In the words of billionaire business magnate Richard Branson, communication is the most important skill any leader can possess. And that applies to business leaders too. Team leaders must stay in constant contact with each other to ensure that all achieve the business’s goals.
Likewise, customer representatives have to consistently engage in meaningful and effective conversations with customers—failing to do so might make customers feel emotionally disconnected from the business and cause them to shift toward competitors. (1)
Businesses have tried different communication channels over the years, from intranet software and private messaging to internal discussion forums, emails, and social media platforms. ClickSend states that one of the most widespread and powerful channels, mobile messaging, can take your business communications to the next level. This article will discuss how and how enterprises can best take advantage of mobile marketing. (2)
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1. Customer preference
According to research by Market Strategies International, 66% of consumers prefer contacting businesses through mobile messaging over phone or email. In their opinion, mobile messaging is easy to use, convenient, and responsive.
As an entrepreneur, you need to understand your customers’ preferences and see if you can tweak your system to satisfy their needs. Going out of your way in this manner makes your customers feel appreciated, and it’s that kind of emotional connection that increases conversions. If this interests you and you want to look for an effective enterprise mobile messaging partner, you can check out websites such as syniverse.com to learn more.
2. High open rate
Current statistics show that 306.4 billion emails are sent and received every day globally. But more than half of these are spam, and that’s why the overall average open rate is at a whopping low of 17%. (3)
Contrary to this, the open rate for mobile messages is at an incredible high of 99%. Furthermore, 95% of texts are read within 3 minutes of being sent, whereas most emails take several days before being opened by the recipient. (4)
Your marketing goal as an entrepreneur is to have your promotional message read and not just sent and archived. Thus, you’d want to do more mobile messaging than sending emails.
3. Convenience
About 6.4 billion people use mobile phones. On the other hand, the number of active email users has just crossed the 4 billion mark. Thus, with mobile messaging, you can reach a wider audience than you would with email marketing. (5)
And regarding mobile internet users, the current figure stands at about 4.32 billion. Thus, even if you use messaging apps that require a mobile internet connection, you still have a larger audience than if you were to use emails. Moreover, you can send text messages that those without an internet connection can still receive and read.
Another strength of mobile messaging lies in the fact that most people carry their phones with them wherever they go. This way, they can read messages instantly. If you’re managing several employees and some of them stay in the field more than in the office, you wouldn’t have to wait for them to get back to the office so that you get replies for your possibly urgent messages.
In this same sense, your staff members won’t feel tied to their desks, as they can get out of the office and still handle their communication duties without any hitches. Take note that about 76% of desk workers are more likely to complain about their work environment than non-desk workers. That’s due to the usual stress of sitting down all day. So, allowing them ample time outside the office by embracing mobile messaging reduces the number of complaints. (6)
4. Easy to use
Your customer base may comprise folks who weren’t privileged to have adequate exposure to internet technology. And so, they might still find it challenging to register email accounts and read and send emails.
But as for mobile messaging, virtually everyone with a phone knows how to read and send text messages. After all, it’s designed to be so easy to use, and that’s why many users find it appealing and prefer text messaging over emails.
In a similar vein, your software must be easy enough that staff of different skill levels can easily adapt to and use your software. This ensures very little downtime when your staff communicates with clients.
5. Confidential
Some business situations are sensitive, and it becomes more logical to text than to call. A good example is when dealing with emotional services, such as funerals. According to psychologists, emotions can often mess with a person’s thoughts and compromise their ability to deliver a proper response. Texting during such times allows a person to plan and revise their message in a way a phone call wouldn’t allow them to.
Therefore, if your client is in a similar emotional state, you’d want to text them rather than call them. Also, talking with your customer about sensitive products, like adult toys, makes the two of you feel awkward. So, it’d be best to communicate through messaging.
In other instances, you may be sharing an office with strangers—perhaps at a rented co-working space—and the thought of them eavesdropping on your sensitive business call might be bothersome. You might even end up compromising the security of confidential information you’re conveying through the phone call. To be on the safe side, you’d want to send a message rather than call.
Get an effective mobile messaging app
With all the benefits highlighted in this post, you wouldn’t want to stay one more day without a mobile messaging app for your enterprise. Start shopping for one as soon as possible. Consider the range of features it offers, the price, support, and access to API, which allows you to further customize the app according to your specific needs.