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Call-to-Text: What You Need to Know to Modernize Your Business

Excellent phone service makes the heart grow fonder. 
In recent years, many businesses have begun to offer a variety of convenient ways for customers to communicate with them, and they&#8217;re seeing increased sales and brand loyalty because of it. These options can range from phone calling to messaging through an app to providing unlimited texting which makes it possible for customers to connect with you anytime. 
<a href="https://www.podium.com/guides/ultimate-guide-to-voip/">71% of business communications</a> still happen via phone call, meaning the call experience has a significant impact on your customers’ overall view and experience of your company. While the classic phone call reigns supreme, customers are eager to embrace new ways of communicating that are quick, convenient, and painless. 
Providing the option to move from calling to texting is a cost-effective, easy-to-implement way to wow your customers and get the ball rolling with sales. 
<h2>What is Call to Text? </h2>
Call to text is a form of <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/everything-you-need-to-know-about-call-deflection/">call deflection</a>, which basically offers customers alternative digital channels for contacting your business. 
Being placed on hold for long periods of time can massively increase customer irritation. Almost every popular sitcom has an episode dedicated to the frustrations of being on hold, and for good reason. This is a near-universal experience everyone can relate to and it&#8217;s something most of us expect when we call a customer service line. But what if your company could beat the average expectation?
Call to text provides the option for customers to move phone conversations to text mode. A customer can call one fixed line and be greeted with a series of alternative options for communicating with your team.
Basically, customers contacting your team by phone can choose to message your team directly rather than wait on hold to speak to a customer care team member.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-25679 size-large" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting-1024x597.png" alt="someone texting in a meeting" width="640" height="373" srcset="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting-1024x597.png 1024w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting-300x175.png 300w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting-768x448.png 768w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting-600x350.png 600w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting-360x210.png 360w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting-160x93.png 160w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting-350x204.png 350w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting-100x58.png 100w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting-588x343.png 588w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/someone-texting-in-a-meeting.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />
<h2>How Call to Text Improves the Customer Experience</h2>
Call to text works to put the <a href="https://www.ringcentral.com/us/en/blog/call-deflection-digital-customer-service/">customer in control</a> of their experience with your brand.
Not everyone has the patience to be put on hold for long periods of time, and many people actually prefer text communication over more traditional options like email or phone. Text conversations tend to be more immediate and straight to the point and have the added convenience of being conducted right from a smart phone. Plus, text conversations don&#8217;t require a large block of time or a quiet room; they can happen while your customers are on the go. 
This comes down to empathy and truly understanding your customer needs. Do you know the typical lifestyle of your target audience? Do you understand which times of day are busiest for them? Do you know how they prefer to communicate and what’s likely to make it really easy for them to purchase from you? Gathering data on potential customers can help you to anticipate their needs and eliminate as many pain points as possible.
Customers can become frustrated if they’re required to wait for a long period of time just to ask a simple question. They have busy days too, and providing quick responses to their queries or concerns eliminates friction points that might block a sale or customer retention.
Some customers may have limited minutes on their cellular plan, meaning their phone bill could be impacted by wait times when they make a call. Being able to text from an iPhone or a text app can lower customer anxiety about having an increased phone bill.
Offering a text option also comes with the added benefit of being able to include more information than what could be included in a voice conversation. Team members can send picture messages of a product, or upsell by sharing key highlights of a new service as a final sign off to the conversation. 
By placing the customer in control of their experience, your company also offers them a greater sense of dignity in a relatively vulnerable scenario. Oftentimes, customers can be made to feel that they are a burden, inconvenience, or just another number. By providing options that they can control, they become a co-driver of their overall experience.
And the best part? Happier customers and quicker messaging makes it easier to <a href="https://www.podium.com/reviews/">gather feedback</a> on customer satisfaction over text.

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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-25680 size-large" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text-1024x597.png" alt="woman who chose call to text" width="640" height="373" srcset="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text-1024x597.png 1024w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text-300x175.png 300w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text-768x448.png 768w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text-600x350.png 600w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text-360x210.png 360w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text-160x93.png 160w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text-350x204.png 350w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text-100x58.png 100w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text-588x343.png 588w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-who-chose-call-to-text.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />
<h2>How Call to Text Lightens the Load for Your Team </h2>
So call to text is great for customers, but what about for your team? Call to text has benefits for all involved parties. Here are a few ways it can lighten the load for your team members.
<h3>Call to Text Saves You Time</h3>
While some issues or questions do require an actual conversation, having the option to move to text messaging can clear many waiting phone calls out of the queue.
For quick questions about a product, opening hours, and more, communicating over text allows your team to allocate more bandwidth for more complex queries via voice. Calls that might require 45 seconds to 2 minutes could be resolved in 30 seconds or less via text. 
<h3>Call to Text Makes it Easy to Access Customer Data While You Talk</h3>
It can be a challenge keeping up with all of the moving points in a phone conversation. Communicating via text can make it easier for your team members to access a customer’s account, past data, and look through all relevant information before proposing a solution. 
Customers don’t want to have to repeat themselves. Having text conversations means all <a href="https://www.sms-magic.com/blog/5-benefits-of-using-text-messaging-for-contact-centers/">previous messages</a> can be saved for team members to read through. This will free up team members to meet a customer’s needs more immediately, helping the customer to feel understood and cared for.
<h3>Call to Text Creates Some Healthy Distance</h3>
If a customer is upset, text can also help to mitigate some of the stress a team member may feel when trying to solve an urgent issue. Creating some emotional distance improves the experience for both customer and team member.
<h3>Call to Text Eliminates Distractions</h3>
Text conversations also eliminate the issue of background noise when delivering phone service. Team members can better focus on helping the customer if they aren’t distracted by a conversation happening at a nearby desk or struggling to hear the customer through static or poor cell service on the other end. 
<h3>Call to Text Allows for Multitasking</h3>
Another bonus of offering call to text is freeing up your team to better <a href="https://www.heymarket.com/blog/5-advantages-of-texting-over-calling/">multitask</a>. When 5-7 customers are waiting to be addressed, team members may prefer to be able to communicate with multiple people at once. This also cuts down on wait times for customers.
<h3>Call to Text Boosts Employee Moral</h3>
Teams that are able to work quickly and effectively tend to have higher morale. When your team isn’t drowning in calls, they are more likely to feel less like robots and <a href="https://www.forrester.com/blogs/customer-service-in-2022-the-times-they-are-a-changin/">more like humans</a> again. This upgrade in mindset will help your team to feel more competent and excited about delivering an exceptional customer experience. 
<h3>Call to Text Saves You Money</h3>
This all comes with the added benefit of saving operating costs. You&#8217;re likely to find that fielding less calls means a major phone bill cut. Plus, more efficient communication often means increased sales, boosting your budget overall.
<h2>Improve the Customer Experience with Podium Phones </h2>
There are so many ways to connect with customers these days, and providing more options means delivering a more seamless customer experience overall. <a href="https://www.podium.com/phones/">Podium Phones</a> helps businesses make every call count, generate more leads, and stay connected with customers.
When your customers place a call, their expectations can be exceeded through more direct communication options and shorter wait times. Better communication means greater customer satisfaction.

Call-to-Text: What You Need to Know to Modernize Your Business

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