How to Use Text Messaging to Reach Customers

Businesses are always seeking innovative ways to communicate efficiently and effectively with customers in order to maintain good customer service and to increase sales. While postal mailing, phoning, and most recently emailing have been utilized as methods of communication from businesses to its customers, a new communication star is emerging, known commonly as “text messaging” and also known as short message system (“SMS”).

Text messaging has typically been utilized peer to peer (consumer to consumer), however now businesses are starting to adopt it as a way to communicate information that is time sensitive and relevant to a customer’s specific interests. The advantage of text marketing is that the message arrives instantaneously on the receiving party’s cell phone, thus it is able to broadcast up-to-the minute information that is delivered in real time yet is not disruptive or obtrusive to the receiver since the message can be read and/or responded to at the receiver’s convenience and does not require audible dialogue.

Broadly, it’s all about the “psychology” of text messages. They reach people wherever they are, at any time of day or night. That gives it a sense of an intimate communication—“the message is right here in my pocket”—which can be further enhanced with a targeted campaign that appeals directly to the consumer. And, due to its very nature, text messaging is viewed with a sense of urgency to which email can’t compare. Mobile phones are with most people almost 24 hours a day and thus the ability to deliver the message directly to the receiver is done with great confidence that the message will be received instantaneously.

Consider these statistics:

• 18-29 year old consumers use text messaging more often than voice to communicate.
• On average 94% of text messages are read.
• 80% of consumers keep their mobile with them all day.
• When given a choice 39% of US consumers — 76 million people — prefer text messages to radio or TV advertising.

Consumers are numb to the huge amount of advertising that is presented in front of them each day.  So much advertising has conditioned consumers to ignore almost every advertisement.  The organizations that suffer the most is the small, and medium size because they do not have millions of dollars to spend on marketing like the large corporate sector.  Until now this has been an almost impossible challenge to overcome.

Finally, the advantage has turned in favor of small business owners due to text messaging(sms) technology.  Small businesses can keep their personable image/niche with texting communications to their customers mobile phones to compliment the close relationship small businesses have with their customers.

Companies small or large can integrate text (SMS) into their marketing strategies. All they need is the creativity to leverage the texting communications channel.

Here are some examples of how different kinds of businesses use texting strategically:

Advertising. Advertising agencies, businesses, and marketers use Texting to build opt-in databases to send promotions and announcements to subscriber’s cell phones.

Education. Schools use Texting to send alerts to parents about important reminders, truancy, or emergencies. Communicate with your entire student body in a matter of minutes.  Or do surveys in the classroom to make it more interactive.

Real Estate. Texting gives house hunters instant access to property listings, and easily communicates with them to setup an appointment or request more information.  Related, you can send text messages to tenants the 1st of every month to remind them of rent being due.

Retail. Online retailers and mail order houses use Texting to notify customers about their order status and when their merchandise is shipped.

Services. Doctors, dentists, salons, and other service companies use Texting to send appointment reminders and confirmations.