Although 54% of consumers say they want businesses to communicate with them by SMS messaging, only 39% of businesses do. That’s a sizeable shortfall between customer expectation and business reality, and it’s a huge opportunity that businesses are missing out on.
In fairness, it’s no surprise. Business text messages can be harder than they need to be. You want to be to-the-point but not curt, friendly but not cloying, informative but not overbearing.
Keeping all those things in balance can be hard, so it’s to be expected that so many businesses simply don’t try at all. But for businesses that dive into the world of SMS marketing, the potential rewards are huge.
Let’s take a look at how to write effective and rewarding business texts.
Pick a Style and Stick With It
Step one is figuring out how you want your business to present itself. Your quirky, cutesy coffee shop might choose a texting style that’s warm, friendly, and even throws in the odd joke or two. On the other hand, customers might not want emojis from their local pharmacy; in which case you’re better off keeping things strictly professional.
Establishing a style is a big reason so many businesses opt for SMS marketing over text-to-voice. It doesn’t matter how likable the text you wrote is, a robot voice is only going to suck all the character out of it. Read more here on A2P messaging vs. text-to-voice
Your texting identity is your brand identity. Think about how you want customers to perceive your business and stick to it. By picking a particular character of text message marketing and maintaining it, your customers will begin to see your business as an actual character in their lives.
More importantly, a character they actually look forward to hearing from.
It’s All About Timing
No one has ever been pleased by their phone pinging at 4 AM. That’s why your business needs to pick a time of day for SMS messaging when customers will be most amenable to getting messages.
That means a part of the day when your customers can actually take the time to read your SMS message. Usually, right before or after work is a good time to pick for business text messages. Customers aren’t distracted by their jobs and won’t be angry at being kept awake.
Because the absolute worst thing that could happen is your texts becoming a source of annoyance for your clients.
The Best Business Text Messages Keep It Simple
Ultimately, an effective business text messages system is one that stays consistent. Consistency of timing, character, and content can ensure your customers not only read your SMS marketing, but enjoy it.
Establishing your business as a welcome and well-liked presence in the lives of your clients is, for obvious reasons, an incredible way to keep them coming back.
So make sure you follow the above rules to keep that tell-tale SMS ‘ping’ a source of joy in your customers’ lives.
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