Marketing & Sales 
Did you know text messaging is the most responsive business communication channel? It crushes email, chat, and social media.
According to G2, 85% of consumers prefer to receive a message over a phone call or an email. They expect to communicate using the channels they’re used to — whenever and wherever they are.
There’s no better time than now to deliver amazing, seamless customer experiences.
Messaging customers using your business phone number lets you chat on their terms. And you can do it while maintaining your professional brand.
There are two types of text messages you should know about:
- Short Message Service (SMS) consists of text-based messages.
- Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) allows pictures and other media.
These technologies help you to stay in touch with your customers. All you need is their phone number and permission.
Here are three ways to use text and picture messages to serve customers and grow your business.
1) Announce sales or promotions.
Quickly get in front of your customers with information about your products and services. If you’re running a special sale, let people know right away using messages and pictures.
You can even send your customers offers based on products or services they’ve shown interest in previously. That way, you’re sharing a promotion with people using a channel they prefer.
2) Send reminders and confirmations.
Text messaging is perfect for managing appointments, including reminders and confirmations. These updates often include date, time, and location details.
Customers can quickly reply to confirm that they’ll be there or that they’ll need to reschedule, making it easier to communicate about scheduling.
It’s also a simple way to follow up on work completed. You can document on-site visits or deliveries, and share updates via a quick text or picture message. Plus, you’ll have timestamped updates, which also helps avoid any disputes.
3) Build rapport with customers and ask for feedback.
Text or picture messages also help you build relationships with your customers using personalized content. For example, a massage company may text a client after an appointment to ask how they’re feeling and offer a promotional discount on the next massage.
You can even ask customers for candid feedback about how your company is performing. When customers feel valued by the company they’re doing business with, they’re more likely to come back for more.
Almost every business can use SMS and MMS to improve relationships with their customers. The data shows that customers are more likely to respond to a text than an email.
Gartner reports SMS open and response rates as high as 98% and 45%, respectively — in contrast to corresponding figures of 20% and 6% for email.
The Future of Sales Follow-Ups: Text Messages
The Future of Sales Follow-Ups: Text Messages
We’ve included business VoIP texting and picture messaging with our popular business communication plans. It’s one of the many advantages of using Nextiva.
The best part? Your team can manage their contacts and messages in one place with the Nextiva Mobile App. This helps employees provide amazing customer experiences over the phone, text, or chat.
Sign up today and start using text and picture messaging to improve the customer experience.
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