Texting is the pinnacle of modern communication. It’s beating out email and phone calls for personal and business correspondence. Each day, more businesses are realizing just how beneficial it is to text customers. If you want to get ahead in your contracting company, texting in business communication is the way to get there.
In this article, we’ll cover what business texting is, its benefits, how to start using it, and six valuable business texting tips.
Let’s dig in!
What Is a Business Texting Solution?
A business text solution is an SMS platform where you have direct two-way texting with your customers. Here you can write, send, and receive customer text messages all in one place. These text-for-business-communication platforms also store and organize messages, so you never have to track down where an old text went.
Why Use Texting in Business Communication?
Imagine how much time you would save if you could instantly reach your customers and get a quick response back. You’d be able to tackle projects faster, creating more time to grow your company and be with your family. Here are other perks to texting in business communication:
Get higher, faster customer engagement
Track customer messages
Respond to customer feedback quickly
Keep customers happy with regular updates
Know what your team is saying to customers
Get a text in front of your customer 60x faster than an email
Cut down on extended project deadlines, angry customers, and negative reviews
How to Get a Number for Business Texting
Choose Your Platform
The right business text solution makes it easy to communicate with your customers. Find the best choice for you by comparing things like price, ease of use, and features. JobNimbus Engage provides the best text messaging service for contractors.
Search for Available Phone Numbers
Once you pick your texting platform, it will give you a list of available phone numbers. Depending on the system, you may be able to choose a specific area code for your number. Studies show that people are four times more likely to answer a text from an unknown local number than an out-of-state or toll-free number.
Buy Your Chosen Number
After looking at the available options, decide on a phone number. The platform will walk you through how to purchase the number you’ve picked. Once you buy the phone number, it’s yours to keep even if you move to another service.
Send a Test Text
Now that you have a texting number for your company, try it out! The best place to start is a practice text. We suggest sending a message to your personal phone or one of your staff members’ phones. You’ll immediately be able to see how the text looks.
Essential Business Texting Guidelines
Once you have your texting number and test a message, you’re nearly ready to text customers. Before you start sending messages, though, you should know a few things about business texting. Here are six best practices to get the most out of your business communications.
Get Permission
Having your customers opt into text for business communication isn’t just a nicety; it’s required by law. In your first text with a homeowner, make it clear they can accept or reject future messages. The easiest way to take care of this is to have customers respond “yes” or “no.”
If your customer doesn’t want to text, respect their wishes and find out how they’d prefer to communicate.
Include Your Name & Company
Customers want to hear from your business, but they need to know it’s you. At the start of a conversation, let the customer know who they’re talking to. Include your first name and the company you represent. If customers need to find that information later, they can refer to the message.
Mentioning your company also helps set the expectation that this is a professional correspondence. Homeowners will know right away you mean business and that the message isn’t spam.
Respond Quickly
Customers like texting in business communication because they can reach out to you and get a fast reply. You don’t have to respond right away, but you should get back to them in a reasonable window.
If your customer has a quick question that you can easily respond to, you should get back to them within twenty minutes. For more involved questions or feedback, don’t take any longer than 24 hours to respond. You might consider setting hours for your text responses so that customers have accurate expectations.
Speaking of time frames, don’t send messages outside of business hours. Your homeowners would rather wait until the next day to hear from you than to get a text in the middle of the night.
Personalize Messages (but Keep Them Professional)
One of the biggest perks of texting is it’s easy to personalize messages. Your text should sound like it’s from a human, not a robot. Be friendly but professional. Set the tone by including the customer’s first name. However, be careful not to be too casual.
For example, texting slang is “too casual.” Slang is okay when talking to your friends and family but looks unprofessional. Having a limited character count might make it tempting to cut words, but abbreviations can create confusion. Instead of shortening words, keep your overall message short and to the point.
Here are a few ways to keep your messages professional:
Don’t use numbers for words (our team is coming 2day 4 your appointment)
Don’t use letters in place of words (we’ll b there)
Avoid common texting abbreviations (LOL, BTW, IDK)
Keep emojis to a minimum—and make sure they’re relevant
Cut down on exclamation points
Watch for Misspellings
Although texting does have autocorrect, it doesn’t mean autocorrect is always right. Read over your text messages at least once before sending them to keep misspelled words from reaching your customers. Pay close attention to words like:
- Address
- Calendar
- Customer
- Experience
- Guarantee
- License
- Maintenance
- Receive
- Recommend
- Referred
- Until
Close the Conversation
No one likes to be left on read. Your customers shouldn’t wonder if you’re going to respond. When you feel you’ve reached the end of a conversation, clearly wrap things up. If the homeowner has something else that they want to bring up, it signals now is the time.
As you sign out of the conversation, you might want to thank them for their time and tell them they can reach you via your texting number.
Tap into the Power of Text for Your Business
Texting your customers brings more flexibility and convenience to your business. Don’t miss out on the best opportunity to communicate with your customer base—get your business texting phone number today. Once you have your company text number, be sure to follow some text etiquette guidelines for the best business communication possible.
Want to learn how to optimize the way you use Engage? Check out our free courses for using Engage as an Admin or as a Sales user.
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