There are plenty of reasons modern consumers prefer texting with brands over receiving emails and/or phone calls. From the easy-to-manage messages to the more personalized tone that comes naturally via text, consumers are actively looking for brands to communicate with them over texts. What’s tricky, however, is letting potential or prospective consumers know that your brand actively uses text messages as a communication channel before they’re a customer.
Targeting potential or new customers is key because, due to federal regulations, customers must opt-in to receiving text messages in order for your team to actually send them a message. Even if you have a mobile phone number on file, there must be explicit opt-in from customers. One of the biggest challenges for many brands is marketing their texting capabilities to both new consumers and current customers who haven’t opted-in for SMS messages. Here are a few ways to raise awareness, let potential customers know about your texting capabilities, and drive current customers to opt-in:
Promote texting on all marketing materials. Your business most likely has business cards, onsite posters and flyers, and other promotional materials that you use to engage with customers. Instead of just highlighting your company’s website or phone number on these materials, include a blurb that says ‘now available by text’ to spread the word.
Include a ‘text us now’ link on your contact page. Another way to promote your texting abilities is by calling out texting as a communication channel on your website’s contact page. Many prospective customers check out your contact page before they buy to either find your store location or to call in to ask a question. Current customers call in with issues or questions about orders or service times. Giving them another option – texting – only makes it easier for consumers to reach you and get in touch.
Ask your customers to opt-in when making a purchase. Getting customers to opt-in to text messages is a huge part of a successful SMS strategy. Many of today’s businesses already ask customers for their email addresses or phone numbers to find their account in the system. Asking a customer if he or she would like to opt-in to text message notifications while they’re checking out is the perfect time to add them to your list. Just make sure you have a ready answer in mind when they ask what kind of messages you’ll be sending. In fact, it’s a good idea to ensure all of your team members have an approved answer to this question so there is no confusion on either side.
Want to learn more? Kenect is the leading B2C text message management platform that makes it easy to connect with customers where they want and when they want. Texting can help increase engagement, personalized conversations, online reviews, and purchase decisions. You can learn more about setting up your team’s text message strategy by texting the Kenect team or connecting with us on the web widget.