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Beginner’s Guide to Mass SMS from Your Landline

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 17:30:57 GMT

More and more consumers are growing comfortable with the idea of texting businesses to make their voices heard.

The savviest of businesses understand the importance of this trend and is choosing to engage numerous customers using bulk SMS.

Bulk SMS is changing the way businesses communicate and nurture relationships with consumers by empowering businesses to send messages at scale, without sacrificing the personal touch of their messages.

For those interested in dabbling with bulk SMS, did you know you can take your current phone landline and convert it into a platform that enables 2-way bulk text messaging?

You don't even need to change your landline phone number.

All it takes is a quick call to your service provider.

It’s so quick and easy In fact, you could easily text-enable your landline within the day. WIth flexible pricing plans depending on your needs all without disrupting your current business workflow.

Soon you’ll be able to send tens of thousands of messages efficiently and effortlessly.

How Bulk SMS Makes Your Life Easier

The message workload that every successful business must respond to is unruly enough as it is. Through a text-enabled land-line with an SMS platform, lighten that load and get back to what matters.

Scale & Increase Work Capacity

A single member of your team can manage several conversations at once.

An SMS interface allows by having multiple open chat windows. Answer each message based on priority either individually or in groups.

A single person can even send scheduled mass text message. As many as tens of thousands of messages at a time.

It gets even easier with repeatable messages such as appointment reminders and order confirmations. Messages of this nature can easily be automated through the use of auto responders, which send canned responses, freeing up time and energy for a team member to focus on other chats and tasks.

Centralized and Safeguard Data and Messages

Multiple team members can have access to a single text-enabled landline, as long as they are authorized.

This keeps all the inbound and outbound messages in one place, eliminating information silos and enhancing collaboration among team members.

This secures your users' data and more effectively than if agents were to use multiple different phone lines and with their own individual cell phones.

Faster Engagement

Emails usually take days for the receiver to open. On average, texts are opened within minutes of receiving them.

That increased speed happens on both ends. You reply to messages faster, and so do your recipients.

3 day response time for emails vs 3 minute response time for text messages.

Imagine how much more you can get done with the extra time and energy.

How to Enable Landline texting

Getting Set-Up

First, speak to your provider. For example, AT&T has a landing page to get you started on text enabling your landline .

While text-enabling your land-line is free, you’ll still invest some money to get a practical and viable text-enabled landline platform for your business needs.

Depending on the terms your provider offers, you’ll find different packages that offer functions such as mass scheduled texting.

Once you’ve set up your platform, it's easy to import your list of contacts. Most land-line enabled texting platforms allow the importing of contacts from spreadsheets.

Getting Your Audience’s Permission

Once you have the platform to start texting, be aware that according to TCPA and CTIA guidelines , you are only allowed to send texts to people who have opted in.

While you can’t start spamming your customers with promotions right off the bat, what you can do is text your pre-existing consumers and subscribers and ask them if they’d be interested in hearing more. When they choose to opt-in, that’s the green light to send the content they crave.

Whether you’re sending a newsletter, a special sales promotion, a customer care case. Remember who the message is for and what you value you hope to offer.

Targeting the right audience with the right offer, at the right time is a sure fire way to pique their interest and get them excited and opt-in.

Be sure to set expectations such as how often they will be receiving content.

Not only is it polite, but setting expectations is an important part of developing trust and loyalty.

Types of Bulk SMS Campaigns to Send

Now that you have a working land-line enabled SMS, where do you go from there?

Here are some examples to get you started:

Market Research Surveys

Use SMS to better know your market.

Through SMS, you can quickly send a quick message to your customers to participate in a survey to get some valuable insight.

Gauge your market’s interest through polls, or get feedback regarding your service.

Survey Monkey gives some great insights about SMS surveys.

Sales Promos and Special Offers

Campaign special blowout sales, and loyalty programs.

Get your consumer to opt-in via keyword campaign. Offer a discount or referral program to those who opt in.

Event Management

RSVP attendees and send email reminders and newsletters about upcoming events and seminars.

Not only will you keep it organized, you’ll also be able to track data such as the number of attendees and examine it for future event planning.

Newsletters

Don’t keep your customers in the dark. Let them know what new and exciting attractions and features you that they can look forward to.

Not only are newsletters useful for retaining the interest of your current customers and subscriber base, but it also boosts traffic to your website as well as drive sales.

Looking Forward to New Conversations

Texting is quickly becoming the way that customers feel most comfortable talking to not only their friends and family but those they do business as well.

Just as email was a game changer for marketing, so too is SMS.

Businesses that don’t start developing a system of SMS to communicate with their market are asking to be left behind.

It doesn’t take much. Take your old business landline, text-enable it and start communicating with customers in a new, effective, and exciting way.

Want to learn how your team can collaborate on customer messages faster? Chatfully can help! Click here to learn more .

Sources

Text message marketing tips

How to be TCPA and CTIA compliant for text message marketing

6 roles for texting with non-profits

How SMS Builds Customer Relationships

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 04:52:56 GMT

We have come a long way when it comes to texting.

Today, more than 5 billion people worldwide -roughly two-thirds of the world's population- use text messaging for regular communication. It's become the norm for how people communicate.

While most of us are comfortable texting our family and friends, it’s another story when it comes to the idea of texting our customers. It’s easy to be more self-conscious about the texts we send to those we do business with. It feels like there is just so much more at stake, should you send the wrong message.

But we should not be afraid to venture into the prospect of texting our customers. SMS communication with customers is still a relatively new concept. It is up to us as professionals to form stronger customer relationships, and the fastest way to do that is with SMS.

Starting the conversation

The idea of mass texting your customers can be an exciting proposition. However, please keep in mind that not only are unsolicited texts rude and off-putting, they are also illegal. Doing so can land you some hefty fines from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or the TCPA . These fines can be as costly as $1,500 per text. Now, multiply that by hundreds or even thousands of texts.

So to avoid that, you’ll need to get your customers’ express consent.

There are multiple ways you can easily ask your customers to opt in and accept your text based messaging.

Sending an SMS opt-in message

Relatively straightforward example. While you can’t immediately start bombarding your customers with a slew of sales promos, there's nothing stopping you from sending a simple message asking if they’d be interested in hearing from you. Remember to send your customer a quick message telling them what to expect. What’s the purpose of this messaging campaign that you are offering? How frequently are you going to be messaging them? Do message and data rates apply? Don’t forget to mention your privacy policy and your terms & conditions.

By setting expectations and being transparent, not only are you in compliance with the law, you're treating your customers with respect while simultaneously vetting out those who just aren’t interested, saving you time and resources.

Conversations worth having

Now that your customer has agreed to receive texts from you the next question is:

“What comes next?”

Here are a few suggestions:

Billing and Invoices

While you may be using tools such as billing and invoicing software applications to keep track and capture your revenue, some customers have a lot on their plate and it's easy to be a bit forgetful. A direct approach like texting your customer might just be the gentle reminder they need to get that cash flow back in a timely manner, a boon for both parties.

Text-to-Landline Customer Service

Conversation is a two-way street. While you typically reach out to your customers, have you ever wondered how often your customers have tried to reach out to you by texting your landline?

Did you know, you can text-enable your landline? Few vendors provide that capability, but it opens up an entirely new communication channel. Give it a shot - you may be surprised by the number of customers who would love to text you through your landline number.

Referral and Sales Promotions

Text your customers special sales promotions, offering them exclusive discounts before anyone else. You can do this through SMS keyword campaigns. Build their loyalty and increase demand through referral programs as well.

SMS Texting Etiquette and Practices

While sending these messages, it's important to have certain standards of etiquette. SMS is still relatively new, and it’s not uncommon for enthusiasts to overstep boundaries by accident.

Politeness is not only important, it’s appreciated by your prospects and consumers.

Here are some rules of thumb to help guide you.

Timing is Key

SMS and other mediums like it allows users to text their prospects and consumers at any time and any place

However, CAN and SHOULD are two separate matters.

It is important to text clients at appropriate times; few people appreciate receiving a text in the dead of night. Doing makes it less likely to get a response in a timely and gracious manner.

Texts sent outside of working hours imply a sense of urgency. So unless it actually IS urgent, it’s best avoid doing so.

Putting a foot in the door

SMS texts are best when they are concise.

Short, sweet, and to the point.

Long conversations benefit more from other mediums, such as on the telephone or on a conference call.

However, SMS text is a good way to start the chat by setting up a time and date to have it.

Say what you mean.

Words and context can easily get lost in translation when texting. It’s recommended that businesses avoid using words and phrases that could be misinterpreted. Tone can be difficult to convey in text messages.

Sarcasm and humor should be left to trained professionals.

SMS key metrics

To improve and refine your SMS campaigns, it's important to have hard data to analyze and interpret.

How do you measure the height of your success with SMS?

Delivery Rate & Time

Even the best crafted message is ineffective if it’s not reaching the intended contacts.

It’s imperative to make sure that contact information for prospects and customers is updated regularly and accurately. Consumers may have changed their phone number or perhaps a phone number was input incorrectly. Either way, these are just some reasons a message might not be properly delivered.

It’s also important that your message be delivered in a timely manner. People have busy lives and schedules. If the SMS has a call to action that needs to be completed at the end of the day, sending the message last-minute is not only rude, it’s unlikely to be fulfilled by the recipient.

Opt-in & Opt-out Rates

Find out how many new subscribers are coming in on a weekly, or monthly basis. It will be a good measure of growth and verify the success of the SMS campaign.

Conversely, a consistent opt out rate may be an indication of flaws, such as targeting the wrong audience, or not living up to their expectations.

Looking towards the future with SMS

It’s important for any marketing channel to be able to speak the language of the consumer. To talk to them through the channels that they are most at home using. By 2025, it’s predicted that as many as 72.6% of users will be accessing the internet solely through their smartphones.

While it may seem strange for some to use texting to communicate with consumers, it’s up to us as business professionals to move past that so we can converse with our customers in new ways that they prefer.

Want to learn how your team can collaborate on customer messages faster? Chatfully can help! Click here to learn more .

Sources

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/10-professional-texting-e_b_12154416

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8732-text-message-marketing-tips.html

https://www.mobilemarketer.com/ex/mobilemarketer/cms/opinion/columns/24565.html

https://www.way2target.com/blog/important-sms-marketing-metrics/

Best B2C Practices for Using SMS, IM, and Email

Mon, 13 Jan 2020 19:08:29 GMT

As you’re learning more about conversational commerce, you may start to feel defensive about your current email communication strategy. It seems to be working for you and you're comfortable with the system in place. Why put time, energy, and resources into implementing a new process, like using SMS texting and instant messaging, that may not work for your needs?

It’s a natural way to react to any type of change—probably more so in business where you’re not just risking your personal reputation and money, but your business’ as well. It’s the responsible reaction to question anything that claims to be “better for you.” So to all of you cautious decision makers—we say bravo and applaud your thoughtful judgment.

We are not here to convince you that you need to completely change your communication plan. Rather, we are here to provide insights into how you may augment your arsenal to enhance what you’ve got and make it even better.

We’ve got nothing against email. On the contrary, we’ll show you how to improve your email strategy while adding SMS texting and instant messaging capabilities as options for your audience.

Before we do that, we will first address some common concerns about using SMS and/or IM for business purposes. Then, we’ll outline when to use instant communication with your audience and when to use email.

Common Concerns about SMS and IM

Concern #1: They’re intrusive.

Some people may find getting a text or chat message from a business on their personal phone as an invasion of a sacred space that should only be designated for trading emojis and gifs with your nearest and dearest. That’s a fair point if the customer did not opt in to receive SMS or IM from the company.

However, standard practice for most organizations is to request permission before contacting a consumer. By doing this, businesses know whether the consumer wants to hear from them or not. In addition, companies usually offer a way to opt out if consumers change their mind or were contacted by mistake. So, ultimately this choice of communication style is left with the consumer. Those people who find it intrusive can opt out—they would be among the minority anyway.

When Facebook surveyed daily messaging app users, 61% of those surveyed in the US told them “they had messaged a business in the past three months.” The same statistic from other countries was either the same or higher. It’s clear most people around the world don’t find SMS or IM from companies intrusive at all.

Concern #2: No access or limited access.

There may be a cost barrier that limits or prevents people from receiving text or instant chat messages. Those consumers have the same choice as above—they can opt out of receiving these types of instant communication altogether or choose the chat platform that’s most accessible to them whether that be SMS, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, or the like. Businesses can access all of these mediums through a unified platform, like Chatfully, that will keep the conversations organized and open for teams to view and collaborate on the best solutions.

If the targeted recipients do opt out of any instant communication, hopefully, they have the option to be reached by email, phone, or postal mail instead should they have questions about your product or service or want to be alerted about sales promotions.

Concern #3: No records.

For everyday personal use, it may not be possible to keep a history of your texts or DMs, and if one did, it would take up precious space on your device. For businesses, however, there are services, like Chatfully, that can help you maintain records of all your conversations (no matter the platform) for however long you want to keep them. So if you’re looking for that complaint sent over Twitter or that billing question sent via WhatsApp, you can easily find it through a unified platform like Chatfully’s.

But which tool is best?

Now that we have addressed the common concerns about using SMS texting or web-based instant messaging, for the rest of this article, we will refer to both of these mediums as “instant chat” and compare “instant chat” to email. The other pros and cons in certain situations for both SMS and IM are the same so both will be grouped as “instant chat.”

This guide will help you choose the best tool for each of the following areas:

Scheduling
Customer success
Sales
Marketing
Use Cases for Instant Chat

Use Cases for Instant Chat

Scheduling: Making and confirming appointments normally doesn’t require a lot of text, but it does require a quick response. Thus, this use case is a perfect example of why chat methods work best here.
Customer Success: If a customer has a quick question that can be answered with a short message, instant chat is a convenient and efficient way to provide service for both parties. Consumers can be helped quickly and agents can help more people.
Sales: This will depend on what stage of the sales process you or your agent is in. Instant chat makes the most sense for initial inquiries in which you find out how the prospect wants to learn more about your company—via email, phone, or in-person meeting.
Marketing: Instant chat can be used to send out quick, short alerts on a product sale or promotional event on a mass scale. These messages can be targeted to those most interested in the offering to better ensure your message is not viewed as spam. It’s also less costly than email and mailers because it would not be necessary to invest in graphic designers or coders to craft an eye-catching text message.

The benefits outlined below explain why instant chat is preferable in the scenarios above.

Benefits:

Immediate and direct delivery to a mobile device
Not considered spam since contacts are required to opt in
Higher chance of being read quickly
Higher chance of quick response
Allows for back-and-forth dialogue in real time
Less likely to be a victim of viruses
Not as costly when compared to some email campaigns

These pro tips will show best practices in using instant chat for business.

Pro Tips:

Keep the messages concise. Formal greetings and signatures are not required, but you should address the person by name and add your name and company at the end of the message.
If you’re replying to a customer or prospect using an IM platform, leave your number in case the person wants to continue the conversation over the phone. Usually, smartphones will be able to recognize when a phone number is typed in and can provide a one-touch link to the phone app on the device.

Use Cases for Email

Scheduling: Using email for scheduling is fine if chat is not available. It may be slower depending on your email service, but it should accomplish the task just as well.
Customer Service: If an issue with a product or service is more complicated and requires more space to explain than a text message can provide, email is the next best option for your customers. It can always be combined with the use of chat for follow-up questions or surveys.
Sales: Depending on what type of visuals or other collateral will help close the deal, email is the more secure and convenient way to send large attachments, like pictures, presentations, and multi-page contracts. It is better suited for long-form text that needs to relay complex information and for forwarding that information to other decision-makers.
Marketing: Email is more effective for sending mass email blasts. There is more room to make the content look professional and impactful. In addition, email is more appropriate because people are used to seeing marketing information in emails and won’t get annoyed at receiving them. Email campaigns, like instant chat campaigns, can be customized for certain demographics and interest groups that are more likely open to receiving whatever it is your marketing.

The general email benefits below apply to all use cases above.

Benefits:

Commonplace for business use which means most people should have an account
Better for relaying complex information or lengthy messages
More appropriate for sending larger-sized files and multiple attachments
Generally more secure for sharing sensitive information
Better for reaching an audience at scale
Can be sent from desktop or mobile
Easier to organize and archive for your records
Can easily be printed

Here are the best practices when using email for business.

Pro Tips:

Email for business is expected to be more formal. Follow the standard business letter-writing protocol when crafting your emails, including professional greetings and signatures.
Take advantage of the space that email offers to craft outstanding, engaging, and informative content that will best serve the intention of the email.
Spend time making subject lines irresistible and memorable so the email doesn’t get buried or lost
Invest in security measures to keep private information sent via email out of the hands of hackers.

There’s a Time and Place for Instant Chat and Email

We’ve shown above that instant chat and email each have their pros and cons and their recommended usage can depend on what you’re trying to accomplish. As stated in an article in PC World, “ There is no clear “best”, just a “best for the situation right now.” You can communicate more efficiently if you understand the pros and cons of each, and choose the right tool for the job at hand.

Of course, there’s no rule that says you can’t use both. Try them both and see which works best for you.

Want to learn how quickly you can unify your business’ messaging with consumers? Chatfully can help! Click here to learn more.

Sources

Bradley, T. (2012). Email vs. IM vs. SMS: Choosing the Right One. [online] PCWorld. Available at: https://www.pcworld.com/article/248142/email_vs_im_vs_sms_choosing_the_right_one.html [Accessed 30 Aug. 2019].
Nield, D. (2017). What Are the Benefits of Texting Vs. Email?. [online] It Still Works. Available at: https://itstillworks.com/benefits-texting-vs-email-3872.html [Accessed 30 Aug. 2019].
Facebook IQ. (2018). Why messaging businesses is the new normal. [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/business/news/insights/why-messaging-businesses-is-the-new-normal [Accessed 31 Aug. 2019].
Windermere, A. (2019). Texting vs. E-mail in Business. [online] Work.chron.com. Available at: https://work.chron.com/texting-vs-email-business-9217.html [Accessed 30 Aug. 2019].

Business SMS and IM Adoption: The 2 Best Ways to Get Your Team Behind It

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 02:07:51 GMT

Picture this—you’re thinking about conversational commerce and what it can do for your organization. You’re sitting through a demo to learn how easy it is to add texting to your current phone line when it hits you … AHA! This is a lot easier than I thought!! So what do I do next?

First, you’ll want to get buy-in from your team. If your employees don’t believe in this new strategy, it will be more difficult to get your customers to trust it. To tackle this, consider this two-pronged approach:

Explain how adding SMS texting and instant messaging will help your team.
Explain how it will help your business.

How Texting and Instant Messaging Will Help Your Team

The first approach to get your team behind your new SMS and IM plan is to show them how it will make their work simpler and more efficient. Are your employees being stood up too often by no-show customers not making their appointments? Are their processes held up by waiting for important customer information? Through the use of automated appointment reminders and faster responses via text or chat, your workers’ pain points with customers can be reduced considerably.

An instant message platform can also make collaboration within the team and the organization effortless by allowing other workers to see the status of a conversation and, if needed, jump into it to bridge a knowledge gap and seamlessly facilitate service to the customer.

Another growing practice of business chatters is the use of IM for internal communication. When “ 80% of adults message daily ” and, “51% of people say messaging has replaced other forms of communication,” it’s probably safe to say that most of your employees are among these stats. Why not engage with them using a method that they prefer? That survey on where to go for the next team outing will likely generate more input if sent via text or chat.

These are only a few of the benefits that instant messaging for businesses provides. The more your associates learn how chat can make a task more enjoyable, the easier it will be to get them to use it.

How Texting and Instant Messaging Will Help Your Business

Give your team the big-picture view of the benefits instant messaging will bring to your business. Are you losing sales to unanswered emails? Are your customers frustrated with using your call center to get their questions answered? By outlining a messaging strategy that addresses these problems, you provide your team with the appropriate selling points to deliver to your customers.

You can also go through each step of the customer journey and see how that step could be improved by using instant messaging. For instance, if you normally promote a new offering by email, walk through the steps of completing this process (i.e., how long it takes, how many people it takes, the average rate of customer conversion, etc.). Then go through those same steps using an instant message strategy.

Using reported statistics like :

SMS open rates = 98% vs. Email open rates = 20%
SMS response rates = 45% vs Email response rates = 6%

It shouldn’t be hard to convince your team how business texting can improve performance and growth for the company.

Success is a Team Effort

Ultimately, the triumph or failure of a business messaging strategy will depend on the people using it—how well they are using it and how often. Buy-in from the internal team is critical; if the employees are not on board with your instant chat plan, then it’ll be a hard sell to get the customers to use it. Taking the time to stress the value of instant chat for both the company and the team will go a long way in ensuring that win. Add in the adequate training and ways to provide input in adoption procedures and you’ve got a bona fide recipe for success.

Need to fortify your chatting strategy? Chatfully can help! Click here to learn more .

Sources:

1. Jeffries, J. (2018). Email Marketing VS SMS Marketing the Stats [Infographic]. [online] business2community.com. Available here . [Accessed 22 Aug. 2019].

2. Unknown (2018). Why Messaging Businesses Is The New Normal. [online]

facebook.com Available here . [Accessed 22 Aug. 2019].

The Who and How of Conversational Commerce: The Businesses Using It and Their Use Cases

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 00:39:21 GMT

If you’re still figuring out this conversational commerce trend and what all the fuss is about, it may help to know who’s using it and how they are using it.

Well, it’s your lucky day! That’s exactly what this article will tell you. Below are the top industries that have jumped on the messaging bandwagon and how they are staying ahead of the curve.

Who’s Using It

Various brands have discovered the benefits of conversational messaging. On Facebook Messenger alone, “ people and businesses exchange 20 billion messages ” each month. While use cases can be found from such diverse sources as health care to aerospace defense, the following industries are standouts among the messaging breed:

Professional services
Retail
Local entertainment
Public good
Media

How They Are Using It

Conversational commerce strategies for each business can vary greatly. However, messaging experiences can be boiled down to these 3 basic categories:

Proactive

Example: sending a targeted message to a current or potential customer)

Reactive

Example: responding to questions or comments about your product or service)

Broadcast

Example: promoting your company by mass messaging an entire audience or a specific group of people)

There you go — the 3 basic categories of conversational commerce. Would seeing specific examples of each category further support your understanding of these concepts?

Keep pressing your luck because just ahead are some of the most popular use cases featuring a few of the industries mentioned above.

Scheduling tops the list of subjects that organizations communicate through instant messaging. Here’s a scenario involving the professional services industry using a proactive messaging experience:

Jane Smith wants to speak with a financial planner about her retirement strategy. She makes an appointment with Jorge Sanchez, a representative of Invest With Us Financial Services, her employer’s retirement plan administrator. Two days before the appointment, Jane gets a text from Invest With Us that looks like this:

"Your appointment with Jorge Sanchez is scheduled for Tue, at 3 pm. Reply with C to confirm this appointment."

Jane can quickly confirm or change the appointment by replying to the message. It’s easy and convenient for parties on both sides of the conversation.

Customer service is another favored use case for chatting. The following outlines an Instagram DM conversation in which a retail clothing store provides a quick reactive response to a customer’s question:

Andre Jackson: Yo! Does this shirt come in dark blue?

FlyStyles.com: Yes, it does, Mr. Jackson. Would you like to see what sizes are available in dark blue?

Andre Jackson: Heck yeah!

FlyStyles.com: Here are the available sizes. And for shopping with us today, here is a coupon for 20% off.

When one bad customer experience can make or break a fragile retail relationship, it’s imperative that businesses can react quickly to close that sale and lay the groundwork for that customer to become a brand ambassador.

Two other notable use cases for conversational commerce is sales and marketing. Both of these cases can benefit from the use of the broadcast messaging experience. In this example, a local concert venue sends a Facebook Messenger alert to a targeted list of subscribers. The list is comprised of self-identified fans of a band coming to town:

"Attention Swingin’ Sloths Army! Tickets for the March 30th concert go on sale this Friday at 10 am. Log in at BestConcerts.com to grab yours before they sell out!"

Using conversational commerce for these broadcast messages is a win-win for corporations and consumers alike—firms can effortlessly promote products and services and avid followers get immediate access to information about their latest obsessions.

Some other use cases worth mentioning are billing/collection and recruiting/staffing. Experts expect the use of messaging to increase in all areas mentioned as companies learn more ways to utilize chat for relieving internal administrative headaches and enhancing customer engagement.

Future Use

Matt Schlict from Chatbots Magazine wrote, “ Conversational commerce represents a paradigm shift in how brands and customers interact, and it will have major impacts on the entire customer journey. ”

As more market verticals realize the power of business messaging and the versatility of its use, who knows how many more industries and use cases will be added to the WHO and HOW list above.

Looking for other conversational commerce strategies to level up your business chatting game? Chatfully can help! Click here to learn more .

Sources

1. "Why Messaging Businesses Is The New Normal." Facebook IQ. N. p., 2018. Web. 14 Jun. 2018.

2. "The Complete Guide To Conversational Commerce." Medium. N. p., 2018. Web. 10 May. 2018.

4 Ways Chatbots Could Leave Your Customers Feeling Helpless

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 04:10:15 GMT

Chatbots are becoming increasingly popular for businesses to incorporate into their conversational commerce strategy. You could use them for sales, customer care, marketing, and so on. The advantages of using chatbots include faster customer service, increased customer satisfaction, and lower labor costs.

Yet, with every new technological innovation, there are usually downsides. Chatbots are no different. Yes, the technology is still developing and advancing. However, until those improvements are in place, there are 4 significant cons to keep in mind when considering chatbots instead of a people-powered messaging system.

1. Cannot Compute

The technology is undeniably cool. At any time of the day, your customers may ask your agents a question. Considering how important customers are to your business, they should get a quick answer. “Should” is the key word here.

What if your customers’ questions are too complex for your chatbot?

What if your chatbot doesn’t understand your customers’ slang?

Most likely, the back and forth between the customer and the chatbot becomes a long infuriating thread of volleys that lead nowhere.

One expert writes, “ because many chatbots work from a limited data base, they can’t improvise. In other words, if they get confused, the conversation could run in a circle. That can lead to customers who become frustrated. ”

Unless your chatbot is sophisticated enough to navigate past these roadblocks, your customers could find themselves lost in the chatting land of “cannot compute.”

2. The Trust Factor

Brand trust is the cornerstone of any successful business. Without trust, prospects will not become customers. Situations like endless loops described above are one way to damage that trust in your company. Another situation is going beyond the “cool” factor into being creepy; that is — programming chatbots to be too human. This is risky in two ways:

You are seen as trying to pull one over on your customers by trying to pass off your chatbot as a real person. Nobody wants to be catfished — especially when it involves money.

You are perceived as being rude and intrusive with an overabundance of replies or responses that cross the line. Your attempts to be relevant end up coming across like that houseguest who stays way too long, snoops through your personal belongings, and makes a pass at your partner. Your “friendly” chatbot has now crossed over into the spam zone.

3. Show Me the Money

Chatbots that can solve some of the hassles discussed will require complex programming which requires more money—sometimes thousands more! Investing in chatbot programming could negate the benefit of lower labor costs.

Chatbot development also takes hours of work and testing. As the old saying goes, “time is money.” If you’re thinking about using chatbots, ask yourself—Are the thousands of dollars you may need to spend on resources and time worth it?

4. It’s Not for Everyone

The last con to keep in mind when contemplating chatbots is it may not be right for your brand. If your customers’ questions need more than coding canned answers can provide, you may want to stick with employing knowledgeable agents instead.

Other considerations for using AI is whether your need warrants the cost.

Is y our business so bombarded with customer care questions or sales inquiries that chatbots will save you more than hiring more humans will?
Is the amount of time saved by using a chatbot really costing you less compared to an agent replying by instant m essage?

These are all points that should be carefully taken into account when deciding if chatbots are the best solution for your specific requirements.

This article is not meant to be a complete downer on chatbots. The possible cost savings and increased customer satisfaction are definite pros for using them. However, your best bet is to consider the cons outlined above; they can help you decide if chatbots fit into your distinct business blueprint.

Looking for other conversational commerce strategies to level up your business chatting game? Chatfully can help! Click here to learn more .

Sources

1. “4 PROS AND CONS OF USING CHATBOTS” due.com, Kayla Sloan, 8/15/18

2. "Chatbots And The New Conversational Commerce Era." Shippit. N. p., 2019. Web. 18 March 2019.

How Conversational Commerce Shifts Businesses into the Modern Era of Communication

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 17:05:26 GMT

In the Chatfully post titled " How Conversational Commerce Leads to True Customer Focus ", we discussed how embracing the conversational messaging/texting trend can improve your rep as a customer-focused brand.

In this article, we look more at how this communication shift reflects modern times. We’ll also explore what the benefits are to your business if you hop aboard the conversational commerce bullet train.

Why use it? Because everyone else is.

Sure, when kids say it, it sounds immature. It’s likely inaccurate at best, and a flimsy argument at worst. But when respected research firms and business publications use numbers in the billions, it’s not as big a stretch to round up. According to recent surveys and reports, “Messaging apps have over 5 billion monthly active users.”, and they are “ now bigger than social networks. ” Furthermore, the average consumer sends around 25% more text messages than emails a day.

Messaging rules the roost. Who among us hasn’t easily ignored phone calls and emails? Yet when that chat alert pings, we’re likely reading and responding to it within seconds. And it doesn’t seem to matter who the sender is. Consumers will respond to messages from companies just as quickly as they would reply to family or friends. Why? Most likely because they have opted-in to chat with these brands. Perhaps it was to answer a question or confirm an appointment. Whatever the reason, it was the customer’s choice to connect which leads to a higher probability of a response from that person.

And that customer’s choice to connect is becoming more common ... because that’s what they prefer. According to a Forbes article written by Henry Shi, “ 83% of consumers contact a business over messaging to learn about a product or service, 76% to get support, and 75% to make a purchase. ” In an age when on-demand services and instant gratification are the norms, chat apps and the like are the ideal communication tools. Brands who are smart enough to leverage this trend and do it right are likely to zoom past their competition.

Staying ahead of the curve

Speaking of the competition … you may be wondering just how many companies are on-trend. A recent study reports that nearly 40% of brands incorporate some form of texting into their customer communication strategy. In addition, those businesses who have not embraced this strategy say they recognize the value in it.

Experts expect these numbers to rise dramatically in the next year and predict that brands who are slow to embark on the conversational commerce bullet train will be left in the dust. It’s easy to understand why when you realize the missed sales opportunities that come with missing that train.

Customer-led leads: As stated earlier, an advantage of messaging is that consumers will connect with you first. They’ve opted to receive your texts so there is a high level of engagement in place should you have anything new to offer. As you’ve also read above, there is a higher chance of a quick response from customers who are used to sending back instant messages.
Brand advocacy: Every conversation with your customer is a chance to build trust and loyalty. Nothing delights customers more than fast, friendly, and helpful service, and messaging is an easy and efficient way to achieve that. Once that trust and loyalty develop, high praise and recommendations from your consumer fans are not far behind.

We’ll explore more benefits of conversational commerce in future posts that will focus on various messaging technologies and use cases. For now, I’ll leave you with another quote from SnapTravel’s Henry Shi:

“... the emergence of conversational commerce represents the next big opportunity for brands and retailers to capture and engage with their audience in a more personal way; a way that allows them to create intimate, magical experiences that were never before possible.”

The modern era of communication requires intimacy and magic. Conversational commerce is the bullet train ticket that will blast you there. Come aboard and enjoy the ride!

New to conversational commerce or want to step up your chatting game? Chatfully can help! Click here to learn more.

Sources

1. Research, HubSpot. "Messaging Apps Have Over 5B Monthly Active Users." Research.hubspot.com. N. p., 2017. Web. 19 July 2017.

2. "THE MESSAGING APPS REPORT: Messaging Apps Are Now Bigger Than Social Networks." Business Insider. N. p., 2016. Web. 20 September 2016.

3. "Council Post: Will 2019 Be The Breakout Year For Conversational Commerce In The U.S.?." Forbes.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 7 May 2019.

How Conversational Commerce Leads to True Customer Focus

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 06:24:29 GMT

Picture your customer or potential client needing a question answered about your product or service. What channels are they able to use to reach you? Is texting/instant messaging one of them? Given the options between phone, email, or text/IM, which do you think your customer prefers?

If you’ve been following the trend of 62% of people in the U.S. , the answer is clear. In this article, we’ll explore this movement known as “conversational commerce,” why consumers like it, and how it can help your company be truly customer-focused.

Conversational Commerce Defined

First seen in a 2015 piece written by Uber’s Chris Messina on Medium , the term “conversational commerce” refers to buying or selling products/services or providing customer care using conversational platforms. Examples of these platforms are your smart phone’s text service, social media sites like Twitter, chat apps like Facebook Messenger, or voice command tech like Amazon’s Echo product.

Some companies have chatbots connected to Facebook Messenger or alternative chat apps while others have integrated virtual assistants into their brands’ websites.

In whatever way their consumers want to engage with them, businesses are making themselves accessible.

Why Consumers Like It

Ask anyone who has ever had to call a customer service line and you’ll likely hear horror stories about them — the seemingly endless phone menus to get to the appropriate department, long wait times to speak to an actual person, and finally getting a human who is then unable to answer their question or fix their problem. Imagine having the option to use a chat app instead of going through all of that. Which do you think your customers would choose?

Of course, your ideal audience could be on the opposite end of the spectrum — these consumers are so used to communicating with anyone via chat services that it seems perfectly normal to use that avenue for talking with businesses. Why try to get someone on the phone or through email when a text is so much faster? And if your company is on the other end of that text and your rep replies back just as fast, you will likely have a satisfied customer who will sing your praises and return for another purchase.

Improving Your Rep as a Customer-Focused Brand

Companies that have jumped on the conversational commerce bandwagon and built the infrastructure to quickly respond to customers will more likely develop a loyal following among them. 55% of people in the U.S. say being able to message a business helps them feel more personally connected to the brand.

It shows your organization as one that is truly focused on customers by allowing them to communicate with you how they want and when they want. Your customers will feel respected and empowered when they can connect at their convenience and receive instant results or feedback from you. That level of consumer control helps build comfort and trust with your company, turning your customers from mere product purchasers to brand ambassadors.

The Modern Era of Consumer Communication

Conversational commerce is changing the way business gets done, and if consumer reaction is any indication, the movement is growing.

57% of people in the US consider business messaging the "modern way to communicate."

Whether you’re tweeting an answer to a customer’s question or closing a sale via text, your company is sure to make current and potential customers smile (maybe even cheer) by embracing this trend. It’s convenient, personalized, and efficient — all things customers find gratifying when engaging with brands. In turn, your business becomes a modern-day model of true customer focus for others to emulate.

New to conversational commerce or want to step up your chatting game? Chatfully can help! Click here to learn more .

Sources

1. "How Messaging On Facebook Is Changing The Way Businesses Communicate With Customers." Facebook Business. N. p., 2019. Web. 19 July 2019.