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The way we communicate has changed drastically over the years. From cave paintings and carrier pigeons, we’ve evolved to embrace phone calls, and now SMS, video conferencing, and business messaging apps. That’s great news for today’s consumers and companies.
In the past, the only way to really chat with a company was to call them, or show up at their office. Now consumers have countless ways to interact with organizations through any channel they choose, making business-consumer conversations so much more convenient.
Although the rise of new messaging and communication channels presents some challenges to companies, it also delivers opportunities.
By stepping into the world of business messages, companies can differentiate themselves from the competition, and experiment with new ways to engage, convert, and retain their audience.
Here’s your complete guide to the benefits of business messaging, and how you can thrive in the new age of fast-paced communications.
The future of business communication is here.
Are you in?
What is Business Messaging? The Basics
Business messaging is the strategy brands use to initiate conversations and respond to customers with written communication. It involves everything from texting leads in bulk with AI and automated messaging platforms, to using technology like SMS and webchat for two-way interactions.
Companies can send business messages to consumers for transactional purposes, such as when a company texts you to tell you your order is out for delivery. They can also use messaging apps to facilitate simple back-and-forth conversations between customers and service teams.
You might even use a platform like Clerk Chat to send personalized SMS messages to customers advertising specific products and services, based on their location, or previous purchases.
SMS is the most common (and one of the most popular) channels for business messaging. However, there are plenty of other options too, such as:
- Platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom
- Web chat tools built into websites and ecommerce platforms
- Social media messengers like Facebook Messenger
- Mobile messaging apps like WhatsApp
The Benefits of Business Messages
So, why bother with messaging your audience, rather than just communicating with them over the phone, email, or a video conferencing app? While you can certainly take an omnichannel approach to business communications, messaging has some unique advantages.
First, and perhaps most importantly, business messaging allows you to meet your customers where they already are. It doesn’t generally force them to download new applications to communicate with your business, and it adheres to their preferences for most conversations.
Around 67% of people say they prefer texting a business to making a call or sending an email. It’s also one of the most cost effective communication options.
With messaging, business leaders don’t have to pay for complex video conferencing software or phone minutes. There are even tools like Clerk Chat that allow you to get started with a free trial.
Plus, with the right platform, messaging your customers is quick and simple. You can use a group texting platform to communicate with thousands of customers at once.
You’ll be able to create templates for teams to use to boost communication consistency. What’s more, you can leverage automation and AI for text messages, to streamline the communication process.
Engage Customers with SMS for Business Messaging
The advantages above apply to all kinds of messaging strategy, whether you’re using a tool like WhatsApp or a webchat application on your ecommerce platform. However, focusing on SMS can deliver an even greater number of benefits.
Ultimately, we’re living in a world where people are connected to their mobile phones all the time. We’re always using our smartphones to search on the web, communicate with friends and family members, and even make purchases.
That makes communicating with businesses through SMS feel completely natural (and convenient). Studies show that 97% of companies found they communicated more effectively with their customers after launching SMS initiatives.
Embracing SMS for business messaging leads to:
Improved Customer Engagement
Enabling SMS on an already existing business number helps engage, acquire, and retain clients. Since people spend much of their day glancing at notifications on their phone, they are used to receiving texts from friends and family. When a text comes in from a business, the customer is immediately engaged in the conversation.
In fact, the average open rate for texts is around 98% - about five times higher than it is for email. With SMS, you’re much more likely to capture your customer’s attention, and you can optimize time-sensitive communications, too.
For instance, say you’re sending a message to a customer about a flash sale – they’ll see an SMS notification much faster than an email in their inbox, allowing them to act quickly.
Enhanced Customer Experiences
More than just improving engagement, business messaging gives you a fantastic way to better serve your customers. Phone calls and emails aren’t always ideal for customer service, particularly now that customers are prioritizing instant responses to their queries.
With a platform that enables two-way texting for business leaders, you have a faster, more effective way to connect with your audience. A customer service representative can even text with multiple customers at once, boosting the efficiency of your support team.
The instant and personalized nature of messaging businesses for support improves customer satisfaction rates and helps you to earn your audience’s loyalty.
Increased Business Efficiency
As mentioned above, all forms of business messaging can boost the efficiency of your communication strategy, particularly if you’re using the right platform. SMS, however, gives you a fantastic way to reduce the headaches associated with various repetitive tasks.
You can leverage AI to scale your conversational business texting strategies quickly and deliver 24/7 service to customers, without hiring additional employees. You can also automate tasks like sending notifications or appointment reminders to customers.
Plus, with text message templates, you can make it easier for teams to create branded, personalized messaging campaigns for various use cases in seconds.
Business Message Options: Common Message Types
As mentioned above, business messages, sent via SMS, or any other channel can come in a range of forms and serve a wide variety of use cases. For instance, companies use Clerk Chat, our business messaging platform, for all kinds of strategies.
They can even connect the Clerk platform with other communication channels, through our Zoom and MS Teams SMS integration options.
Here are some quick examples of how you can use your business messaging service:
- Welcoming and nurturing campaigns: Instantly send customers a welcome message when they share their contact details with you, then follow up with regular notifications, updates, or insights into what’s going on with your business.
- Promotional messages: Use text messages in any industry to share personalized marketing messages with customers about new products, deals, or offers. You can even use conversational AI to answer any questions customers might have about certain products.
- Transactional messages: Use SMS to send confirmation notifications to customers when you receive an order, inform them about shipping times, or issue security alerts. You might even use SMS to enable two-factor or multi-factor authentication methods.
- Customer service: With two-way business messaging, you can deliver fast-paced customer service. Allow customers to chat to AI bots and team members about everything from refund and return policies, to new products.
- Reminders: Use a text appointment reminder service to minimize no-shows for appointments. Alternatively, you can remind your customers about upcoming events, sales, or let them know when a subscription is about to run out.
The future of business communication is here.
Are you in?
Business Messaging Best Practices: 3 Tips to Follow
Although messaging customers is a fantastic way to increase engagement, conversions, and retention rates, there are some potential hurdles to consider too. When they’re just starting out with messaging, business leaders need to ensure they have the right strategies in place to preserve compliance and increase their return on investment.
Here are our top tips for success.
1. Familiarize Yourself with Compliance Guidelines
First, it’s important to make sure you understand everything there is to know about text message compliance. There are various different mandates and regulations that companies need to consider before they send a business message to a customer.
The CAN-SPAM Act dictates what kind of messages you can send to customers and when, if you’re using SMS for promotional purposes. Plus, 10DLC and TCPA compliance standards require all companies to obtain consent from consumers before bombarding them with texts.
Depending on your industry, there may also be additional rules you need to follow, regarding how long you should archive messages for and which information you should redact from any conversations with your customers.
2. Choose the Right Business Messaging Platform
Communicating with your customers through messages is much simpler when you have the right technology to help you. A solution like Clerk Chat, gives you everything you need to automate text messaging campaigns, leverage AI for customer service, and track crucial metrics.
We can help you boost your SMS deliverability rates, increase conversions, and ensure you stay compliant with industry standards. Plus, our platform can integrate with all of the existing tools you’re using to connect with your target audience, and align your teams.
For instance, with Clerk Chat, you can enable access to Zoom phone texting, centralize information from multiple calendars and contact lists, and more. With our integrations, you can personalize every business message you send and optimize the results of your omnichannel communication strategy.
3. Have a Strategy for Every Message
When you’re first getting started with a messaging strategy, it’s easy to assume you should focus all of your effort on promoting products and earning sales. However, there’s more to business messaging than promotion. For the best results, you should focus on delivering value to customers.
Think about how you can improve customer service with two-way messaging, or help keep customers informed with transactional SMS. Consider how you can increase the impact of every message by segmenting your audience, so you can create highly personalized, engaging campaigns.
Think about how you’ll need to adapt your messaging strategy to suit customers across different time zones, with specific needs. Most importantly, review the results of every SMS strategy you implement, so you can make intelligent decisions on how to move forward.
What if Your Phone Number Doesn’t Support SMS?
You might be thinking: “All of this sounds great, but my current business number isn’t enabled to send or receive SMS messages.” Don’t worry, there are still options available to you. If you’re using a program like Microsoft Teams, Webex, or Zoom you can still access SMS with a tool like Clerk Chat.
We can help you access new numbers or add SMS functionality to your existing number through our integration options. Plus, we ensure that once you enable SMS for your number, you can adhere to the specific regulatory guidelines affecting your industry.
For instance, with our integrations to vault and archiving tools, you can keep track of archived text messages in one unified place. We even offer access controls with our business messaging platform, for comprehensive peace of mind.
Embrace the Era of Business Messaging
We sure have come a long way from cave paintings, smoke signals, and carrier pigeons. Business messaging is the new standard for communicating with customers in a convenient, cost-effective, and fast-paced way, regardless of where they might be.
With Clerk Chat, you can take advantage of the benefits that messaging can bring to your company and your customers in no time. Our convenient solution supports every type of messaging strategy, from two-way texting, to AI messages, and automated campaigns.
Step into the future of business communication, with an affordable, all-in-one solution for compliant business messaging. Start your free trial of Clerk Chat today!
