Consumers Prefer SMS

Sending text messages to friends and family is a daily occurrence for most of us, but SMS is becoming an increasingly important way to communicate in the business realm too. According to Rhonda Ridge of AdminBase, there is a right and wrong way to incorporate texting into your business, but when done correctly, the benefits are substantial.

Getting text messages to our mobile phones used to be seen as a more personal method of communication but is now becoming routine in the workplace too. According to Forbes, 64% of consumers believe businesses should use SMS messages to interact with their customers more often than they do now, and 74% of respondents report an improved overall impression of businesses that interact with them via text messaging. As these statistics show, communicating via SMS is an increasingly important way for companies to engage with their customers.

There are however rules as to when and where it’s useful to message customers via SMS, and when it’s better to pick up the phone. If a customer is unhappy or there is a problem you need to make the end client aware of, it’s always best to make a phone call. However, service-based businesses have found texting a far more efficient and effective way of for example making appointments and sending follow up reminders closer to the day. It is more convenient for customers to receive the information straight to their phone, without having to go looking for it, but it’s better for business too because by using this system there are fewer last-minute cancellations. Seventy per cent of respondents in the Forbes study admitted that SMS messages are a good way for companies to get their attention.

How to integrate SMS into your business

More and more installers are realising the benefits of communicating with customers via text, but of course the whole process still needs to be a formal part of the business. Messages should be logged and available to other members of the team for consistency. That’s why using SMS as part of a comprehensive installer management system is the best way to incorporate text messaging into an installation business. Rhonda Ridge explains a little more about how such a system can operate and the practical difference it makes to installers on a day-to-day basis.

“We have designed an SMS function that is fully integrated into our AdminBase installer management system that allows installers to purchase credits and use text updates throughout the entire job. From booking sales appointments to confirming installation dates, and from payment reminders to remedial appointments, installers can use texting as a means of reaching the homeowner faster, and more easily. We know that text messages have a 98% read rate, so it’s the best way for installers to reach customers. However, if texts are sent outside of an integrated system from separate phones by individual team members, it can get confusing, and communication can get lost. SMS messages sent through AdminBase can be viewed by the entire team and are all stored with each contract on the system. This allows installers to look back and double check any text exchange if they need to.

Vital to business

“Our customers tell us they use the texting function every single day to request and confirm appointments with some using the system for example to collect reviews when the work is done too. One of our installers told us it’s ‘Absolutely vital to the business’ while another pointed out that it’s ‘Extremely important as clients don’t always check their e-mails.’

“Staying on top of multiple jobs, at different stages of completion is much easier with an overriding installer management system and having SMS an integral part of that system takes efficiency to the next level. Text communication is something that is being used more and more in business – consumers now expect it – but only when it is fully integrated, logged correctly and stored for future reference, is it a true revelation for installers.”

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