ready.
Voicemails are inefficient and painful
It’s not just a busy receptionist that can’t answer the phone.
Think about all the businesses that can be hard to reach – real estate agents, contractors, a busy restaurant, or a grocery store. When phones are not answered, the result is someone is on hold, or a lost customer, or maybe a voicemail.
How often do you check voicemails a day? Checking voicemails is slow and painful, that’s why you don’t check voicemail that often.
When you do get voicemails, you often reply with a call and you’re not always going to reach your customer because they have a hard time picking up their phone too. More voicemail!
Replying to texts is fast and easy
How often do you check text messages a day? How fast and easy is to to respond to your text messages?
It’s just as fast and easy for a business replying to texts they receive. A business can reply to their text messages from an online dashboard or they can reply to them from their mobile phone, all much faster easier than voicemail.
A business receiving text messages reduces painful voicemail.
Texts let you respond faster… which means you close more business
According to statistics given by the National Association of Realtors, more than 90% of the people who hire a realtor do so by choosing the first person to return their call!
The speed of responding to customers is not just important in real estate, it’s important to every business, particularly small businesses.
When customers don’t get a reply, they go back to Google and continue searching.
In fact, your business was probably not the first one they even tried to reach.
When you respond to a customer first, you form that early connection with them and you can cut off their need to keep searching for an alternative.
The early bird also gets the worm in business!
You might be thinking that email is still a way for customers to reach me. But when you send a business an email, how fast do you hear back from them? Emails are also slow and not nearly as fast as texting can be.
Customers Can Text When They Don’t Want to Talk…or Can’t Talk
Many people just don’t want to talk on the phone anymore and this is even more true for millennials.
When your customers don’t want to talk to anyone, they can still text your business to get what they need done.
And sometimes your customers can’t talk. They might be in a busy office environment, or in public where they don’t want people to hear their call, or it’s too loud, or not convenient to talk – but they can still text!
Texting is a quiet efficient channel of communication when your customers don’t want to talk or can’t talk.
Texting is direct, to the point
With texting, no formality or pleasantries are needed. If fact, the nature of texting encourages people to be efficient and get to the point. All of the following are perfectly acceptable.
This is Martha B., I’d like a copy of my last bill sent to me?
I need a reservation for 2 people on Sunday at 1pm?
I’d like to find out the status of my order. My order number is: #245395783
In fact, the above directness is good for your business too. No wasted time, just get to the point.
Texting is not just good for customers, it’s good for business too.
Running a Business is Hard, Give Your Business a Competitive Advantage
Running any business is hard. You have lots to take care of and your customers are just a Google search away from your competitor around the corner… and you probably have lots of competitors. So what differentiates you from them?
You might be saying:
‘We have great service and we take care of our customers!’
It’s great you take care of your customers, but your competitors probably do to.
Think about 3 things that your customers most often call you about.
Would it be easier for them if they could do that by text?
Wouldn’t it be easier for you if they could do that by text?
If you were a customer of your own business, would you want to be able to to send your business a text?
Now that is taking care of your customers!
By opening up a new communication channel that is faster, more efficient, and preferred by many customers, you’re giving yourself a significant competitive advantage.
How does texting a business work with Biz Text?
