Texting is, without a doubt, one of the best ways businesses can drive additional revenue. 98% of all texts are opened and as noted in previous posts:
Texting averages a 40% response rate.
Phone calls typically only create a meager 5% response rate.
Email is worse at just 3%.
This is even truer during holiday months as customers are on the lookout for the latest deals. However, not all texts are equally effective and, if done poorly, they can weaken your customer relationships. Here are some best practices to ensure your text messages are as effective as possible.
Compliance is Key
First, some housekeeping. Before you begin an outbound text blast campaign, make sure:
Every number on your list has formally opted in to receiving text messages from your business.
Whatever message you send includes a simple opt-out instruction.
The technology platform you use, like Textel or your Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solution, supports a Do Not Call (DNC) list which will remove numbers who have opted out.
Try to send your promotion as close as possible to when your customers are likely to buy your product. If you’re a large grocery chain, you may want to send out turkey promotions closer to Thanksgiving. Many businesses choose to send promotions closer to the evening when most people get off work and can do some online shopping or go out to eat.
Just remember to only send messages between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. based on the customers’ local time, although the allowable time may be shorter based on additional state regulations.
Make It Pop with MMS
Standard text messaging is fine, but MMS messages which allow you to send pictures, emojis, gifs, and even documents are even better due to their visual appeal. Keep in mind that MMS messages limit the amount of text you can include so think strategically about what is better shown in the image versus said in the text.
The simple fact is texting works and MMS texting makes your promotions even more eye-catching.
Create Urgency
Black Friday is a great case study in creating urgency. Many retail outlets place time limits on when certain deals are valid including the day and time of day. Examples include limited the quantity and type of product or service available. Just be careful to not abuse urgency – if everything is an emergency, nothing is.
Make Them Feel Special
Texting can be more than a channel for communication – it can also be an exclusive club. By positioning your text messages as the main way customers access exclusive offers, you ensure they will pay attention when you text. Here’s a couple of things to consider when creating exclusivity:
Make sure they know it is exclusive when they sign up.
Avoid using short code (e.g. 55555) when sending texts. Be sure to text enable your existing business phone numbers. That way they’ll recognize who it’s coming from.
Actually deliver value. Don’t use an exclusive club to push things that aren’t really special.
Use Textel Blast
Textel Blast lets you send text blasts from your existing business phone number. This includes MMS text messages to send images and more. Best of all, Textel works with many existing systems of record including CCaaS vendors like NICE CXone and Genesys. As your customers respond to your promotions, texts can be automatically routed to the right agent who handles the interaction within the tools they already use.
Subscribe to an RSS feed to be notified when we add new Textel sub-processors (note: you will need to cut and paste the “Subscribe to an RSS feed” URL into an RSS Feed Reader to monitor updates).
Textel uses certain sub-processors to assist in providing Textel’s services. A sub-processor is a third party company engaged by Textel to process data, which may include customers’ personal data (i) on behalf of Textel customers; (ii) in accordance with customer instructions as communicated by Textel (typically as set out in Textel’s Terms of Service and Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies); and (iii) in strict accordance with the terms of a written contract between Textel and the sub-processor. Generally, Textel contractually obligates its sub-processors to implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure that the sub-processing of data is protected to the standards required by applicable data protection laws. Further information relating to sub-processor security measures can be found via the external links below and by reviewing such sub-processors’ websites. Where the engagement of a sub-processor requires the cross-border transfer of personal data, Textel has performed transfer impact assessments for such data transfer or otherwise complied with applicable data protection laws. Textel maintains an up-to-date list of the names and locations of all sub-processors below. Textel customers may check this page for updates to sub-processors.
Duration of processing: For each sub-processor above, processing of personal data will be for the duration that the customer uses and continues to use the applicable features of Textel’s services, and for the retention periods as set out in customer’s agreement with Textel.
Our Terms of Service: Textel’s Terms of Service generally provides that Customer(s) may authorize and provide access to Textel Company Properties (defined therein) to individuals, affiliates (including their users), or another entity (including its users) through Customer’s Account. Customer is solely responsible for all use of the Account and all Services through the Account by each User.
Furthermore, in the Terms of Services, Customer, warrants that the holder of any worldwide intellectual property right, including moral rights, in Customer’s Content (as defined in the Terms of Service), has completely and effectively waived all such rights and validly and irrevocably granted to Customer the right to grant the license stated above. Customer have will maintain the applicable permissions, authorizations, and consents (via its employee handbook, privacy policy
or otherwise) for Textel to access, use, disclose, Make Available (as defined in the Terms of Service), store and process Customer’s Content as permitted thereunder. Customer agree that Customer, not Textel, is responsible for all of Customer’s Content that it Makes Available on or in the Services.
Streamlined operations and demographic data collection
About HeartLine HeartLine is a non-profit service that connects Oklahomans to essential resources. With a database of 1,141 provider agencies representing 9,864 vetted services across 37 counties, HeartLine’s resource specialists connect community members in need to the help they need at any hour of the day. In the event of emergencies, like the COVID-19 pandemic, HeartLine is available 24/7, 365 days a year, to offer specialized triage and screening services. They also provide an online Community Needs Dashboard that serves as a tool for provider agencies and community leaders to identify trends, needs, and gaps in services.
Industry: Non-profit social services
Location: Tulsa, OK
Contact Center Size: 65-70 seats
Use Case: Increase brand awareness, streamline operations, compliant communications
Product: Textel Conversations integration with NICE CXone
The Problem: HeartLine Needed a Channel to Proactively Share Services and Resources With Their Community
In February of 2020, Eastern Oklahoma, still thawing from a debilitating winter storm that left thousands without water in Tulsa, faced mass shutdowns. Along with the rest of the country, Oklahoma was navigating the unknowns of the early COVID-19 pandemic and an ensuing uptick in unemployment.
More than 100,000 people reached out to HeartLine for help in those first few weeks. Some needed assistance with utilities, and others with rent. And still more needed help accessing medical care.
Michael Coonfield, Director of Strategic Operations, and Ashlie Casey, Program Director for HeartLine, knew they needed to be more proactive in supporting and educating residents about the services that were most relevant to them.
“It’s those instances where we want to notify them of disaster relief resources immediately,” Casey explained.
They needed a way to promote their brand and to get information out to their community through a channel that would actually reach them — via text. And ideally, they were looking for a texting solution that would be able to extend the functionality of their existing contact center platform NICE CXone. They needed to simply add to the workflow they had in their contact center. And as luck would have it, the Textel integration with NICE CXone came to the rescue.
The Solution: With Textel, HeartLine was Able to Spread Brand Recognition While Supporting Their Workflow
Once Textel was implemented, HeartLine began building a texting contact list. They promoted texting at every touchpoint with their customers — on their website, in video, in their IVR messages, and with every caller. They saw immediate results, adding over 20,000 users to their text subscription list and retaining nearly all of them.
“Out of the 20,000 subscribers we send text messages to, we may get 40-50 people unsubscribe each month,” Coonfield said. “That’s only a 0.2% unsubscribe rate, which is fantastic for us. And we still have a whole lot more people sign up to replace the customers we’ve lost.”
To measure the impact of their texts, HeartLine would include unique links for each text message. This helped them know which messages make a difference. Texting their customers was working. They found that anytime they sent out a text message, they would quickly see a spike in web traffic and an increase in call volume. The word was getting out!
“We gained a lot of brand recognition when we added texting,” Coonfield said. “We could send our logo and social media links within a message, so our customers always associated our texts with our logo.”
Textel has allowed us to reach people instantly with information that can positively change their lives.
Ashlie Casey, HeartLine
And with greater recognition, their customers were noticing the wealth of information that HeartLine offered.
“There are a lot of customers subscribing to texts and engaging with our agents more than ever before,” Casey added. “Textel has allowed us to reach people instantly with information that can positively change their lives.”
Textel Helped HeartLine Streamline Their Operations
With the Textel Text Bot integrated in NICE CXone, HeartLine could speed up their processes as agents managed inbound texts. When a customer texts in, the Text Bot gathers the necessary customer demographic information, then routes the text to an agent to help with referrals, making for a smoother, streamlined operation.
“With the integration between NICE CXone and Textel, our contact center agents can easily manage texts in the same window they use for chats,” Coonfield explained. “So, they see no difference between the two skills. It fits right into our workflow!”
According to Coonfield, this lets them also be more strategic with their texts. If agents are slammed with incoming calls, texts can help to drive incoming traffic to the website or relieve agents of the monotony on the phone.
Textel Helped HeartLine Communicate Freely and Stay Compliant
HeartLine found ways to strategize their SMS campaigns. With Textel, they worked out a calendar to send blast text notifications so they could strategically reach their users during the busiest seasons.
By segmenting lists for outbound Blast texts, they can target a specific segment of their users, like a specific county, to communicate needs that are relevant to that region.
Then, depending on the text’s importance, HeartLine coordinates their social media marketing (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), newspapers, and news channels to align with the text notification, ensuring customers get the same information on all fronts.
In the meantime, HeartLine could trust that they were staying within TCPA compliance using Textel’s opt-in/opt-out management tools. When a user unsubscribes, Textel automatically removes those customers from the master list, keeping HeartLine legally in the clear.
The Result: With Textel, HeartLine Expanded Brand Awareness and Text Adoption
Gained 20,000 text subscribers.
After they added texting, HeartLine saw their contact list grow exponentially, gaining 20,000 text subscribers. This let them expand their outreach, offering more essential resources and information to their community.
Lowered unsubscription rate to 0.2%.
HeartLine noticed the popularity of texting with their customers, seeing only a 0.2% unsubscription rate with their texting list. Using Textel, it was easier for them to offer value to their customers, reaching customers in their preferred channel of communication.
Streamlined operations and demographic data collection.
With the help of the Textel Text Bot integration in NICE CXone, HeartLine could rely on automations to gather essential customer data before routing the customer to a live agent. They were also able to stay compliant using opt-in/opt-out tools to manage their subscription list.
About HeartLine HeartLine is a non-profit service that connects Oklahomans to essential resources. With a database of 1,141 provider agencies representing 9,864 vetted services across 37 counties, HeartLine’s resource specialists connect community members in need to the help they need at any hour of the day. In the event of emergencies, like the COVID-19 pandemic, HeartLine is available 24/7, 365 days a year, to offer specialized triage and screening services. They also provide an online Community Needs Dashboard that serves as a tool for provider agencies and community leaders to identify trends, needs, and gaps in services.
Industry: Non-profit social services
Location: Tulsa, OK
Contact Center Size: 65-70 seats
Use Case: Increase brand awareness, streamline operations, compliant communications
Product: Textel Conversations integration with NICE CXone
