When was the last time you were late? You’d instinctively pull out your phone and send a text message. Why? Because it was quick, simple, and delivered exactly what you needed. “In five minutes, I’ll be there.”
Text messages have been a part of our lives since their inception in 1992. They’re also serious about business these days.
Text messages appeal to people of all ages, including millennials, introverts, and others. According to a survey, approximately 2200 billion messages were sent in 2020. It’s never too late to start using text messaging in sales if you haven’t already.
In this article, RisePath guides you through the process of using text messages effectively.
Text Messages’ Influence
Your sales staff can use text or short message service (SMS) to warm up leads who are familiar with your company but aren’t ready to speak with you yet. SMS are more personal than emails and are a step up from them. They’re also less obtrusive than making a sales call. You’ll miss out on reaching more prospects and keeping top of mind when their email inbox is clogged if you don’t use SMS. Here’s how to do it:
- 90 percent of SMS messages are opened.
- Within 60 seconds, over 86 percent of text messages are opened.
- You can communicate with folks who don’t have a smartphone or have a limited internet connection using SMS.
Text messages are adaptable; they can be used as a stand-alone campaign or in conjunction with other sales channels.
Conversational selling is a thing of the past.
SMS is an intimate communication channel with high engagement rates thanks to highly tailored and relevant messaging. Two-way texting makes it simple to learn what a prospect wants and adjust the interaction to meet their needs. Only 11 percent of firms send text promos, despite the fact that 54 percent of consumers are open to receiving them. This demonstrates that customers are willing to communicate with businesses via text.
What is the mechanism by which SMS initiates a conversation?
- Instantaneous and conversational—Text messages cut down on wait times and break down barriers between customers and your company.
- Keeping it short and sweet—Text messages are concise and succinct since they are limited to 160 characters.
- Offline—Text messages aren’t reliant on new apps or internet connectivity to function.
- Easily accessible —Consumers love texting because it allows them to respond whenever they want.
- Cost-effective—Bulk messaging is a cost-effective technique to reach out to new prospects because it is tailored and trackable.
There are five ways to use SMS in your sales approach.
Send reminders that are effective.
SMS is an excellent tool for reminding leads and prospects of forthcoming appointments. With the development of digital selling, you may add a video call link in your reminders that prospects can tap to join calls. It’s simple to include the location as a responsive link in your reminder messages for in-person meetings.
Allow for safekeeping.
Transactional and support messages can both be sent by SMS. You can include URLs as well as other vital details such as order numbers, pricing confirmation, and so on. The fact that your customers have instant access to all of this information in one spot makes it straightforward.
Follow up as soon as possible.
Salespeople can utilise SMSs to follow up with prospects after they’ve completed a conversation. It enables salesmen to customise their messages. By sending an SMS, you can ensure that your conversation stays on track. It allows your sales reps to address any pressing issues without having to wait for a call.
Gather feedback from customers.
Customer testimonials boost your company’s credibility. Sending an SMS after a purchase conveys that the customer’s experience is important to you. It provides you with a platform to resolve any issues while also allowing customers to leave feedback.
Send timely updates
Moving prospects to sales should be a big aspect of your sales approach. Sending them exclusive discounts and product updates will pique their interest and bring your product offering to their attention. With customised back-in-stock notifications, SMS can be utilised to recover sales and near-misses.
The best ways to use text messaging for sales
Respecting your prospects and offering appropriate messaging is the golden rule of business communication. SMS follows the same rule.
Here are the etiquettes to remember when it comes to permissions and building high-conversion SMS campaigns:
Ensure that your subscribers have the option to join or leave at any time.
Unsolicited SMS to prospects can harm your company’s reputation and result in severe penalties. This is why getting your prospects to opt in initially is crucial. The type of messaging prospects will receive once they opt-in should be clearly stated in your opt-in message.
Include opt-outs in all of your SMS, just like you would before sending an SMS. This guarantees that you do not waste time contacting those who are no longer interested in your company. This allows you to maintain a healthy subscriber base with low unsubscribe rates.
Use the proper sender ID.
When you send a message to a prospect, they should be able to recognise the sender from their inbox. A sender ID promotes brand remember while simultaneously reducing trust concerns. Messages from your dependable alphanumeric ID are more likely to be opened by your prospects. Your mails are less likely to be tagged as spam if you use a designated sender ID.
Make the message unique.
The addition of dynamic fields to SMS allows you to incorporate user-identifiable tags such as the initial name. You can send SMS based on your prospect’s activity and journey for better engagement. Personalized SMS looks to be more relevant to prospects and is also an excellent technique to establish long-term partnerships.
Make a valuable contribution
It’s critical to provide an immediate value proposition to prospects who consent to receive text messages from you. It’s also a good idea to provide an advantage that they can use. If you want to increase client loyalty, employ SMS to provide an exclusive mobile-based experience. Add a link to a curated product page as a call to action. To reduce churn/unsubscribes, you can also introduce mobile-specific promotion codes to build loyalty.
Include a motivator.
People are drawn to offerings. To execute appealing campaigns and increase sales, include it in your SMS. In the United States, 34 million individuals use coupons. In 2020, 88 percent of customers used mobile coupons, with more than half preferring to receive them on their phones. You can keep your SMS subscribers pleased and encourage them to make a purchase by sending coupon codes via SMS.
Send your SMS at the right time.
When it comes to client satisfaction, timing is crucial! Sending SMS just before a holiday or paycheck boosts sales since people are more willing to spend money at these times. Ensure that your messages reach prospects at least a couple of days ahead of time to encourage them to visit your store. Avoid last-minute alerts for online flash deals. To top it off, send your SMS during times when your consumers are most likely to use their phones, such as lunchtime, commuting time, or the hours before supper.
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