It’s no surprise why consumers prefer texting with businesses as opposed to phone calls and emails. They aren’t blatant sales messages like emails, they don’t clog up voicemails like phone calls, and they mimic the conversational tone of personal communication. While there are a ton of benefits for consumers, it can be hard for businesses to understand how to strategize and implement a winning direct-to-consumer text strategy.
It can be tempting at first to treat texting like any other consumer engagement channel and fall back on industry-heavy buzzwords, corporate speak, or short, impersonal phrases. But texting has taken corporate communication and blurred the lines with personal engagement. Consumers are actually looking for personal, engaging messages from businesses via text. Building the perfect business texting strategy is all about delivering this personal engagement while adding to the consumer experience and making your customers’ lives that much easier in the process.
Here are a few best practices to keep in mind while building the perfect direct-to-consumer texting strategy:
Know what your customers want and deliver.
It’s a well-known fact that consumers prefer engaging with businesses via text, but every single audience is different. As a business owner, you know what kind of messages your consumers are looking for. If you own a dealership, maybe you use texts to alert consumers about a flash sale on their preferred model or to let them know their vehicle is ready to be picked up. If you manage a nail salon, maybe you text customers after they come in to remind them to leave an online review. It’s all about knowing what your customers expect, understanding what they feel comfortable with, and then delivering the right message at the right time.
Make sure your employees know when to send texts.
Speaking of the right time, there is a right and wrong time to send a text from your business line to your customers. If you’re going to ask for an online review, don’t wait weeks to send the text. If you’re asking for direct feedback on an order, send your message as soon as possible. Building this ‘calendar’ of messages is a critical part of your overarching business texting strategy, as is making sure that your employees are well-versed in how to execute your plan. One of the best things about business texting is that employees can have ongoing, two-way conversations with customers via text. This also requires a level of professionalism and clear boundaries, so nothing slips through the cracks.
Always have a clear purpose end goal.
Some consumers might be hesitant to opt-in to text messages from businesses because they don’t want to receive spam messages. This is a valid worry and one that your team should be diligent about ensuring doesn’t happen. When texting customers, make sure there is a clear reason for reaching out. You don’t want to randomly text customers with no goal or else you will just be confirming their fears in the first place. This is why a detailed plan is so important.
Take business texting to the next level with Kenect
Texting your customers doesn’t have to be hard. Instead, it can be as simple as a few quick clicks with Kenect. Schedule your personal demo today!