Business texting is the future of customer communication? Let’s face it: email and phone communication with customers can be slow, expensive, and they don’t always engage. Potential sales are being lost every day due to lack of proper communication.It’s essential to create a conversation with your users and to fully engage with as many potential customers as possible. Considering that  89% of users want to use text messages  to interact with a business and that over 95% of the world’s population has a mobile subscription, it seems clear that business texting is an essential part of B2C communication. While the concept is relatively new, it’s not going unnoticed: 82% of marketers plan to increase their spending on business texting in the coming year. So, what do you think?

Here's 21 use cases for business texting along with templates for you to copy.

It might be time to shift focus. Business texting offers the fastest and most cost-effective way to reach the broadest number of potential consumers, but it has even more to offer. It can also be a dynamite strategy for increasing employee satisfaction and can be used to improve cohesion on projects. Whether you’re sending out a coupon code for an upcoming sale, working to build a subsection of your consumer database, or sending an emergency notification to your office team, SMS is an efficient, engaging, and cost-effective way for you and your business to broaden marketing reach, aid in support systems, and potentially increase sales.

Business Texting for Sales

At the bottom line, really, it all comes down to sales. How can text message increase conversions and lead to more orders, and make you more money? Well, for starters: it’s fast.

The fact is, between 35% and 50%  of sales go to the business that follows up with a customer first. People aren’t always able (or willing) to answer phone calls or respond to emails, but texting has a 99% open rate that’s inclined to put you in touch with your clients. Here are some real-world ways that you can use text messaging to increase sales!

1. Nurturing Your Customers with Helpful and Interesting Texts

Use Case Description: Keep your customers engaged and build real conversations over text.

Benefits:

‍Messages about your products and services can go a long way in making your brand seem approachable and knowledgeable. 91% of users who opted in to receive texts from brand found these messages useful, and these simple texts can lead you to more, lasting customer relationships.

Example Text Message:

2. Increase the Quality and Quantity of User Reviews

Use Case Description:

Text messages are a great way to get more product reviews.‍

Benefits:

‍Brands with over 10 online reviews get 50% more conversions than brands without reviews. Since SMS has a 36% click-through rate (as compared to under 25% for emails), send out a survey text after a customer interacts with your brand to maximize your ratings.

Example Text Message:

3. Using Business Texting Allows to Create a Sense of Urgency.

Use Case Description:

Sending “available-only” texts can increase the opportunity for customer engagement.

Benefits:

‍Since the response rates from SMS are 209% higher than phone calls, a text message can be used to quickly engage with a customer and call them to action. Keep the message brief but urgent!

Example Text Message:

4. Text Brevity Reduces Turnaround Time When a Customer Has to Fill out Lengthy Forms.

Use Case Description:

‍Use texts to make it easier for your customers to interact with your sales team.

Benefits:

Texting can be a great way for customers to gain direct access to your business and services. Sending an automatic confirmation message (placed through SMS or one of your other marketing channels) can improve customer satisfaction.

Example Text Message:

Sales Texting Best Practices

It’s essential to time these sales texts correctly. You have to connect with your customers before you begin a sales conversation, or your text will seem like spam.Send texts to:

• Answer questions
• Confirm meetings
• Offer a helpful resource

Don’t send texts to:

• Discuss unanswered emails
• Talk about unrelated products
• “Check-in”

Keep your texting engaging, concise, and sent during regular business hours. Ask their permission before sending offers and information. Tools like Salesmsg’s opt-out feature make sure you comply with regulations. Lastly, ensure that each text has a clear, understandable purpose.

Use Business Texting for Marketing Campaigns

Adding text messaging to your overall marketing strategy is a cost-effective way for you to increase your range. It can be used to bolster your other campaigns and is a great place to test new marketing ideas.SMS is the perfect place to send out coupon codes and discounts. As well, it can be a useful channel for alerting your customers about upcoming events and sales. The scope is so broad (7 billion subscribers) that it’s impossible to ignore.Here are some useful ways to incorporate SMS into your marketing strategy!

5. Qualify Leads with Two-way Texting.

Use Case Description: Send new product announcements, sales events. and opt-ins directly to customers via text message.Benefits: Texting your leads to move them from one stage of your sales funnel to the next is highly effective. With high open rates, why wouldn't you text your leads?! Business texting will help you turn your basic leads into sales qualified leads, which will drastically boost your bottom line.Example Text Message :

6. When People Act on Promotions, You Can Build a Customer Database for Bulk Messaging.

Use Case Description:

Use text responses to gather useful customer information.

Benefits:

This opt-in response to a promotion can be used to build a network of subscribers, who gain from the discount while you benefit from their information.

Example Text Message :

7. Create Niche Groups Based on Sales History and Target Ads to Different Groups.

Use Case Description:

Use previous interactions to target ads directly to different customer groups.

Benefits:

‍Your subscriber database can use a customer’s sales history and interests to generate personalized text messages that can answer questions or offer information as well create sales. This can increase customer satisfaction and make the most of targeted ads.

Example Text Message:

8. Create Drip Campaigns for Visibility

Use Case Description:

‍Send automated text message campaigns to remind customers of your business.

Benefits:

Text message drip campaigns are affordable and can keep you present in the mind of your customers. Sending out product information, and reminders about sales is a great way to stay current and to keep your customers updated.

Example Text Message:

9. Gain Brand Loyalty

Use Case Description:

‍Allow your users to join SMS loyalty programs for increased customer satisfaction.

Benefits:

Over 50% of consumers say they would be happy to sign onto an SMS loyalty program, according to a study by 3Cinteractive. Considering that 90% of users who have joined an SMS marketing campaign feel that they’ve benefited from it, it’s strange that only 21% of brands are reaching out.

‍Example Text Message:

10. Simply Put, Text Messaging Allows Access to a Larger Market: It’s Time to use the Extended Reach!

Communicate through text to reach the largest possible population.‍

Benefits:

‍here are roughly 7 billion mobile subscribers worldwide. That’s 95.5% of the planet. When compared to the 2.5 billion who have email accounts, why not tap into the larger marketplace? Keep your messages brief and pointed.

11. Increase Engagement: Business text messages get opened almost 100% of the time, and are read immediately.

Text messages have the largest open rate of any channel, so your messages will get read.

Benefits:

‍Since SMS are opened a staggering 98% of the time, as compared to email’s meager 20% open rate, and 82% of people open every single message they receive, it would be an error to ignore this market.

12. Drive Real-time Lead Engagement from Facebook Lead Ads to SMS

Use Case Description:

You can now run more sophisticated campaigns where SMS is folded in, augmenting your traditional email-based approach to nurture and convert new leads.

Benefits:

‍About 20% of your customer base will contribute to 80% of your sales, you have to keep your core group interested in your brand. Since 89% of customers already want to be able to communicate with a brand through text, try sending this group articles they might be interested in, or updated product information to increase the interactive feel of your brand.

Example text Message:

13. Build new marketing campaigns quickly and easily over text.

Benefits: Text message campaigns can be sent faster, with fewer employees, than a full-scale mass email. Let your business focus on other areas as this process becomes more automatic.

14. Marketing through business texting has an incredible ROI, and campaigns can be tested with little initial funding.

Test your new marketing campaign over text messaging to save money.

Benefits:

Use the click-through rate and open-rate of text messaging to get the most of your newest campaign. Seattle Sun Tan launched their salon text messaging campaign, and in just the first 30 days generated almost $200,000 in new revenue! Using just a few lines and one or two employees, you can test out new strategies in a cost-effective manner.

15. Business texting can be integrated into your overall marketing strategy with ease.

Advertise your opt-in text messaging on social media accounts and in the footer of your emails to increase reach and engagement.

Benefits:

‍Since 60% of website views come from a mobile device, you can seamlessly add SMS to email campaigns, and vice versa. Since texting is the  most popular form of communication for Americans under 50, sending out text links to your website and/or social media presence should generate more traffic.

Marketing Business Texting Best Practices

• Keep your marketing campaigns ‘opt-in’ so as not to spam potential customers
• Send 2-4 per month and be very clear about when and why you’re texting
• Ensure that your marketing texts add value to a customer’s experience
• Always allow your customers to ‘opt-out’ of your marketing texts

Let Salesmsg help you get the most out of your text message marketing by ensuring the proper frequency, language, and CTAs that will keep your customers happy and engaged.You can also combine SMS marketing with other marketing channels like email marketing to reach your customers.

Provide Customer Support With Business Texting

So SMS can increase sales, and can be used to increase the reach of marketing campaigns, but what about customer satisfaction and employee retention? Text messages are an invaluable tool for communication, not just with your customers, but with your employees.The immediate back-and-forth, combined with the low cost, makes SMS the perfect way to handle support issues with clients abroad, and with your team in the office.

16. Send the Perfect Automated Reminders.

Use Case Description:

Use texts to send out useful reminders.Benefits: Salesmsg’s scheduling feature can help reduce no-shows by up to 50%. When sending out automated text message reminders, be sure to add your company name, the time of the appointment, and the location/phone number.

Example Text Message:

17. Alerts and Notifications are Shown to Increase Customer Satisfaction.

Use Case Description:

‍Send out text alerts and notifications to inform and update your customers.

Benefits:

‍Sending out information about a customer’s order or shipping details through text is an easy way to seem thoughtful and helpful. Consider how Amazon sends shipping updates or your flight company texts about delays. These instant messages can make a world of difference in customer satisfaction.

Example Text Message:

18. MMS Speeds Up Issue Resolution

Use Case Description:

‍Use texts to quickly get to the bottom of a customer’s issue.

Benefits:

‍Texting is much faster than emailing and it makes a customer feel that they’re being listened to and that they’re not waiting in line for a call-center answer. Twillio’s recent study shows that, ideally, a text message is the preferred customers want to interact with a brand (33%), so leverage this to maximize customer service.

Example Text Message:

19. Not Just for Customers: Business Texting Works Perfectly for Inter-office Communication. It’s Fast and will be Opened.

Use Case Description:

‍Increase Increase employee engagement and quality communication by texting.

Benefits:

Almost everyone in the world texts, so instead of sending a long list of back-and-forth emails, communicate with your team through text. Inter-office communication can be improved by adopting a text messaging system for updates, events, and information.

Example Text Message:

20. Employee Retention Can be Improved by Adding Emergency Notifications and Sharing Seasonal Greetings/Birthday Wishes.

Use Case Description:

Improve workplace satisfaction by engaging with employees over text.

Benefits:

‍Where office emails can sometimes come across as boring, arduous, and impersonal, text messages can be seen as a more intimate and useful form of communication. Seasonal greeting texts and emergency notifications can have a positive effect on employee retention. Onboarding and training can be eased with SMS, as you can send helpful reminders and due dates to new hires.

Example Text Message:

21. SMS Allows for Employee Collaboration Which Will Streamline Work Efforts

Use a texting app to make collaboration easy and fast.

Benefits: Instant text updates from a prospect or customer can be a useful way to let your coworkers know where they are in the sales process. Collaboration applications are useful medium to get points across quickly, and the conversation and open-rates can make teamwork flow better.

Bonus: Self-service Support is Efficient and Cost-effective

Use text messaging automation to enhance the self-service capabilities of your company.

Benefits:

Encourage your customers to send texts about the issues they are experiencing, or the information that they need. You could also send a tutorial video over SMS to ensure that your points are getting across if there is a need for clarity.

Customer Support Texting Best Practices

By offering automated replies to support questions, and notifying support personnel of new requests, you can increase customer satisfaction and response time in a cost-effective manner.

• Let your customers know (on your website and through email) that you’re available to be texted
• Help customers interact with your brand on their terms
• Reminders and tips for your audience can go a long way

Use Salesmsg to help to set up quality communication as well as to create and maintain the necessary support system for your customer service.

Make The Most Of SMS

Business text messaging is an invaluable business tool that is only now starting to be fully understood. In a study by Zogby Analytics, 87% of millennials say that their cellphone never leaves their side.80% look at their phone as the first act of the day, and over half access a business’ mobile site at least once a day. The fact is that in a world of tablets and laptops, people in the US send 69% more messaging through phones than through any other device.

And these consumers want to text your business.This is a golden opportunity to access the largest potential market in the world. The speed with which you can follow up on leads, and the ability to use that speed to close more deals is something you shouldn’t ignore.As more customer service options gear toward full automation, using text messages to solve technical difficulties, answer questions, and keep your customers engaged is by far the easiest and fastest way to keep this flow of useful communication going. Support your own team with internal texting for better collaboration and in-house communication.