According to research, more than 50% of consumers believe businesses need to fundamentally transform how they engage with customers. However, many brands believe the traditional methods of email, phone calls, and in-person visits are sufficient.

As a consumer yourself, you know that today’s modern customer wants more. 90% of consumers prefer to interact with a brand via text message. Why? We expect each text message to be personal—and personalized communication is what your customers crave from your brand.

Text messages make staying connected with your customers easier at every point in the customer journey. Read on to learn how.

What is text message marketing?

Text marketing is the practice of using text messages to convert leads and keep customers engaged. As a rule of thumb, text marketing messages are usually around 160 characters or less and require prior permission from your customers to send.

These text messages may include several multimedia elements such as pictures, videos, GIFs, and links, and senders must abide by their country’s rules and regulations as well as those of the recipient. Often, local businesses will use an SMS marketing service to help them send messages to their customers at the right times.

Seven Advantages of Texting for Businesses

It’s no secret that implementing text has major advantages for small businesses. But what exactly are those advantages? Let’s break down this modern form of communication into seven characteristics.

1. Immediate delivery.

As you know, text messages are delivered immediately–no delays, no need for internet connection. That means your customers can see your communications even faster, increasing impact.

2. Low-cost.

How much does it cost to send a text? With the right software, practically nothing. Texts are not only easy to send, but also cost-effective–making them a wise choice for your business in terms of pricing.

3. Relevance.

Text keeps your business relevant. Did you know that 65.6% of consumers think texting makes working with a local business more convenient? And 40.5% of consumers say they are likely to switch to a different business if they offer text messaging to communicate.

4. Higher open-rates.

Text messages have an open rate of up to 98%. On average, 95% of messages are opened within 3 minutes.

5. Higher response rates.

Text also has a 209% higher response rate than phone, email, or Facebook. It also gets your customers to respond to you faster. The average response time for a text is only 90 seconds.

6. Personalization.

With the right CRM, you can personalize your messages to the max addressing customers by name, sending on birthdays or special occasions, taking into account customers’ personal history with you, and beefing it all up with emojis, pics, gifs, videos, links, and conversational language.

7. Convenience.

Texting is the method your customers use to communicate. In fact, consumers are actually about twice as likely to prefer texting to any other communication method.

Texting vs. Other Options

Want to see how text compares to the other guys? Another way to visualize the benefits of texting is to compare it with other well-used methods. Let’s start with email and calling.

Texting vs. Email

These days, many emails are marked as spam.
Your customers are overwhelmed with emails.
Email has an average hard bounce rate of 0.04%.

Advantages of Texting for Customer Satisfaction

Taken from Mailchimp, unless indicated. (Learn about Podium’s integration with Mailchimp here.)

95% of text messages are seen in 3 min–or less.
Text has an open rate of up to 98%.

Texting vs. Calling

People often don’t answer the phone–especially when they see a number they don’t know.
Voicemails tend to get left behind.
People aren’t as receptive to traditional marketing methods as they used to be.
7 in 10 customers aren’t comfortable reading their credit card numbers over the phone to pay.
Mass text can offer an interactive, engaging experience via coupons, links, gifs, images, and videos.
SMS text messages can offer as much personalization as calling–and more.
Text is a fast, secure, personalized way to send and collect invoices and payments.

Of course, these aren’t mutually exclusive channels. For example, while they have different strengths, text, and email can work powerfully together as a combined marketing channel for your business. Everyone has a mobile phone or cell phone, and using text and calling together might help you reach demographics you haven’t been able to yet.

If you’re fairly dependent on email or calling for your marketing campaigns or communications, add texting campaigns into the mix and see what it can do to strengthen your efforts or help you reach and captivate a new customer sector. Pro Tip: Don’t limit yourself to just phone numbers via SMS or MMS–try messaging via social media (like Facebook Messenger) and other messaging apps (like Whatsapp) to expand your reach.

The Power of Text Throughout the Customer Journey

the power of text throughout the customer journey

Your customer journey is paved with critical touchpoints. From discovery to purchase decision to referral, the opportunities to connect, convert, and create a relationship with your customers are frequent and incredibly important.

In addition to allowing you to stay connected at every customer touch point, business text messaging allows local businesses to take their customer experience to the next level.

Allow us to explain how.

10 Ways to Use Texting to Level Up Your Customer Journey

We think you’re ready to get the most out of texting messaging software for your business. Read on to understand the benefits of text messaging and how it can revolutionize almost every touchpoint in your customer journey as a cost-effective communication channel.

1. Allow prospects to text you directly from search.

Add a textable number to your Google Business Profile so it shows up directly in your consumers’ search results. By doing this, you make it easier for prospects to reach you (and for you to connect with them). Don’t have a textable number? You might consider converting your existing landline.

2. Convert live chats into text conversations.

50% of all mobile website visitors expect your website to offer a live web chat option. But when the conversation is cut short when the prospect needs to step away from their computer, the convenience of a web chat falls flat. Convert your web conversations into two-way text threads via a feature such as Webchat. It’s a better way to communicate and a great way to follow up with more details for prospects on the go.

3. Pitch personalized product offers.

pitch personalized product offers via text marketing

75% of consumers want to receive offers and upsells relevant to them directly on their mobile device (once they opt-in). If you can customize these offers further with their name and context about their history with your business, you’ve got an even more personalized way to delight your prospect.

4. Close the deal (and collect payment).

Nearly 1/3 of your customers prefer a mobile payment option, yet only 26% of businesses use text messages to collect payments. Meet your customers where they want to be met (with minimal barriers and incredible convenience)—in their text message inbox.

5. Set appointments via text.

Use text messaging to create a personalized approach to appointment setting. You can offer multiple options, confirm time slots in real-time, trigger notifications, and send appointment reminders.

6. Confirm delivery in real-time.

Confirm delivery in real-time via text message

Your product will be delivered by a real human, so let that real human interact via text the moment the delivery takes place. Getting a text from the delivery driver (instead of an update from a computer) offers a personal touch that can set your business apart from the competition.

7. Gather feedback.

Offering messaging throughout your customers’ journey and making sure they’re communicating with an actual human gives you the power to ask for—and respond to—feedback. If you’re utilizing text messaging correctly, customers will be more likely to tell you what’s not going well, what’s working, and whether anything needs to change because they’ll already be used to communicating with your team this way.

8. Offer personalized promotions for return visits.

Earn repeat business with personalized promotions that promote return visits. Sending a customized text reminder that it’s time to get an oil change or schedule pest control humanizes the offer and helps strengthen customer relationships.

9. Generate more reviews.

Reviews are critical for future prospects. Nearly 88% of consumers read reviews to better understand whether they want to work with or buy from a brand. Make sure your ask for a review isn’t static, likely to be lost in an inbox, or pushed aside as unimportant. Make the review invite personal by texting your customer directly. After all, 45% of consumers will complete the desired action in a text they receive.

10. Ask for referrals.

Just like asking for feedback or reviews, asking for referrals is most effective when done via one-on-one communication. This is a great opportunity to thank your customers for their business and offer them something in return. Instead of detailing your program in an invoice or follow-up email, transition your ask to a text message.

Your Next SMS and Text Marketing Solution

Yes, SMS messaging successfully means balancing a lot of moving parts. Local businesses have to effectively route conversations to representatives on the ground, customer service teams, and reception or service areas. They have to configure automation, send responses, and keep up individual threads—all while making sure no messages slip through the cracks. For multi-location businesses, teams also have to map conversations to the right locations for responses.

All of this can be quite challenging for any team to take on—especially if they’re having to juggle multiple platforms to do it. That’s why SMS messaging successfully starts with choosing the right text messaging service for your business. But as you know, there are a million and one text message marketing platforms out there. How do you decide?

Podium’s SMS marketing solution has helped over 150,000 local businesses strengthen their customer relationships and reach their marketing goals. With world-class routing, templates, personalization, and organization (everything comes into one inbox!) Podium helps you do what you do, better–all without breaking a sweat. Get started for free here.