May 28, 2021
Brands in various industries are realizing the significant benefits that incorporating text messaging functionality into their go-to-market strategy can have on improving customer experience and increasing overall ROI on marketing investments. However, despite these benefits and the technologies available, there is still a significant disconnect between how businesses communicate their brand story to customers and how individuals interact with one another. For example, 98% of smartphone owners text on a regular basis, yet as little as only 14 percent of businesses regularly use text messaging to communicate with their customers.
In contrast to email communication, people are more likely to open and respond to a text message from a business. For example, SMS message open rates have been found to be as high as 98 percent. Businesses that leverage SMS could drastically improve the quality and frequency of interactions they have with their customers. Further, with (Multimedia Messaging Service) MMS, users get all the benefits of SMS, plus the ability to send visually rich content such as images, video and audio, which can add even more value and efficiency to interactions.
Most marketers will agree text messaging is a relevant communication channel since people engage in texting every day. Gone are the days when text messages are used for personal purposes alone!
Here are just a few of the many reasons why the use of SMS and MMS technologies will continue to grow and enhance marketers’ ability to deliver winning customer experiences.
Immediate Delivery
Text messages are delivered to phones within seconds of being sent. Businesses may take advantage of this to pass across information that is time-bound or sensitive. There are cases where businesses or customers miss crucial information because they aren’t delivered on time. There is virtually no wait time when it comes to text messages. Text messages do get delivered almost immediately. It even requires little preparation time. That way, customers won’t miss important messages and can act swiftly on the information with immediate effect. Businesses don’t have to worry about the recipients getting the messages late due to poor internet connection or lack of internet subscription. This can easily be achieved by partnering up with a reliable SMS marketing provider like Messente.
Higher Open Rates
Business owners are looking for ways to engage customers more in a mobile communication strategy. The great thing about text messaging services is, it delivers directly to people, making it the highest opening rates among other communication methods. Texting is a communication channel that can’t be ignored easily. Most people would open a text they receive, and even if they don’t read it thoroughly, they will scan through it. This means the primary information you’re trying to pass across will be seen in the process of checking through the message. Business owners could utilize this benefit of text messaging by ensuring their messages are straightforward and relevant to customers to avoid being ignored.
Automatic Reply Settings
Text messages have an automatic reply feature that businesses can configure. Responses are automated which minimizes the hassles, saves time and gives customer a better experience. Text messages have different customized templates used to reply to any inquiry automatically, even when the business owner isn’t available. Customized responses are sent to customers automatically to assure them of your availability, making them feel important and welcome. They can be used to reply to any type of message. This feature responds to similar questions asked by different customers, delivering answers to questions on product information, sales quotes almost instantly. Your customer support services will be more convenient and reliable since replies are readily available. When customers get replies faster, this will improve productivity, business activities and growth.
Larger Audience Reach
Many people have mobile phones and other devices nowadays, so communicating through text messages will widen your customer reach. Using text messages is a creative marketing strategy for businesses to reach a larger audience, convert leads, and engage new customers. The great thing about text messaging is, the recipients don’t need an internet connection to access or reply. As long as a working phone is being used, the recipient will definitely get the message. This helps you reach more people per time and ensures no one misses the information. It also gives businesses a larger audience to target since they are not limited to the internet-savvy ones only. With this kind of hold, a business is guaranteed to achieve more results and engagement.
Mobile Friendly
Text messaging is mobile-friendly, and mobile-friendly channels are more beneficial to businesses than those which aren’t. Besides, people tend to engage more with mobile-friendly businesses and you’ll not want to miss out on this opportunity for your business. Since many customers are already using their mobile devices for business transactions, try and compose your text messages with good etiquette to strengthen customer engagement. Moreover, text messaging is a vital part of making your business mobile-friendly. It can be accessed anytime and anywhere on mobile devices. Technology has made text messages very mobile-friendly to the extent they can now be incorporated into other mobile devices apart from mobile phones such as wristwatches and bracelets. Customers can connect to your messages easily without much hassle or friction.
Automatic Notifications
With text messaging automatic notification features, you don’t have to worry about going through calendars and inboxes to check for important events and appointments. Using automatic messaging features ensures a quick and effective communication system. All you need to do is input those events you want to be notified of in your text messaging system. The automatic notification allows you to schedule appointments, reminders, texts, alerts, broadcast messages, confirmations, offers, discounts, notifications, among other reasons you may need to communicate to customers. Scheduling all these things means they’ll be done efficiently, and you’ll never miss important things. Not just for you but also for your customers to take appropriate actions as deemed fit. Getting things done at the right time leaves a great impression for customers as well.
Inexpensive Communications
Text messaging is a cost-effective way for companies to deliver information to customers. To send a text to a customer doesn’t cost much even when sending it to a lot of customers; it’s still pocket-friendly. The availability of a large number of messaging services allows companies to reach millions of customers without spending a lot of money. Compared with other advertising methods (such as billboards, TV commercials, magazines, radio stations, mobile advertising, and other ways to reach multiple customers), text messages are cheap. You can utilize text messages to reach all new and potential clients without spending much of your financial resources, especially if you are a startup.
The Takeaway
At TopRight, we believe that more business will increasingly contact their target audience with a text message rather than opting for a phone call or email. Text messages have a higher open rate, and most people prefer it due to their increased use of mobile devices and wanting to have brands meet them where they are in their life.
An SMS or MMS enabled experience that is clearly aligned with a brand’s story can transform customer relationships. The marketers and leaders who are innovating and transforming the customer experience understand that user experience goes far beyond digital design. Text messaging technologies are sales enablement tools, generating new opportunities to create customer experiences that engage and delight, and a vital subset of the overall customer journey. In order to create an effective and revenue-generating strategy, you must distill your brand story down to six seconds. Learn how to bring simplicity, clarity, and alignment to your brand’s story, strategy, and systems by reading our best selling book: Marketing, Interrupted.