You ultimately drive revenue for your business when you consistently give customers the best experiences. That of course includes how you communicate with them. And if you want better customer communication, there’s only one solution: text messaging.
Get permission to send text messages to your customers and you set yourself up to provide great experiences — and more consistent revenue.
Onboard Customers Faster and More Intentionally to Make Sure They Get to “Aha” Moments
Text messaging won’t replace your other onboarding tools. You shouldn’t try to make it. But it does give you an awesome way to boost your existing onboarding processes.
When you take an active role throughout customer onboarding and show you’re invested in their success, those customers should stick around longer.
Supplement Your Onboarding
All those articles, videos, and tutorials you already provide? Text messaging is the perfect way to share a lot of that content as you guide people to complete different types of training.
Send reminders to your customers about the training that’s available. Or check in at key points to see what’s been completed and what they still might benefit from doing.
Send Personalized Meeting Reminders
If you provide 1:1 onboarding through calls or video chats, text messaging reminders will help ensure those customers actually show up. That’s valuable time they paid for! Don’t let them miss out.
Take Care of Customer Needs so They Keep Choosing You
Beyond the onboarding stage, there’s a lot you can do to take care of customer needs. Make it a simple choice for people to do business with you again and again.
Request Reviews and Feedback
Requesting reviews serves “selfish” purposes, helping improve your reputation online. But it’s also an excellent excuse for a quick conversation. You find out directly from your customers what they like/don’t like about your products and what you should be working on next.
Share Exclusive Coupons or Sales
To further incentivize customers to opt in to text messaging, share exclusive coupons or sales through texts. Flash sales and limited-time deals are easier to announce through texting too. Text messages feel more urgent and people are less likely to miss the messages.
Provide Last-Minute Updates or Information
When plans need to change, emails are easily missed and phone calls won’t always land. Whether you want to reschedule a meeting, change a location, or simply communicate info quickly, text messaging basically guarantees that message will be seen. No excuses for not getting in touch!
Send Renewal Reminders
Start the conversation about contract renewals well before that time comes around. Shoot off a quick text to be top of mind before customers really start considering other options. Use this message to set up a meeting or call to discuss/negotiate. If you’ve done a good job onboarding and made an effort to stay in touch, it should be a natural thing to talk renewals.
Celebrate Birthdays, Anniversaries, Milestones, etc.
When it comes to customer appreciation, the little things matter. Sending text messages on milestone dates or anniversaries is a nice touch, especially if you give those messages some actual personality. Pull in personal details of your customers and maybe even include a gift card or coupon related to their interests.
Cut Down on Scenarios That Make it Easy for Customers to Churn
Eliminate bad customer experiences to decrease churn and cancellations. Simple, right?
Send Billing Reminders Before Payment Expires
Give people advance warning before their credit card expires. In too many instances expired payment info just leads to cancelling. And who remembers ALL the places where a certain card is used? A quick reminder to update payment info keeps people from service interruptions or just never logging in again.
Send Billing Failure Notifications
If billing fails for any reason, having the ability to text someone that information means it’s more likely they’ll be able to fix it sooner because they’re more likely to see the message. Again, you minimize service interruptions and avoid giving customers a reason to take their business elsewhere.
Get Quick Feedback
Texting can’t replace a proper customer survey or a customer interview, but it’s an excellent way to learn. The feedback can easily lead to a more in-depth customer interview. or if you’re in a conversation on another topic, it’s easy to transition into.
Do Customer Service/Answer Questions
Giving customers a way to text you directly means you can help them quicker. A lot of questions don’t (and shouldn’t) require sending an email or filling out a “contact us” form. Texting is simply faster and more convenient. All it takes is a simple webchat widget on your site to let people text you.
Share Value-Based News/Announcements Based on Needs
People want to be involved when business changes directly affect them. So when people receive news or updates on topics or changes that matter to them, that makes them feel heard and understood. Based on customer feedback you receive or things you learn throughout customer conversations, send targeted text messages when there’s something to announce.
Better Customer Experiences with Text Messaging
Convenient, consistent communication keeps customers coming to you to solve their problems. You shouldn’t only send text messages to your customers, but customer engagement will skyrocket and revenue grows when you use text messaging in situations like the 12 summarized here.
Start collecting text message opt-ins on your site and when customers sign up to take advantage.
