Every business knows that at the heart of its success, lies its customers. Brands that have been known to be extremely customer-centric are the ones that enjoy high revenues, more sales, and better credibility. Over the past few years, customers have increased their expectations from brands.
Not only do they want brands to help them with the products and services at competitive pricing, but they also expect communications like-
- A way through which they can complaints in an easy fashion
- A business communicating about the best offers and discounts
- Conveying other add-on and special communication like birthday wishes
For brands, text messaging service for business presents both an opportunity and a dilemma. Opportunity because it allows them to establish immediate communication with their customers. Dilemma because no one wants to be bombarded with constant information on text!
In this resource article, we are going to explore how businesses can improve their customer service through text messaging. If you are a business, that is exploring this as a marketing opportunity, this article would be perfect for you.
Business Text Messaging: Meaning and Definition
In very simple words, business text messaging is a form of communication that takes place between brands and consumers through SMS or Short Messaging Service feature.
Just like we communicate with our family, friends, and acquaintances through SMS, business text messaging allows a brand to send information and support messages to its customers. Most businesses work hard to secure the phone numbers of their existing and future customers.
They then use text messaging campaigns to either send personalized messages or bulk ones, depending on the nature of the marketing activity. There are some differences between normal text messaging and business ones.
The activity is carried out on software and automated responses are generated. The software also tracks open rates, and other data that the business deems to be valuable for present and future use. Reminders, notifications, and time deadlines can all be customized on the software.
List of 5 Major Ways Businesses can use Text Messaging for Customer Service
- Response to Customer Requests-
Customers want access to as many ways of getting their points across to brands as possible. Through text messaging, they can inform the brand about any issues, problems, or defects with the product. This is a quick and instantaneous way of getting the brand to respond. You do not have to go on any site or type emails to convey your grief. A simple text message can help.
- Issuing Reminders for Appointments-
Some businesses, like those in the medical niche, want to make sure that their customers do not miss appointments. This is where business text messaging can help inform the customer of keeping their appointments through systematic alerts. With so much going on in our lives, customers can value this proactive approach from brands who want them to not forget.
- Getting Feedback on Brand’s Products and Services-
Getting constructive feedback is one way, brands continue to improve their operations. It helps them find out where they are going wrong. In the last few years, business text messaging is helping brands gather valuable feedback from customers. This not only makes customers feel worthy, but it allows a brand to get inputs that can help it increase revenues and profit margins.
- Communicate Discounts, Offers and More-
Customer service is all about engaging your customers with the intent of making sales. In this regard, brands can do a lot by using messaging to convey information on discounts, offers, loyalty points, and more. For example, a customer might not even be aware of having thousands of loyalty points, which they can redeem to buy something. A text message can help in this.
- Helps Brands provide Personalized and Care and Attention-
You might think that sending individualized birthday wishes and combining the same with a huge discount might not make someone feel special. Well, you need to think again! Text messaging is famous for offering an informal and personalized approach to conversation-making. We use it to chat with our friends and family. This demonstrates care and attention.
Important Things to Note while Choosing Business Text Messaging
In this section, we are going to share with you some important things that you should be mindful of when choosing a business text messaging-
- Firstly, you need to work with a credible partner or service provider that offers business text messaging services. Make sure to select the ones that have experience and offer 24×7 support for your campaigns. Pay attention to the overall costs as well.
- Secondly, brands need to realize that their aim should always be to offer value and convenience to their customers. In other words, they should avoid spamming the inboxes and the customers and destroying their peace of mind.
- Thirdly, attention should be paid to the form, type, and style of communication. Brands should steer clear from being either too formal or too informal. You are making an outreach for a professional cause and cannot afford to be too friendly.
- Fourthly, being reliant on too much automation is never a good thing. Make sure that you have human intervention coming in after the first two or three automated responses. Customers do not like talking to bots as they know complaints will not get addressed.
- Fifthly, training your customer support employees is essential if you want to make the most out of your text messaging campaigns. You cannot simply hire service and blast thousands of messages without ensuring that your employees are trained.
Many customers have pointed out how they are directed to different departments following a text messaging conversation. Make sure to avoid this as it is extremely irritating for customers.
The Bottom Line
By paying attention to the above-mentioned points in the article, you can ensure that business text messaging is able to fulfill all your customer service requirements. It is a process where you will improve gradually and not from the first day itself. If you have any questions on business text messaging, you would like us to address, please let us know in the comments.
Article by Born Realist