Textual content messaging is all over the place lately, and enterprise texting platform Textual content Request just lately launched its 2024 State of Enterprise Texting Report (disclaimer: I work for Textual content Request and was a part of this examine).

The report covers how companies are utilizing SMS at this time, what will probably be trending in 2024 and what challenges and alternatives that presents.

These are the highest three SMS developments it’s good to leap on to reach 2024:

1. Change telephone calls with textual content messages

Some conversations have to occur over the telephone, in individual or by way of one other channel. Nevertheless, the report discovered that the majority of these conversations and updates might be texts.

• 70% of customers say texting is the quickest approach to attain them

• 87% wish to schedule appointments and get notifications by way of SMS

• 66% of staff save 1-5 hours per week by texting

When requested how this performs out in day-to-day work, respondents famous that they’re able to attain prospects and staff sooner and extra reliably by texting. They now not needed to make a number of telephone calls to attach, and contacts now not missed necessary updates as a result of they did not test their e mail.

This 12 months, search for alternatives to exchange telephone calls with textual content messages. Nice choices embrace buyer updates, appointment or service scheduling, worker check-ins, gross sales follow-ups, and any time you can ship one mass textual content as a substitute of individually calling each contact.

You must also take into account creating SMS templates for generally used messages and updates. This helps you save time whereas additionally maintaining communications constant throughout staff. Make these adjustments, and it’s possible you’ll simply find yourself within the 10% of respondents who save 10+ hours per week by changing telephone calls with textual content messages.

Associated: 5 Methods to Use Texting to Develop Your Gross sales and Advertising

2. Textual content to ask for Google opinions

They do not should be on Google, however you want on-line opinions on the third-party platforms the place your potential prospects are trying to find you. For many, that is Google. For others, it might be Fb, Angi, G2 or another platform.

These opinions are necessary as a result of they’re from actual prospects publicly sharing their experiences with you and speaking about how nice you’re to work with. The extra opinions you get, the extra you may be trusted by potential consumers and — particularly with Google opinions — the increased you may rank in search outcomes. That offers you much more alternatives to win new prospects.

At present, solely 21% of companies are texting for on-line opinions, however a further 35% of companies want they have been. Now could be the right time to begin, as a result of it is an efficient tactic that buyers are acquainted with however is not overly used but.

To implement this, ship a textual content to every buyer after you have accomplished service or delivered your product. Thank them for working with you, and ask them to depart you a evaluation. You’ll want to embrace the hyperlink to your evaluation web page. Then reply to any suggestions you get.

3. Route customer support by way of SMS

Reasonably than texting for advertising and promotions, most companies surveyed are literally texting for on a regular basis conversations with prospects and staff. The truth is, 75% of organizations say they textual content for customer support, making it the commonest use case. This underscores three necessary developments:

• Shoppers discover it extra handy to textual content for customer support questions, assist and updates

• Companies have a tendency to search out texting for customer support extra environment friendly than different channels

• Texting for customer support is more and more an expectation that buyers have when working with companies

Companies are discovering success by texting for customer support, and customers more and more count on it, so you need to take into account giving prospects the choice to textual content you for customer support. Chances are you’ll even wish to be proactive and textual content prospects first for check-ins and to see how they’re having fun with your services and products.

Associated: Your Prospects Wish to Textual content You — Why Textual content Messaging is the New Buyer Service Channel Prospects Love The Most

What you need to do with this data

There is no assure that textual content messaging all by itself will result in decrease bills, streamlined operations or increased income. You should stroll by way of a number of steps internally to see success:

1. Decide what you may textual content for

Are you changing telephone calls and voicemail? Are you including in an additional touchpoint? Are you texting for scheduling, gross sales, promotions, hiring, customer support or another use case? There is no have to overthink this, however you do have to resolve what you may be texting for and what you count on to see from that motion.

2. Allow contacts to decide in

You should comply with SMS guidelines and rules to remain compliant and guarantee your messages will probably be delivered. The easiest way to try this is to allow contacts to decide into receiving messages from you, slightly than you cold-texting them. A couple of good choices are:

• Add a telephone quantity area to your contact varieties — plus a disclaimer that by providing you with their telephone quantity, you’re allowed to textual content them

• Create a key phrase, like “INFO,” that they will textual content to your quantity to decide into messages

• Verbally ask prospects in the event that they want to obtain SMS messages, and observe their response of their contact information

Do that constantly, and you will probably see increasingly folks opting into texts.

3. Set inside processes and expectations

You wish to be certain staff are following a constant course of and texting with prospects in a means you deem skilled and efficient. You realize your corporation higher than anybody, so it is as much as you to set the processes and expectations that can greatest match your corporation, staff and prospects. Simply be certain everybody’s on the identical web page, and you have to be good to go. Or, if you happen to need assistance, attain out to an knowledgeable.

Associated: How Textual content Advertising May Be Your Most Highly effective Buyer Engagement Software