Why Use Texting in Your Telemarketing Services Campaign
In the beginning, there were phone calls, then call centers to handle them. More recently, customers and prospects have made clear they prefer other channels — email, chat, social media, and video calls all followed. What's often still missing: texting. Americans text roughly twice as much as they call, on average, and if that's how people prefer to communicate, telemarketing services strategy needs to catch up.
Texting in inbound telemarketing services
Customer service: Let customers or prospects text in questions or complaints, the same way they might email or fill out a web form — but plan to respond much faster than a typical 24-hour email SLA (QVD recommends within 5 minutes).
Providing information: Confirmation codes, shipment tracking numbers, product details, appointment times, or a link to create an online profile can all be sent by text just as easily as read aloud on a call.
IVR: Instead of forcing callers through a full IVR tree, let them text a keyword like HELP to get started, with MENU listing available commands such as HOURS or LOCATIONS. A favorite: a CALLBACK keyword that queues the sender's number for a callback instead of holding.
Texting in outbound telemarketing services
Voicemails: When a voicemail is left, offering "please call us, or text us, whichever is more convenient" gives the recipient a choice in how they respond — which is also why every number a customer sees on Caller ID or in a voicemail should be text-enabled.
Confirmations: After a sale, sending confirmation by text (in addition to or instead of email) is often easier for the customer to manage, and a simple API call from the script can send a personalized confirmation text automatically.
Appointment setting: A personalized text with variable data can replace repeated call attempts, and a confirmation text lets the recipient save the appointment straight to their phone calendar — saving time for the contact center and the customer alike.
Reminders: Swapping some reminder calls for texts across a multi-touch sales process can save time while keeping prospects engaged.
Local Caller ID: If you dial out using local Caller ID numbers, a heads-up text just before calling — "Expect a call from this number in the next few minutes, or text us your questions" — sets the right expectation before the phone even rings.
There are many ways to weave texting into a telemarketing services campaign, and doing so tends to improve the customer experience and, ultimately, revenue.
