Offering your marketing digitally can also give your leads and clients access to resources and information about your products and services. If this seems overwhelming, don’t worry. With some front-end work and a reliable messaging partner, automations can make your digital marketing more manageable — and cost-effective.

1. Automate marketing messages to improve your customer’s experiences

It’s likely that your potential customers are looking for financial information at all hours of the day, and you can greet them each time with personalized messaging automation. Your first step in creating this positive experience is to ensure you aren’t sending any messages, directly or with automations, without their express written consent. Giving your leads and customers the ability to opt in to messaging can be painless when you add opt-in and compliance language to your digital and printed marketing materials or with a button on your website. Once you have the tools to capture consent, you can automate with a little upfront content creation.

One of the easiest ways to start your customer off with a positive experience with your company is by sending an automated welcome message. When a lead submits a form from your website or asks for more information and agrees to opt in to your messages, your preset welcoming message automation can send them an instant response. 

Filling out the form and submitting it triggers this message, and it doesn’t have to stop there. Your welcome message can also lead to an automated message flow that can gather information about your lead’s user metrics, like their financial goals and knowledge level. These messaging flows might ask your lead questions and ask them to reply using a keyword. Each keyword response triggers another automated message that may provide them with links to resources or applications, or it can trigger a response that explains when you will contact them.

These flows and automations improve the customer’s experience from the initial interaction and can keep it going throughout their journey with your company.

2. Increase profitable hours without sacrificing personalized interactions

With marketing automations in place, you and your team won’t have to spend their profit-making hours responding to each customer request personally. Your automated marketing responders can handle many tasks on your behalf, whether an initial welcoming message or one aimed at nurturing clients with links to educational posts or newsletters catered to their interests. 

Remember that data collecting flow mentioned above? This crucial data, combined with your CRM database, can help you personalize each automated marketing campaign. You’ll save time without sacrificing the quality of each interaction when you add personalized touches to each automated message.

Automated marketing doesn’t mean you’ll relinquish complete control of your marketing and communications to automations. With messaging services like SMS-Magic, you can easily switch from automated to personal conversations. Plus, your automations should be reviewed and adjusted regularly based on your read and response rates to your automated marketing campaigns. This will require updated content creation and adjustments to your keyword triggers and flows to keep automation marketing working its best for you.

3. Promote efficiency and reduce event no-shows with automations

Reminders about upcoming meetings or seminars or gentle nudges to download or read marketing content are other benefits that make adding marketing automation a priority. Once a client agrees to a set appointment date and time, it, unfortunately, isn’t set in stone. You can reduce no-shows by setting up automations to send reminders days and hours before the meeting. Add in the ability for clients to reschedule, and you’ll have time to slide another client into a vacant slot — keeping you on track and increasing your productivity.

SMS-Magic’s analytics lets you see what marketing messages aren’t read or responded to. This vital data — paired with your CRM database — can fuel your follow-up campaigns, specifically targeting those groups that haven’t taken action. Follow-ups and reminders are crucial to maintaining your customers’ forward momentum so they can experience all you offer. Automating these follow-ups frees you up and keeps you moving toward your business goals. 

The Bottom Line

Engaging in thoughtful marketing tactics means you’re nurturing leads and delighting your existing customers, but that doesn’t mean you’re always doing it from your mobile phone or computer 24/7. With a little up-front message creation, you can set SMS marketing automations to work for you — any time of day.

Ready to get started using messaging automations to work for your wealth management firm? To get started with SMS-Magic, contact our customer support team for a demo or a free trial!

First, let’s talk about how messaging can help you sell more insurance, serve your customers better and make your work life a little easier. The bottom line is that you can’t serve customers you can’t reach. Emails, phone calls and voice mail are tried-and-true communication channels, but you can spend hours begging your customers and prospective customers to respond to them, instead of spending time selling or serving.

Most of us have smart phones with built-in texting capabilities, and we carry our phones everywhere. Because of the nature of texting, we open 98% of our messages within three minutes of receipt, and we respond to 40% of them. We only open 20% of our emails, and you already know how hard it is to get a customer on the phone. When asked, 90% of us said we’d prefer to communicate with businesses via text.

What those statistics mean to you is that you can send reminders, have one-on-one conversations or schedule automated messages – and your customers will read your messages and respond faster than with any other channel. They get great service, and you have more time to work on your business.

To help you decide if messaging can make a positive impact on your business, here are the top 5 questions insurance agents ask – and the answers:

1.What should I do before I start texting?

You’ve probably heard about the regulations governing messaging. The regulations will apply when you want to send bulk marketing messages, and you’ll need to get permission from your clients or prospects to text them. Asking them to “opt-in” can become part of your emails, awareness and branding campaigns, applications or quotes. Even if you’re only texting one-on-one, it’s best to have written permission, but it’s easy to get. To make record-keeping easier, SMS-Magic keeps track of customers who have opted in to texting, and more importantly, it tracks who has opted out, so you won’t send them any more marketing texts.

2. Can I use my personal mobile phone?

The SMS-Magic mobile app allows you to use your own smart phone but doesn’t require you to use your own phone number. We don’t recommend that you send business texts from a personal phone number. You should set up texting for your office and connect it to your database, especially if you’re using Salesforce or Zoho. SMS-Magic can also connect to many office-management systems. With a mobile app, when you’re not at your desk, you can message your clients as if you were using your laptop, and yet you still maintain your privacy.

3. How can I handle times when I’m out of the office?

If you’re on vacation, sick or out of the area, you probably want some time away from work. Wouldn’t it be great if colleagues could field a client’s question via text and have all your previous conversations at their fingertips? It’s more than possible with messaging platforms like SMS-Magic. Once the messaging system is integrated with your database, texts are routed to the appropriate agent and the conversation is stored in the client’s record. Anyone with access to the system can read the background and respond. Your client gets great service, and you can disconnect from work knowing your colleagues have your back.

4. What types of messages can I send?

Texting gives you and your clients an easy way to share information. One agency serving a high volume of contractors, for example, encourages clients to use text to request COI’s. It’s easy to take a picture of a business card that has all the relevant contact information and text it to the agent. The agent can respond with a text or email containing the COI. Or a client might send a photo of a VIN by text to add a new vehicle to an existing policy. Another company uses texts to check in with prospective clients they’ve quoted but who haven’t responded. Text is a great way to send reminders for almost anything, including auto renewals and appointments.

5. Do I have to send all the texts myself?

Messaging is a great way to connect with clients, but sometimes you need the system to send automated messages immediately. When a client opts in to texting, for example, they need an immediate response to their request. With messaging solutions like SMS-Magic, you can set up pre-written automated messages that are triggered by certain actions like opting in or asking for more information. Your client gets an immediate response, and you don’t have to monitor text traffic 24/7.

Although messaging has been around for a while, it still seems more relevant to today’s consumers than email. Messaging platforms like SMS-Magic make it easier to conduct business by removing the repetitive chores that eat up your day. Messages are personal and relevant. And your customers love them.

SMS-Magic integrates with many office management systems, so ask us about your system. We’d be happy to talk about your needs. If you’re ready to start, set up a demo of SMS-Magic today!

We’ve got some information we’re truly excited to share because it can make or break your success with messaging. Messaging has the potential to exponentially grow your business and impact your bottom line. How do you tap into that potential? Here are 5 tips to help you:

Make New Friends, But Keep The Old

Messaging offers you powerful opportunities that phone and email outreach simply can’t provide. For example, your customers can’t answer the phone at work, but they can respond to your text messages! Promotional emails are notorious for going straight to spam folders, but promotional messages get open and read.

It can be tempting to simply “dump” your old methods of connecting with customers and conduct all your business via messaging. As time goes on, however, you may find that implementing messaging alongside phone, email and other communication methods is the most effective. Give your customers time to adapt to the new way of doing things, and give your reps a chance to discover what does and doesn’t work for them in the world of messaging and then adapt as necessary.

Get The Word Out – Specifically, the Keyword

One benefit of messaging is that customers can interact with your business using simple, easy-to-type keywords. Words like HELP, STOP, MORE, YES, NO and CONFIRM allow your customers to request help, unsubscribe, ask and answer questions, and more, all while going about their daily lives. Your customers, however, need to know what keywords to use and what number to message, so they can start conversations with your business. Don’t assume customers know where to find your SMS contact information, or even that they know your business uses SMS. Get the word out on printed promotional materials, in-store displays, websites, emails and other promotional materials.

Play it Cool

When you first implement a new messaging strategy, it can be tempting to reach out to your customers constantly. After all, messaging makes it so easy to send targeted, personalized, relevant outreach to multiple recipients in just moments. It’s important, however, not to overwhelm your recipients with too much communication.

A good rule of thumb is to send promotional messages once a week. You can message more often if customers initiate contact with you. Also, remember to send messages during business hours (and be sure to consider the time zone of the country where you’re sending messages).

Personalize It

Messaging makes it so easy to personalize your customer outreach. Even better, with SMS-Magic, you can automate much of this personalization, eliminating tedious point-and-click tasks that your reps used to do by hand. By gathering a few strategic pieces of data from your customers, you can wow them with outreach that feels relevant and genuine.

Asking for anniversary dates and birthdays is a great place to start. You can also personalize messages to mention your customers’ names, items they’ve purchased, agents they’ve worked with, addresses they’re interested in selling or purchasing. The type of personalization your customers respond to will depend on your industry.

Remember, the key to sending messages your customers want to read is to make them feel special and give them information, offers, reminders and opportunities that meet their individual needs.

Don’t Hesitate To Ask!

Messaging is a great way to share information with your customers, but it’s also perfect for requesting information from them. Asking for feedback after an appointment can help your customer know that their experience matters to you. Following up after a purchase shows that you stand behind your product and care about your customer’s satisfaction. Remember, communication is a two-way street, so use messaging to get your customers talking!

A successful messaging campaign can dramatically increase revenue, drive customer satisfaction, increase agent efficiency, and so much more. If you’re ready to give SMS-Magic a try, reach out to our customer support team for a demo or a free trial!

As chief operating officer for Kwartler Manus, a personal injury law firm based in Philadelphia, Kwartler’s job is to help the firm’s staff convert prospects into clients. Often, he said, when people are seeking representation because of an injury, they contact several law firms to compare services and expertise. Law firms that can quickly connect with prospective clients have the best chance of earning their business.

When Kwartler started working with the firm three years ago, he realized that emails and phone calls were not the best way to start those relationships. He said it was difficult to get people on the phone.

“We’re all busy,” he said. “People can’t answer the phone right away or it’s inconvenient for them to return a message.”

Conversational text messaging, however, allows the firm to reach out quickly and personally. Clients can ask questions in a live interaction at their convenience.

Research about messaging shows that we prefer texts because globally we send 5 billion texts a day and open 98 percent of them. Conversely, we only open our emails 22 percent of the time, according to Gigaom. Research from Asurion shows that we look at our phones at least 96 times a day or once every 10 minutes or more. Kwartler knew that the firm’s prospective customers were just like the rest of us.

He said it was quickly apparent that his firm needed a conversational text messaging solution, and he contacted SMS-Magic. He chose SMS-Magic because it is integrated with Litify, his firm’s management software.

He was interested in getting the most out of both platforms by synching messaging with his management tools. He has had some advanced training with Salesforce and Litify and has become a Litify advocate. SMS-Magic is designed so that all client contacts are recorded in one place within the Litify environment. Anyone in the firm can see exactly what has been communicated, and they don’t have to open a second platform to do it.

“With SMS-Magic, we’re able to respond quickly to initial client queries via text,” he said. “We can start the conversation and tell the client who we are and then make sure we’re talking to the right person. It’s a conversation between the client and one person at the law firm. Clients really like the personalization.”

In addition to personalization, Kwartler Manus clients appreciate the quick response, as well as the opportunity to either move forward with their inquiry or end the contact altogether. And they really like handling it all without actually talking to anyone.

Everyone in the firm has a license to use SMS-Magic. “That way, if a principle or associate is in court, someone else can respond to the client,” Kwartler said.

Kwartler Manus doesn’t market by sending mass emails to potential clients. Instead, the firm includes space for phone numbers on ads and other materials prospective clients can return to the firm to indicate their interest. The firm uses phone numbers to contact prospects by text messaging.

“We wanted to start conversations.” Kwartler said, “So we wanted a texting platform that allowed us to have conversations with our clients. As a client’s case progresses, our staff can text them one-on-one.”

Working with SMS-Magic has been very easy, Kwartler said. He gives SMS-Magic high marks for creating a product that works well and then supporting it with engineers, developers and staff members who care about their customers.

“The SMS-Magic team responds to our texts right away,” he said. “They get back to us within an hour or two – at all times of day. When we’ve needed extra help, they’ve worked with us without the extra charges other companies use.”

After the dramatic initial increase in messages during the first three months – from 89 messages to 2,634 – Kwartler Manus has sent more than 182,850 conversational messages to its clients. The increase in usage has been steady and is currently averaging just under 7,000 messages a month. Kwartler said he couldn’t be happier with the integration of the two systems and the addition of messaging to the firm’s communications tools.

“Integrating SMS-Magic with Litify has given us a real competitive advantage,” he said. “It’s made life easier for our legal teams and has helped us serve our clients better.”

“I think the numbers will show that we’re converting more prospects and earning business we were leaving on the table before we made the switch,” he continued. “I highly recommend SMS-Magic to any law firm or company that needs fast, personal communication that’s trackable.”

If you’re interested in exploring how SMS-Magic can help you respond to your customers, book a DEMO or FREE TRIAL.

In a normal economy, it could take weeks or months to advertise, interview, offer and accept. Slow-to-hire companies often lose out on the best prospects, leaving themselves with average workers. That’s in a normal economy.

In 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 47 million people voluntarily quit their jobs, many of them responding to life changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Low-wage workers led the pack, but they were followed by women with increased childcare responsibilities, retiring Baby Boomers and people who wanted better pay, greater flexibility and less stress in their work lives. Job openings have increased to records highs. Welcome to the “Great Resignation,” aka the “Big Quit.”

So what’s an excellent company to do? Home Depot, a Fortune-500-ranked company, plans to hire 25 percent more workers for its spring season this year by speeding up the application process. The company plans to offer jobs in as little as one day, up from an average of five days previously. The company is also holding virtual job fairs to fill 100,000 full- and part-time job openings.

Your business may not involve selling building supplies and you may not be able to offer jobs in 24 hours, but evidence shows that speeding up your hiring process can help you fill open positions with the talent you need. Hiring fast allows you to recruit top talent and to give them a better candidate experience. You’ll experience higher acceptance rates because a faster timeline gives candidates less time to consider other offers.

It also keeps the candidate from “ghosting” the hiring company. The term ghosting comes from the dating world where it means someone has simply disappeared from all communications. A recent Indeed survey indicates that 76 percent of employers have been ghosted – even after a candidate has accepted a job – and 57 percent believe ghosting is more common than before.

Some ghosting occurs when a candidate receives a better offer and chooses not to inform other interested companies, but lack of communication also plays a large role in candidate frustration. A recent CareerBuilder survey finds that 51 percent of applicants are discouraged by a lack of information. More than a third of respondents said that need to know what their status is during the process and employers don’t share that information. Slightly less than a third of respondents said employers don’t even acknowledge receiving their applications.

The results? Frustrated applicants are more likely to ghost the employer.

Liz Cannata, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder, said in a Fast Company interview: “If the candidate doesn’t understand where they’re at in the process or how long the process will be, they can lose interest and become disengaged. Similarly, if the process is too long and feels like it’s dragging out because the employer keeps adding one more interview or they’re unsure of when they’ll have a decision, that can also lead to drop off.”

We would like to suggest that using text messaging during your hiring process can make a big difference, especially for staffing companies. By including permission to text the candidate on your application, you can communicate with applicants initially via a series of automated texts. When you’re farther along in the hiring process, you can send group texts to let applicants know they aren’t progressing in the hiring process and send individual texts to those whom you’d like to interview.

Once you’ve narrowed down the selection, you can move to one-on-one conversational messaging to set up interviews and gather any additional information you need. Your applicants get the information they need quickly in a format they prefer.

We know applicants prefer texts because globally we send 5 billion texts a day, and we open 98 percent of them. Conversely, we only open emails 22 percent of the time, according to Gigaom. Research from Asurion shows that we look at our phones 96 times a day or once every 10 minutes. You can bet that job applicants are just like the rest of us.

We also know that managing the flow of information is critical, too. If you use a CRM like Salesforce or Zoho, SMS-Magic can help you track of all your applicant interactions. All of your incoming texts, emails and phone conversations, as well as your responses, can be archived in your CRM.

It’s a competitive world and if you’re able to respond to candidates faster than your competition, you have earned an amazing competitive advantage. Quick responses to applicants help you recruit the best possible candidates while enhancing your hiring brand in your industry.

Being authentic in your hiring process is increasingly important in today’s business world. Staying in touch with talented applicants has become a requirement. SMS-Magic, through conversational and automated text messaging, can help you reach out to applicants faster and with better results.

SMS-Magic offers a free trial so that you can get a feel for our product. If you’re as pleased as we think you will be, you can choose the level of service that’s best for your company.

Contact us to set up a demo or to start your free trial. Let us show you how you can engage applicants in new ways! 

If you’re like most people in the United States, you use a combination of payment methods. Using a mobile app or paying bills from a laptop computer is just so much easier than trudging to the bank or writing checks used to be.

It’s how we do business. If you were anywhere else in the world, however, you would probably be conducting business using a text messaging app like WhatsApp or WeChat. Think that sounds farfetched? Text messaging is a communication trend that will soon be widely used in the U.S., and we don’t need a crystal ball to tell us so.

We’ve been watching the billions of people who are using text messaging apps around the world. Like mobile phone adoption, the U.S. is slow to start using text messaging, especially with apps like WhatsApp, but it’s coming. To keep your business healthy and growing, you need to understand and leverage new communication channels as quickly as you can or risk losing customers and sales.

If It’s Broke, Fix It

If you’ve been trying to reach your customers and potential customers with conventional channels like phone calls, direct mail or email, you probably are wondering why your results are mediocre, at best. It’s because we only open emails 22 percent of the time, according to Gigaom. Phone calls have a lower response rate.

Conversely, we send more than 5 billion texts a day, and we open 98 percent of them. Asurion’s research shows that Americans look at our phones 96 times a day or once every 10 minutes.

Most texts sent in the U.S. today use the native texting capability that comes packaged in mobile phones – Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS). SMS messages are limited to text only but are quick and inexpensive, great for reminders. MMS messages can contain photos or videos and are often very eye-catching. They can create high response rates, but they are more expensive to send and take longer to transmit.

The rest of the world, however, is using an assortment of “over-the-top” apps that use the internet to send the message, not a cellular service. Facebook Messenger is the top app in North America and Australia, WhatsApp is most popular in most of South America, Russia, India and parts of Africa, and WeChat is the leader in China. If your company is based in the United States, you might not be familiar with apps like Viber, Telegram, Line, Discord, KakaoTalk, Phoenix, or Zalo, but if you’re trying to reach customers in specific countries, you may need to become familiar with the favorites in that area.

When someone in India uses WhatsApp to do their banking, they are using a Facebook service that offers end-to-end security. Security is one of the priorities for most OTT apps, but it isn’t always available in the initial download. Most of the apps are free to download but may charge for business uses. They allow users to share files, to set messages to self-destruct, to make voice calls and to chat with groups of up to 200,000 users. Some also allow voice calls even to those who haven’t downloaded a specific app.

Are You Ready to Use OTT Apps Now?

The downside of using OTT apps is that the people you send to must also have the app. That limits your audience in the U.S. right now, but trends indicate that OTT app usage will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Here’s what we recommend: start using text messaging to reach your customers and potential customers. We have a customer who increased customer responses to their campaigns from less than one percent to over 15 percent just by changing from emails to texts.

Work the kinks out of your campaigns now. As OTT app adoption accelerates, you will be perfectly poised to take advantage of the technology while your competition struggles.

Our system, working with your CRM, can keep track of all your customer interactions in one place. It can also keep track of messages sent from a variety of platforms, starting with native mobile text capabilities and expanding to OTT apps like Messenger, WhatsApp, SnapChat or the others as needed.

SMS-Magic offers a free trial so that you can get a feel for our product. If you’re as pleased as we think you will be, you can choose the level of service that’s best for your company.

Contact us to set up a demo or to start your free trial. We’ll share what we see in our crystal ball. Let us show you how you can engage your customers in a new way!

We’re always interested in how companies are using text messaging, and when one of our team members parked recently, she was directed by a sign on the parking meter to text her location to the parking company. That started a text interaction that allowed her to pay for her parking space. And if she needed more time, she could text her payment without returning to her car.

Because she works for SMS-Magic, she was interested to see that the parking company didn’t ask for permission to text her. That’s because text conversations initiated by the consumer don’t require permission; consent is implied because the consumer acted first. Our colleague knew, however, that almost every other contact requires the consumer to “opt in” to receiving messages.

The dilemma is that a company can’t text a customer to ask for permission. So how do you get your customers, clients, patients or prospects to say “Yes” to the texts?

Get ‘Express Written Consent’

You must have “express written consent” before your company can legally send text messages to anyone. That means more than just asking for their phone number. And it doesn’t matter who it is – an existing customer, a former client, a trade-show lead, or someone on a purchased marketing list. Before that first text message goes out, your customer must say it’s okay.

Why? The U.S. Congress created the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to combat unsolicited phone calls. Through the years, however, the Act has expanded to include new technologies like text messaging. It contains specific restrictions and penalties that companies ignore at their peril. The fines can be as much as $1,500 per message sent. In one of the first class-action lawsuits concerning texting, Papa John’s settled the case against it for $16.5 million in 2013.

But you can secure permission with a few simple steps:

• Add a “permission to text” checkbox to any initial paperwork a new customer will complete. That includes applications, sales paperwork, installation appointments, requests for more information, medical or financial profile information, or contests.
• You can send emails to your existing clients to give them the opportunity to opt in. You can offer a coupon or discount to incentivize your customers.
• After you have permission, send the first text right away. If permission is included in an online document, send the first text immediately. Whenever you send the first text, however, mention your company’s name, the frequency of messages, any carrier charges that apply, and provide an option to get help or to opt out.
• If you’re offering a coupon, discount or other promotion to opt in, mention how to redeem the offer in the first text you send.

The more you automate these processes, the happier your staff will be.

Record Keeping on the Back End

Of course, you’ll also need to keep a list of everyone who has given you permission to text – and everyone who hasn’t. If you’re ever challenged, you’ll need to be able to prove you only send texts to customers who have opted into receiving text messages.

Receiving, logging and responding to messages from your customers may seem daunting, but SMS-Magic is designed to make it easy by working seamlessly with your CRM. SMS-Magic not only receives and sends text messages, it logs messages so that anyone in the system can see what has been sent to whom.

In addition, if your customer-service reps are working on a complicated matter, the system will log all interactions, including phone calls and emails, eliminating the need for the customer to explain the situation every time they change reps. It saves hours of needless work.

SMS-Magic works seamlessly with Salesforce and Zoho and has the capability to work with most systems. We can help you even if you don’t use a CRM at all.

Does SMS-Magic sound like the partner you’ve been looking for? We hope so!

Contact us to set up a demo or to start your free trial. Let us show you why your compliance worries will disappear with SMS-Magic!

Think about how you’re contacting your customer now. If you’re sending any type of message in small batches, you are spending quite a bit of time making sure all the elements (subject line, message, email address) are correct before you hit send. It would take several hours to send out 1,000 messages, and we don’t want to consider how long 10,000 messages might take, even with a bulk email delivery service.

And if you’re relying on emails, you are probably disappointed with the response rates your messages generate. Those of us in the U.S. only open emails 22 percent of the time, according to Gigaom. No wonder your customers aren’t beating down the door – they aren’t getting the message. And following up on emails that have gone silent takes lots of time.

If you’re using the phone to contact customers for any reason – their car is ready, their appointment is coming up, or you still need those documents completed – you’re not only spending time dialing and leaving messages, you’re also spending time in the social aspects of a phone call. The minutes spent asking about your customer’s holiday plans can quickly add up to hours.

Then there’s the cost. Customer-service phone calls, according to a Forrester Research study, cost the sponsoring company about $16 each. A text thread, however, averages out to between $1 and $5. We think that’s enough of a reason.

Even so, we don’t mean to disparage talking to your customers by phone, but when you do engage in a phone call, you need to have a specific reason. Are you calling to establish a personal connection to solve a problem or ask for an opinion? In that case, the phone may be the best way to connect.

But we all know that when you’re sending lots of messages with the same text or question, it isn’t fun. It’s routine. It’s boring, but it’s still vitally important. So why not use a system that can send messages in seconds, update your customer’s record, and provide a quick, easy way for your customers to respond?

If you’re using a CRM like Salesforce or Zoho, text messaging apps like SMS-Magic can link directly to the CRM. That allows you to:

1. Collect all the customer service information about an open ticket in one place. That allows anyone on the team to handle the next interaction.

2. Know exactly what messages were sent to which customers because it will be logged into their CRM record.

3. Communicate with messages from all of the messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, WeChat, Line, Phoenix, Viber or the native texting app on your customers’ phones.

SMS messages are limited to 160 characters and cost less to send than larger MMS messages. MMS messages, however, can include audio, video, GIFs and complicated graphics, among other rich media components. Even with a large file attached, you can send your customers the information they need, exactly when they need it.

Let SMS-Magic Help You

We think SMS-Magic can help you reach your customers with less time and effort than you’re spending on emails and phone calls. We offer conversational messaging so that your customers can respond to your texts. If you want to tie into your CRM, we work particularly well with Salesforce and Zoho, but we can help you with many others, and we work with all the messaging apps like Messenger, WhatsApp, and SnapChat, so you don’t sacrifice anything to reach your best customers wherever they are … and you get your life back! How cool is that?

Contact us to set up a demo or to start your free trial. Let us show you how SMS-Magic can help you end the nightmare of scheduling installations!

As we listened to her story, we thought she had done everything right because she worked with a reputable company. We thought they really did want to provide great service, but the sales staff left out a critical part of the installation process – the installer wouldn’t haul away stained carpet. The customer service staff wanted to help, but our colleague couldn’t reach them on installation day because she got caught in endless voicemail loops. When she finally reached them, customer service couldn’t get in touch with the installer quickly enough to resolve the issue. Our colleague faced a huge expense to find and hire someone else to dispose of the old carpet.

The End of the Story & Critical Solutions

The installers eventually gave in and finished the job, but they trashed the old carpet in a dumpster the homeowners’ association had supplied for a different project. Our colleague faced fines from the HOA for improper use of the dumpster. It’s easy to see why she won’t use this supplier again. But it all could have been avoided.

How? By using text messaging to standardize scheduling, deliver consistent installation tips, and connect customers with customer service and installers quickly. We think text messaging can help you turn a disgruntled customer into a delighted customer. Remember: you can’t help a customer that you can’t reach.

How Can Text Messaging Help You Schedule Installation?

If you sell products or services that need installation, text messages can help you reach your customer wherever they are. Your customers actually prefer texts to emails or phone calls. Consider this:

• Nathan Eddy writes in eWeek, “Over half of [survey] respondents (52 percent) said they would be likely to text with a customer support agent. Similarly, 52 percent would prefer texting customer support more than their current preferred method of communication.”
• Globally, we send more than five billion texts a day – not counting other types of messages – and we open 98 percent of them. Conversely, we only open emails 22 percent of the time, according to Gigaom. Research from Asurion shows that we look at our phones 96 times a day or once every 10 minutes.

Clearly, we like to text and find it helpful in personal interactions. We think the next big business opportunity is to make messaging a regular part of customer support.

Text messages, either SMS or MMS, are versatile. They are immediate because your message goes directly to your customer’s phone. Text messages are brief but they can link to much more information like calendars, web pages, PDFs, videos or podcasts. You can deliver the same critical information about the installation to every customer, every time.

And during the sale, your customer can opt into receiving text messages. You can include it as part of the sales process.

When you set up a new messaging campaign, we recommend that you plan the flow of text messages using both templates and automated delivery. You decide what information your customer needs and in what order – the next text message in the sequence is triggered by the customer’s response to the last text. If you don’t receive a response within a certain time, your system sends a reminder text. If you don’t receive a response or your customer indicates a problem, the issue can be referred to a live customer service rep automatically.

If our colleague’s carpet company had used this type of system, they could have given her options for carpet removal and disposal long before the day of installation. They might have been able to keep a customer.

Let SMS-Magic Help You

We think SMS-Magic can help you eliminate nightmares when you’re scheduling installation for your products. SMS-Magic can help provide a great experience for your customers, too. We offer conversational messaging so that your customers can respond to your texts. If you want to tie into your CRM, we work particularly well with Salesforce and Zoho, but we can help you with many others, and we work with all the messaging apps like Messenger and WhatsApp, so you don’t sacrifice anything to reach your best customers wherever they are!

Contact us to set up a demo or to start your free trial. Let us show you how SMS-Magic can help you end the nightmare of scheduling installations!