TextBetter News | Business Texting Use Cases

Trying to organize shipments, field teams, or any other type of logistical need can be very stressful. Especially if there is even the slightest miscommunication.

That’s why there are many different tools out there for handling logistical communication. And most would agree, the most popular and effective is a business text messaging service. So, if your using your personal cell phone for these conversations, it might be time to step back and look at your options.

The Benefits of Business Text Messaging Service

Archiving Text Conversations

When sending logistical information out to drivers, teams – or anyone for that matter – it is important to keep a record of conversation history. That’s why TextBetter automatically archives your text conversations and stores them in your email.

With TextBetter’s business text messaging platform, you’ll have confidence knowing your conversation history is safe, secure, easily available in your email records

Separate Business and Personal Texts

If you’re an avid texter that carries on multiple conversations with family and friends, you’ve likely mistakenly sent a text to the wrong person.

Using your personal cell phone number for business text messaging comes with risks that could be highly detrimental to your business. By using a texting service for business, you can eliminate these concerns but still benefit from the ease and speed of text.

Additionally, your landline connects to your email, so you can still view messages on the go. Just hit reply or type the mobile number in the “to” field and your email message gets sent as a text. Keeping your communication quick yet confidential and separate from your personal life

Communicating with Your Teams on a Larger Scale

It is important to have multiple methods to communicate with your team. Whether its managing shipments and supplies or making last minute schedule changes – you just can’t always rely on email!

What about when Wi-Fi is down? Well, that’s why business text messaging service works!

But what about when you need to communicate with multiple team members at once? Well, TextBetter’s distribution list feature solves for exactly that! The distribution list offers you the ability to send a mass text out to 100 employees at once.

Business text messaging services are also great for last minute notifications, like hazardous driving conditions or new address information. Business text messaging gives you the efficiency and confidence necessary for success!

Real Time Reports

TextBetter’s reporting tool gives you the ability to keep track of conversations between you and your teams by simply running a report.

Having access to these reports helps supervisors stay ‘in the know’ and gives you the confidence that your company is using every tool to its advantage.

About TextBetter’s Business Text Messaging Platform

TextBetter™ is a business-texting service that makes it easy to send or receive texts from your landline number.

Our cloud-based service effortlessly integrates into your existing business model, without having to install new software or change how you do business. Through our three separate product offerings, we proudly cater to organizations of all sizes: TextBetter Basic, TextBetter Business, TextBetter Enterprise.

How It Works

TextBetter uses your email account to transmit text messages to and from your landline number by simply pairing the two. You’ll send, receive, and manage text conversations directly from your business email. Simple, right?

And when it comes to sending picture messages, the process is just as simple. You’ll send, receive, and manage pictures as attachments; without having to download new software or change how you do business. And while there are many ways in which your business can benefit from sending and receiving messages, we’ve outlined a few of our favorite benefits here.

Have questions on how TextBetter can make business text messaging work for you? Call or text us today at 800-322-1112. You can start reaping the benefits of your landline outside of traditional phone calls by text-enabling the number.

Other Articles You Might Find Interesting:
Using a Texting Service for Business: Top 5 Benefits of Landline Texting

Author: Ian Rottner, Sales Executive

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Using a Texting Service for Business: A Spotlight on Appointment Reminders

September 12, 2018 | Dean Garfinkel

Customer satisfaction can be greatly enhanced by how you communicate with your customers. Customers today are constantly on the go and their attention spans are short.

Using a texting service for business enables you to cater to customers how they want to be communicated with. It’s especially ideal for industries that send out appointment reminders.

With business text messaging, your ability to send appointment reminders is simple and easy, so you get added efficiencies. Your customer gets the text sent directly to their phone’s home screen. So, the customer wins too by receiving quick and easy communication.

Let’s take a look at how TextBetter makes texting for business simple for appointment reminders.

HomeFix Case Study: how they use business text messaging for appointment reminders

HomeFix, a home maintenance company, has been in business for 60 years. While they’re well established in their community, they’re anything but old school. That’s because HomeFix uses TextBetter to send appointment reminders and communicate with their customers.

HomeFix provides premier service from roofing to plumbing to satisfy the diverse needs of their customers. The way they communicate with their customers matches that commitment to service.

By using a texting service for business, HomeFix is able to provide regular updates to enable customers to go about their lives instead of waiting for their service technician. In the morning, the customer receives a text message. It says, “Your HomeFix technician will arrive between 2 and 4 p.m. We look forward to serving you.”As lunchtime approaches, the customer receives another text message. This time it has a more specific timeframe. “Your HomeFix technician will arrive at 3:30 p.m. We’ll see you then!”

The customer now knows what time to leave work to use as little vacation hours as possible for the service call. The customer also didn’t have to leave a meeting to take the call confirming the service time. The customer reads the text message on his own time, thanks to texting service for business.

At 3, the customer receives one more text message about the appointment. This time, it’s accompanied by a headshot.

“Your service technician, Alan, is on his way. Alan looks forward to meeting you in person, but in the meantime, here’s a photo so you can get familiar.”

HomeFix has made the service call seem friendlier and more focused on the customer. Alan is able to fix the leaking roof that day, and thanks the customer for choosing HomeFix.

Dentistry for Tots Case Study: how they use business text messaging for appointment reminders

Many of our customers are medical practices, who are able to keep their office on schedule by texting appointment reminders to patients. Let’s see how another business uses texting service for business to enhance their relationship with the customer.

Meet pediatric dental office Dentistry for Tots. No parent wants to face a toothache with a little one, but when they do, Dentistry for Tots is there to help.

The practice thrives on making children comfortable with colorful sunglasses and toys to make the experience more fun. A television in the treatment room distracts from what the dentist is doing.

With this technology in the office, Dentistry for Tots likes to carry that patient experience throughout the process.

Texting service for business makes it possible for parents to receive information about their child’s appointment.

One week prior to their scheduled appointment, the patient receives a message reminding them the date and time for their appointment. The text includes information about how to easily reschedule if needed.

Parents enjoy this reminder one week out because it gives them time to plan around the appointment.

The day before, the parent gets another message about the appointment. It includes all the important information, but this message also includes a photo. It’s Dentistry for Tots’ toy chest.

The child can now get excited about their experience because they can look forward to the treasure chest at the end. But the child still has some anxiety and concerns about what to expect.

The parent explains to the child that they know what the office is like because they’ve been there. The child shares that they are anxious there might be different tools or drills in other rooms.

The parent knows this is an opportunity to reach out to Dentistry for Tots to request the same exam room as last year. “Please put Timmy in exam room 2. That’s where we were last year, and it would make him very comfortable.”

The dental office receives the message in the form of an email to the mailbox the front desk regularly monitors. They respond with, “Certainly, anything to make your visit comfortable.” The parent receives that message as a text and gets to tell Timmy the good news.

Texting service for business improves relationships

Those are just two examples of ways texting service for business can enhance and improve your customer relationships. It all comes down to meeting the customer where they are at and enabling communication to meet their needs.

TextBetter makes it simple for businesses to cater to these needs. To learn more, call or text us at 800-322-1112.

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Using a Texting Service for Business: Benefits of MMS Messaging with Customers

August 24, 2018 | Dean Garfinkel

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but how easy do you make it for your customers to share photos with your business? If email is your only avenue for photo sharing, it’s probably time to evaluate a texting service for business. Business text messaging is quick, easy and more importantly, preferred by customers.

That’s why TextBetter^TM offers a business text messaging service that makes it easy to send and receive text messages from your landline number. With TextBetter, you can also enable MMS (multimedia messaging service) to make sharing photos between you and your customers a breeze.

How it works

TextBetter uses your email account to transmit text messages to & from your landline number by simply pairing the two. You’ll send, receive, and manage text conversations directly from your business email. Simple, right?

And when it comes to picture messaging, the process is just as simple. You’ll send, receive, and manage pictures as attachments; without having to download new software or change how you do business. And while there are many ways in which your business can benefit from sending and receiving picture messages, we’ve outlined a few of our favorites here.

Benefits of MMS Messaging with Customers

Warranties and repair

If you sell products that include a warranty, picture messaging makes it simple for customers to prove a defect. Your texting service for business means customers can text your business landline. You then receive that message as an email with the photo included.

Your customer service team can collaborate to respond to the request, and the conversation thread can be uploaded to the customer account record in CRM. This advanced record-keeping makes texting service for business an ideal solution.

MMS is also great for service industries that provide repairs, quotes, and damage assessments.

If you’re an auto repair shop, customers can send a photo of their vehicle and receive a quote from your business. They don’t need to make an appointment (which is convenient), and you have the flexibility to respond when business is light.

If your business is household repair, using a texting service for business can also make you more efficient. Customers can send a photo of their leaky faucet, for example, and you can arrive at the job with the appropriate tools already in hand.

Business text messaging is also great for insurance companies or insurance agents. Insurance professionals can now assess flooded basements or vehicle repairs from photos to advise their clients on next steps.

Promotions

Not only will your customer service team love the benefits of texting service for business, but so will your marketing and sales team.

Running an outstanding holiday sale and want to grab the attention of your most loyal customers? Send a picture message to your contact list with a stunning graphic showcasing the sale and your product.

Seeing your product or service in action can help customers feel compelled to buy. Texting also tends to have higher read rates than email, meaning your ROI on marketing initiatives can be much higher.

Office location

When you move office locations or rebrand, MMS is a great way to familiarize your clients with your new look. Send a photo of the outside of your office along with an appointment reminder to help customers navigate to you.

This can help keep your office appointments on time as customers won’t be driving circles around your location trying to find it. It also provides greater satisfaction for customers because they’ll be more confident in how to find you.

If your office location hasn’t moved but you’ve heard it’s hard to find, texting service for business can help here too. Send the image of a map with other local landmarks indicated to help customers use what they know to find you.

Doctor’s office diagnosis

If you operate a doctor’s office or other patient care center, a picture message can be especially helpful in providing patients with peace of mind. Patients can send a photo of a rash, for example, to determine what medical attention, if any, is required.

Additionally, images can help doctors provide care instructions for less serious injuries, like a scrape; allowing them to provide patient care outside of office hours and in-person appointments.

Interested in using a texting service for business? You should be. By incorporating picture messaging into your customer service program, you’ll increase efficiency and customer satisfaction. So, if you have questions on how TextBetter can make business text messaging work for you, call or text us today at 800-322-1112.

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Using a Texting Service for Business: Top 5 Benefits of Landline Texting

August 9, 2018 | Dean Garfinkel

Convenience drives our everyday lives. Consumers want immediacy and the ability to multitask when interacting with businesses. To meet this demand, you need a texting service for business.

Imagine being able to quickly zip off a text in the grocery store when you think about that pediatrician appointment you need to make. Stand in line at the pharmacy and ask your insurance agent about adding another driver to your policy. Check in with your pet’s veterinarian while waiting for your friend at happy hour.

Providing this convenience to your customers can make you the company of choice and help you reach your target audience. And the best part is, you don’t even need to memorize an additional business phone number. You can enable your business landline to receive messages from your customers.

There are many benefits to using business text messaging. These benefits range from customer satisfaction to analytics on your customer interactions. Here are the top five reasons you should add texting service for business via your landline.

1. Separate business and personal texts
If you’re an avid texter that carries on multiple conversations with family and friends all at once, you’ve likely mistakenly sent a text to the wrong person. Now imagine if that was your client that got your message you intended to send to your mom.

Using your personal cell phone number for business text messaging comes with risks that could be highly detrimental to your business. Enabling texting service for business using your business landline can eliminate these concerns but still keep your work mobile.

Your landline connects to your email, so you can still view messages on the go. Just hit reply or type the mobile number in the “to” field and your email message gets sent as a text.

2. Increase customer satisfaction through business text messaging
Like it or not, your customers may already be trying to text you via your landline. The bad news of this is, you’re missing out on customer opportunities and perhaps even ostracizing your customers.

In the digital age, customers are seeking ways to interact via their phones, whether that be through social media or text messaging.

“By 2020, 85 percent of all business interactions will take place without human interaction.” – Gartner, a leading research and advisory company

But waiting until 2020 to implement a stronger digital presence and texting service for business could affect your customer satisfaction now. Customers also want interactions to be in their timing and waiting for return phone calls doesn’t fit into this.

By opening another line of communication with your clients, you’re also more likely to hear about complaints and be able to resolve them. In the world of online reviews and social media, this is great news for businesses.

3. Business text messaging offers better analytics
A customer might engage with the business owner via his or her personal cell phone and then be transferred to a customer service representative. If these conversations are held via personal cell phones the whole time, it will be difficult to follow the conversation through.

This means that customer service representatives would need to gather the customer’s details again, which can cause frustration. By moving to a texting service for business, not only can those conversations be viewed by others, but you can set up analytics and reporting.

Analytics can help you track what is successful in addressing a customer’s complaint so that you can use the tactic in future interactions. In fact, these conversations can be automatically uploaded into your CRM via texting-services offered by TextBetter™. Ultimately giving you a holistic view of a customer.

4. Collaboration across employees
Ready to actually unplug when you go on vacation? When you move away from giving out your personal cell phone for customers to text you, employees can now collaborate to respond.

This collaboration means a customer won’t be left without a response for days while an employee is out of the office or swamped with other work. Additionally, your speed to respond to customer inquiries will likely be faster when multiple individuals can collaborate.

5. Beat your competitors with customer service
The marketplace for many businesses is well saturated. Your company could just be a name among others in your industry unless you find a way to stand out.

If you’re in a medical practice, providing texting for appointments and reminders can be what keeps your patients loyal. If you operate a restaurant, allowing customers to text for reservations and receive a message when their table is ready will make you unique.

“Customer service is one of the last frontiers of sustainable competitive advantage. It’s one of the strongest ways to grow your profits.”

“Customer service is one of the last frontiers of sustainable competitive advantage. It’s one of the strongest ways to grow your profits.” – According to the Huffington Post

Texting service for business can be greatly advantageous for you and your customers. The especially great part is, it seamlessly integrates into your normal business operations and is fast and easy to set up.

Events

TextBetter exhibits at SHRM18

July 5, 2018 | Heather Zimmerman

The Team at TextBetter traveled to Chicago, Illinois this past June for the SHRM18 Annual Conference and Exposition. It was a great experience. We met so many amazing HR professionals and had some great conversations about how using text messaging to communicate with both job seekers as well as employees can be very effective and efficient.

If we didn’t get a chance to chat at the conference, please give us a call at (800) 322-1112 to discuss how we can text enable your existing business line so you can reach job seekers and employees more quickly. Or fill out our contact form.

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Modernize Your Company With Business Texting Services

May 25, 2018 | Angela Garfinkel

Inside ‘The Era of Innovation’ with Business Texting Services

What are business texting services, and how to make them work for you?

The world has become a fast-paced place to live and work. Minute to minute things are moving all around us. Businesses have to work harder than ever to keep up, and stay relevant in such a marketplace. Finding the balance between cost efficacy and innovation is an art form of its own. Let our business texting services help you achieve both of those goals.

Using a Texting Service for Business: What it is, and How it works.

We all act like money is the number one commodity in our global economy. Those of us heavily invested in business know that the true commodity is time.

Time is the one thing that we can never get back. Each moment used to communicate with a client should be as direct and efficient as possible.

Sometimes the best solution is often the one that is the most obvious. Everywhere you look people are typing away on their smartphones. What if you could communicate with your clientele base right through the smart phone or tablet that they are already using so much. Well, now you can with business text messaging.

Our company offers a texting service for business that allows you to communicate with your customers via text message, all from your office landline. It may sound like something only a professional IT guy could understand, but we promise, business text messaging is very simple to use.

When you are ready to send a text to a client, all you do is enter their phone number into the recipient column where an email address would normally go, then type your message and hit send, our high-tech staff will handle the rest. If you receive a return text it will go through your landline, and then be sent directly to your email.

Benefits of Being on the Cutting Edge

What makes our texting service for business so great, and why should you invest in it? Well, good question! Let’s run over the key benefits.

Texting is the way of the present and the future. We all love the occasional phone call, but texting is clean, easy, and a direct way to literally get your message across. Most people keep their phones with them at all times, and business text messaging allows you to be wherever your clients are and communicate with them in a speedy and direct manner.

Another reason to use business texting services, is that it is a fantastic way to keep track of conversations with clients. Whether you have a large business or a very small one, our program will log your conversations and help you to keep up with all the important details, such as who helped the customer, what was said, and when the conversation occurred.

More simply put: business text messaging automatically syncs with your CRM and seamlessly integrates into your existing data management process.

Switching to a texting service for business isn’t difficult, either. We work hard to make the transition as smooth as possible. We use your current landline and email address, all of the current information that you have archived, like old emails from clients will remain in the same place.

The benefit to our service that our clients love the most is how customizable it is. We love that we market a product that truly works for your individual needs as a small or large business.

Texts can be sent out to one person or to many, being able to mass text like this saves a company money by allowing employees to complete several tasks in one movement. This is a great option for companies offering sales, or appointment reminders. Business text messaging also allows you to send pictures. This comes in handy when looking to mass disrepute flyers or receive pictures from customers of damaged products.

Subscribing to the Times with Business Texting Services

Gone are the days of formality. Almost everyone you know puts as much into their day as possible. It is time for businesses to cater to the busy everyday person, by contacting them in a place that they are already accessing several times a day, their smart phone. Using our texting service for business is the perfect way to meet the needs of the modern consumer and expand your clientele base.

All you need to do is ask us how. Call or text us today at 800-322-1112.

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Reach More Customers Using An Online Texting Service For Business

May 7, 2018 | Dean Garfinkel

Connect with your customers using an online texting service for business

Despite how connected people have become with smartphones, it can still be challenging to reach customers via phone calls. That’s why many B2C companies are now capitalizing on the popularity of text.

Using an online texting service for business allows you to connect with your customers the way they want to be contacted. And in the age of sophisticated preference centers, keeping up with the consumer is a must.

Businesses that rely on B2C sales must maintain good relations with their consumers to ensure they come back. In fact, some would argue their success is almost entirely predicated on customer satisfaction.

In this article we take a deeper look into why business text messaging is so effective, especially for B2C businesses. And more specifically, how using an online texting service for business can transform your customer satisfaction and ease of reaching your customers.

Use business text messaging to meet your customers’ preferences

Smartphones are not often used for phone calls anymore. Applications for making phone calls are only the fifth most popular apps on the average millennial’s phone. This is due to phone call aversion as Forbes reports.

On the flip side, 68 percent of millennials say they text a lot because texting is instant and can be responded to from anywhere, anytime. As technology speeds up communication, people have come to expect the immediacy of texting facilitates.

Using an online texting service for business is also ideal because it enables users to respond quickly and go about their lives. This means your business gets the information it needs more quickly, like appointment confirmations or reservation reminders. The overall experience is optimized for both sides by providing this speed and preference of communication.

Online Texting Service for Business

Use an online texting service for business to document customer conversations

You could certainly provide a cell phone to all your employees and invite them to interact your customers through that avenue. However, it doesn’t provide clear and easy-to-retrieve documentation of conversations between your company and its customers.

Using an online texting service for business makes it possible to track and document customer conversations. This can be great for compliance and for employee education – especially when looking for ways to improve interactions and overall customer service.

It also creates transparency among your employee network. Allowing any member of your team to pick up where others left off at a shift change or on sick days.

Business text messaging without disruption

TextBetter™ offers an online texting service for business that is customizable and can seamlessly integrate into your current operation. It works by paring your existing landline number with your email, ultimately allowing your business to send and receive texts without having to juggle between multiple devices.

It also means that your business can receive and send texts without making any changes to your contact information or internal processes. Ultimately making the implementation process so simple and stress free, it can be rolled out in less than a day.

A tailored approach to business texting

The TextBetter™ approach is as unique as your business. Ultimately allowing users to personalize several key features based on their customer, business needs and existing processes.

With TextBetter™ you can archive text messages, automatically upload text conversations into your CRM, and schedule automatic responses over text based on key words, or during a specified time frame. It even pairs text with mail merge, allowing users to send personalized messages to 100+ recipients at a time. – All with one click of a button.

The service is also ideal for B2C businesses because it allows for sharing images. This means your client can send images of a product defect or issue to help your customer service respond appropriately.

Have a large list of people you repeatedly contact? With TextBetter™ you can send mass texts using our distribution feature to a designated group of recipients. Allowing you to quickly coordinate employees with a single text – making it perfect for an “all hands-on deck” situation. They’re also good for spreading information about emergencies, since they’re more likely to be read immediately than emails.

Questions? Just get in touch

Call or text us today at 800-322-1112. Our Support Team to walk you through how TextBetter™ can make business text messaging work for you.

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Successful Job Recruiting Using a Texting Service for Businesses

April 23, 2018 | Dean Garfinkel

The Recruiting Case: Using a Texting Service for Businesses

The best time to find a job is when you have a job. That’s why the best candidates are usually working full-time while in search of a new career.

It is also why the best recruiting firms take a more nuanced approach to the hiring process. They understand that, while their job is to place the candidate in a better fitting position, their candidate must remain respectful to their current employer.

For this reason and more, recruiting firms are now turning to text messaging; and using texting service for businesses to communicate with candidates and hiring managers.

Keeping Up with Business Text Messaging

Opportunities come very quickly in the world of job searching – and recruiters need answers. Fast.

By using texting service for businesses, recruiters can send messages ‘under cover’ while also keeping up with the fast pace of the job market.

Are you available for an interview?
Are you interested in this position?
Have you applied with this business recently?

For most candidates these questions are easy to answer; however, the real challenge is finding the time (and privacy) to answer them.

A delayed response could hold up the application process, be perceived as disinterest, and even cost the candidate the job of their dreams.

A delayed response could also present a challenge to the recruiter as well.

– Withholding feedback prolongs the hiring process which reflects negatively on the recruiter. Placement stats, like ‘time to fill’, are skewed and both hiring managers and candidates can become frustrated with a perceived lack of progress.

So as a recruiter asking these questions; why not use texting service for businesses?

The average person does not have the time or privacy to answer a personal phone call at work. And answering personal email is not much easier either.

Some organizations even block mail services, like Gmail, from employee computers making it nearly impossible to monitor during business hours…

And while applications like Gmail can almost always be accessed from a smart phone device, I’d ask you to consider this:

When you glance down at your phone, are you quicker to respond to text or email?

Texting service for businesses

Improve Candidate Experience with Business Text Messaging

Even though candidates are actively looking for a new job, it is important they appear focused and dedicated to their current role. If not, they risk losing their current position or face a lifetime plagued by a poor reference.

So, how can recruiters help candidates strike the right balance?

The answer is through text.

Texting is easy, private and a widely accepted form of communication that allows candidates to multi-task at the office without appearing unavailable.

Consider this:

You are a candidate looking for a new job and your recruiter calls on Monday at 10AM. Naturally, you’re eager to answer but chances are, you can’t.

More likely than not, you’re in a meeting or with your team and – either way – your response will have to wait until after lunch…

Skip to an hour later, and that last-minute interview slot you were hoping for just got offered to another candidate…

Now consider the same scenario when the recruiter is using texting service for businesses:

Recruiter: “She has an opening tomorrow at 2PM. Can you make it?”
Candidate: “Yes.”
Recruiter: “I will email you the details. Pls bring 2 copies of your resume.”

Ultimately the candidate experience is better when recruiting firms use a texting service for businesses.

It makes the process less stressful, less disruptive and less time consuming. It gets the recruiters the information they need to get the job done – and fast. And most importantly, it is how most people prefer to communicate altogether.

Improve the Hiring Process with Business Text Messaging

As a recruiter, feedback is key.

Regardless of whether an offer is extended, a recruiter cannot move forward in the hiring process without hearing from the hiring manager and the candidate.

Unfortunately, as a recruiter it can be difficult at times – almost impossible –to get the feedback you need after the interview.

Now throw in the 5 other interviews you have scheduled for the 3 other open roles you are working to fill and there just isn’t enough time in the day… Unless you are using a texting service for businesses.

Recruiting firms love business text messaging because responses are easy to type and almost always yield a better response rate when compared with email.

So – as a recruiter – would you rather send an email and wait an entire business day for that one-word response…

“Are you available tomorrow at 2PM for an interview?”

Or send a text and get the interview scheduled immediately:

“Great. I’ll email you the location and details.”

Ultimately, the recruiting case for using a texting service for businesses is as strong as it is fast.

A quick text can be just as effective, and some would argue, is a more efficient way for recruiters to coordinate interview schedules and gauge interest in an open role or resume. It is perceived as private and immediate – ultimately giving candidates the means they need to look for a new job while remaining respectful of their current employer.

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The Communication Conundrum Solved: Using a Texting Service for Business

April 11, 2018 | Dean Garfinkel

There is a hierarchy among the most efficient ways to get somewhere. You can fly, you can drive, you can take a train – you could even walk.

The fact is: every second of everyday, someone, somewhere, is making this choice.

But why?

These choices happen so often and so fast, sometimes we don’t even realize we are making them. And yet, somehow, every choice is made with purpose.

Just ask yourself:

If you’re rushing to meet the newest addition to your family, would you walk or drive?

If you have an ailing loved one, will you take a boat or fly?

Well, there’s a hierarchy in communicating, too. And when it comes to consumers, experts agree, using a texting service for business puts you at the top of the totem pole.

‘The Communication Conundrum’

In 2018, you can communicate with someone in 100 different ways. From Snapchat to Facebook Messenger, from GChat to emails, texting, and more.

Much like your mode of transportation: how (and where) you communicate is a choice. So as a business owner, how do you choose?

Fortunately, the solution is simple. And to understand the equation, you don’t have to be good at math either. Just ask yourself:

Why send a letter to confirm an appointment, when you could send a quick text?

If I cancel at the last minute, should I email or text?

These questions are also, ironically, the answer to what I like to call ‘The Communication Conundrum’.

Which, when more simply put, begs the question: with so many modes of communication, as business owners, how do we choose how to best connect with our customers?

Well it depends.

If you are looking for speed, efficiency, and customer preference, you should be choosing a texting service for business.

Customer Engagement is Better when using a Texting Service for Business

Customer engagement is quick, easy, and generally better when using a texting service for business. Here’s why:

Customers are much more likely to respond when you make it simple and top of mind.
Customers will appreciate one less number to remember: gone are the days of: “…call me at XXX or text me at XXX….”
Your texts are stored in a central location and therefore easy to reference: Your email inbox.
- Companies like TextBetter™ pair your landline number with your email, making conversations with multiple customers easy to manage and impossible to miss.
Your email response to any text will always be sent back to your customer as a text.

From confirming appointments to refilling prescriptions, even when it comes to requesting feedback from a job candidate – these actions can be sent, read, and responded to in a matter of moments.

Customer engagement is at its best when you’re using a texting service for business.

Business Text Messaging is Personal and Preferred

As long as the United States Post Office has existed, spam has existed. From coupons and chain letters, to pages of junk mail and email blasts.

This type of contact is impersonal. It pervades in all forms of our communication – and frankly, can be confusing at times.

Most consumers would agree, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between a meaningful email and promotional spam.

Think of the stack of papers on your kitchen counter.

How many of those letters will be trashed without even opening the envelope?

Well, thanks to companies like TextBetter™ – it’s easy to separate yourself from the spammers.

TextBetter offers a texting service for business that is conversational and customized to each recipient. Messages are always sent out individually, creating a 1:1 conversation between you and the recipient that is private and easy to manage.

TextBetter Case Study with Jack the Dentist

Business Case:

Every Monday, Jack’s receptionist, Belle, is responsible for sending out patient appointment reminders. And while an important task, it can also be extremely time consuming. Last week she made over 50+ phone calls in one day!

Jack knows that an appointment reminder requires a personal touch – but Belle is also falling behind on her paperwork. There must be a better way!

In search of a more efficient – yet, equally effective solution – Jack contacted the team at TextBetter.

TextBetter Solution:

Thanks to TextBetter, Belle’s manual phone calls have been replaced with one click of a button.

Every Monday, she uploads a list of appointments into a single email template and hits send. In 15 minutes or less, each patient receives a personalized text messaged with their name, appointment time/date and office location.

As an added bonus, patients can simply reply to her text if they want to reschedule, cancel, or contact her directly. Belle receives each response real-time and can even reply/continue the conversation as needed – all over text!
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So, the next time you find yourself plagued by communication conundrum, think about using a texting service for business. If you’re looking for fast, efficient, and preferred by customers – it’s the perfect solution for you.

Have questions on how TextBetter can make business text messaging work for you? Call or text us today at 800-322-1112.

Articles

Supplementing Your CRM With Business Texting Services

March 16, 2018 | Stephanie Knapp

Why your CRM needs SMS (think, Business Text Messaging) …

“How do I increase sales and profit?” said Every Sales Leader, Everywhere.

Yes, it is true. Sales Leaders are constantly searching for ways to increase sales and profit. So much so, each year sales executives pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into advertising campaigns and marketing budgets hoping to increase their bottom line.

While at the same time (and without intension), sales executives often fail to focus on their most powerful driver of sales: their customer.

Business Texting Services, texting service for business

As a short disclaimer before I move forward; it must be said that I am in no way, trying to discredit or diminish the value of marketing and advertising resources. They are both, in fact, critical aspects of the sales process.

Having said that, the purpose of this article is to highlight what most sales leaders overlook or perhaps underestimate…. And that is the power of good customer relationship management, and how that can be enhanced simply by text.

Business Texting Services For Relationships and Management

Having a good relationship with your customer makes it easier to conduct business and generate revenue. That’s why many businesses use Customer Relationship Management software (CRMs) to help drive their sales cycle and customer campaigns.

For sales leaders, a CRM is a powerful database filled with valuable customer intel and sales team performance metrics such as the number of meetings per rep or performance ($$$) by sales team. It helps leadership quantify success, and enables management to measure performance across any product, sales rep or territory.

So, with so much value in having a good customer relationship program in place, what’s the problem?

Well there are two.

First, a CRM is only as powerful as you make it. Therefore, having strict requirements around data entry and management is a must – otherwise there won’t be anything to measure.

Unfortunately, we also know that sales reps (especially while on the road) do not enjoy or prioritize time spent on manual data entry – it is why so many organizations sync email with CRM. When it comes to data management, decreasing manual entry will always mean better data.

While email syncing is certainly an option, it also brings us to problem number two…. It is impossible to develop a deep and robust relationship with your client over email.

Business Text Messaging: The Unsung Hero of Relationship Management

What many people don’t realize is that a single solution to both problems already exists – it’s called using business texting services and as a side note, the implementation is even simpler than the concept itself.

For starters, a texting service will automatically sync with your CRM; seamlessly transmitting your text conversation into business email. Ultimately eliminating manual data entry while creating the additional documentation required by most organizations (think compliance).

Second, by using business texting services you are speaking directly to your most important driver of sales: your customer. While most consumers simply prefer to communicate over text, it also simplifies the follow-up dialogue and makes it easier to create a ‘personal touch’ – ensuring every customer feels special.

A Recruiting Case for Business Text Messaging

Case and point: consider the personal impact and importance of logging this text conversation between a recruiter and hiring manager:

Recruiter: Hey! Did you get my email on Monday? How did the interview go with Jason?

Hiring Manager: It went okay. Let’s pass.

Recruiter: Ok! Did you have any feedback? I will send over more resumes.

Hiring Manager: We need more excel experience. Maybe 3 years? Also, do u have anyone who can forecast a sales pipeline? If so, push them to the top of the interview pile.

While this conversation seems straight forward, there are a few factors to consider:

1. The recruiter’s initial email on Monday asked the same question but went unanswered. This is common problem within the recruiting industry that is easily resolved through text. – Getting interview feedback is key! In fact, data tells us that 98% of text messages are responded to within 10 minutes.

2. The hiring manager’s text provided 2 important and new pieces of information. First, the candidate must have at last 3 years of experience in excel and, second, candidates should also be screened for pipeline management and forecast experience. It would be wise to share this new information internally, so other colleagues can better help her fill the role. Since the recruiter is using business texting services, she does not need to waste time manually documenting the conversation over email or updating CRM.

3. Lastly, the recruiter’s manager should be aware of the recent change to the customer’s candidate profile. It is an important milestone to consider when evaluating the recruiter’s performance, like time to fill.

Ultimately, sales leaders looking to increase sales and profits should also look to enable business texting services.

A quick text can be just as effective, and some would argue, is a more efficient way for sales reps to develop deep relationships with their customers post sale. It is perceived as personal and does not require reps to log on to a secure exchange server or manually enter text conversations into CRM.

Stephanie Knapp, Consultant with over 6 years of professional experience in process improvement, strategic planning, project management, and stakeholder relations.