5 Ways Industrial Companies Can Make Use of Texting
Traditionally, texting (or SMS) outreach tactics have been associated with consumer marketing. It’s just not something that industrial companies usually employ. Although often overlooked in favor of traditional channels such as email, texting can be a very powerful tool, improving your customer and prospect communications in a number of ways.
Below, we explore five ways your business can benefit from text outreach.
1. Customer surveys
Texting is a great way to find out what your customers think of your service or support. By sending out a text survey to customers and asking them to rate you on a specific topic, you can generate invaluable opinion data that you can then use to improve and grow your business.
Response rates to text surveys tend to be far higher than online surveys, which are often longwinded and suffer from low engagement rates. In fact, according to a survey by Ipsos MORI, 95.3% of respondents said they would respond to an SMS survey. And by keeping the questions short and simple, you’ll get great insights into how your company is performing.
2. Following up on meetings and leads
Building a good business has always been about growing great relationships, and that inevitably means meeting with customers and prospects. If you’ve taken the time and trouble to set up a meeting in the first place, it’s only sensible to gain as much from it as possible.
So, in addition to a follow-up email, send a friendly text to thank people an hour or so after the meeting. This small, personal gesture demonstrates that you’re willing to make the extra effort.
3. Drawing attention to important emails
SMS beats email in terms of open rates. Hands down. Amazingly, 98% of all SMS are opened, and according to Get Response, the average click-through rate for email languishes at a lowly 21%.
And with email so easily ignored, texting can serve as an effective way to draw attention to important emails. You can significantly increase the open rates of your email by sending out a simple text to let a contact know that an important email is waiting in their inbox.
4. Meeting or appointment reminders
We’re all familiar with that awkward moment when someone from reception tells you that the person you’ve arranged to meet isn’t in the office. It’s embarrassing for all concerned. Sending a reminder text the day before to confirm the details is a great way to avoid a wasted journey.
This technique is well established for reducing the risk of missed appointments in the health care sector, in particular, and can be equally effective for industrial companies.
5. Event invitations
Persuading customers and prospects to attend events has always been challenging. Everyone’s time is limited, and we’re asking people to take at least half a day from their busy schedules. It can take some persuading that the effort is going to be worth their while.
This is where SMS can come into play. Because texts are such a personal mode of communication, we rarely ignore them. By using texts to invite people to events, you’re communicating as an individual rather than a faceless corporation. Deleting or ignoring an email invitation is practically a daily habit for many of us, but an SMS invitation can make a real difference in getting your voice heard.
Keeping a Competitive Edge
With long buying cycles and an ever-evolving digital landscape, creating a genuine point of difference for any business is hard.
But tactical, well-thought-out texts are a great way to stay competitive with almost no cost and little effort. Texting strategies are quick and easy to deploy, and the benefits can be measured almost immediately.
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