Kenneth Burke
Revenue is the lifeblood of your business, and there are many ways to pump in more of it through text messaging – ways you probably aren’t using, and may not have thought about. They’re all easy to implement, and can change the way you do business for the better.
There are five major ways businesses increase revenue through text messaging. I’m going to share those with you, including specific use cases and customer quotes, and cover why it matters that your business text in the first place.
Why text at all?
To grow your business, you have to connect with people – your customers and clients. What’s the best way to do that?
According to Constant Contact, less than 16 percent of emails are opened. A study by Software Advice found that roughly 20 percent of people are willing to answer phone calls (if they’re available), and some businesses report answer rates as low as 5 percent.
These are pretty low rates for your business to rely on.
Meanwhile, 99 percent of texts are read, and the average response time is only 90 seconds. That makes a world of difference. Besides, people say they’d rather text a business than call or email.
So how do you put this info to use?
How to Increase Revenue by Texting
1. Generate more leads from Google.
About 70 percent of internet traffic comes from mobile devices, and most mobile Google searches are for local businesses. You probably know that search engine optimization (SEO) is important for showing up in search results, but did you know that searchers can text your business directly from Google?
Yes! Searchers can text you directly from your Google Ads, Google My Business listing, and Google Maps listing.
This helps businesses generate more leads because (a.) people would rather text you, and (b.) it takes fewer clicks for searchers to get the info they need. They just click one button and ask their question.
Here’s a quick guide on adding text to Google Ads. Here’s one for your Google business listing (this will also add it to your Maps listing.)
2. Increase website engagement with SMS Chat (Click-to-Text).
Most businesses are good at bringing the right people to their websites. The struggle is turning those viewers into leads and customers. That’s where texting helps.
SMS Chat is similar to a regular live chat, but here’s the difference. Messages come into your business as a text, and your replies go straight to the customer’s cell phone.
SMS Chat works on both your desktop and mobile site, so it’s an easy way to increase engagement. More importantly, this gives you perhaps the most effective way to follow up with potential customers.
A marine dealership told us: “We’re converting 30 percent more with SMS Chat than we were with live chat.” A Merry Maids location said they were able to convert 85 percent of these leads into clients.
3. Schedule (and keep) more appointments.
If you provide a service (rather than a product), appointments are crucial for your revenue growth. The two challenges you have to deal with are nailing down a time, and minimizing cancellations or no-shows. Texting helps you do both.
For starters, your customers’ working hours are often the same as yours. One Two Men and a Truck location told us:
“They can’t always answer personal calls or check their email on the clock, but they’ll text all day.”
That makes scheduling via text a lot easier than calling and leaving voicemail no one listens to. It also makes confirmations a breeze. A quick text asking, “Are we still good for Wednesday at 3 p.m.?” is effective whether your business is in medical, home service, cosmetics or anything in between.
When you can reach people quickly and consistently, you will schedule and keep more appointments. Texting makes that easy.
4. Send promotions that cut through the noise.
You run the occasional sale or promotion, but there are always two problems you have to overcome. You have to make sure the right people know about your sale or promotion, and you have to get them to take a next step.
Text messaging can help you solve both of these problems. Virtually everyone is going to see any text you send (and get a notification for it), and it’s easy to get people to click on a URL or to reply to your message.
As an example, an HVAC company sends one campaign to about 1,200 people a month. Each campaign costs a few bucks, and they consistently get about $2,500 in additional business for that month (not including repeat customers, contracts, etc.).
Here are a couple of promotional texts you might send:
It’s that time again, 30% off the entire store! Come by any of our 3 locations, or visit southerncharmclothing.com. Offer ends 01/02
Hi [Customer Name], we’re offering 2 for 1 routine HVAC servicings! Reply to this text to set up your first service. – All Star Heating & Air
Are you going to [Local Event]? We are! Come see us from 12-4. Enter to win a free iPad while learning how we help our community. See you there!
5. Earn more online reviews with less effort.
People want to know they’re going to have a good experience with your business before they decide to work with you. That’s why the average person reads six or seven reviews before deciding. In fact, 88 percent of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Because of this, more reviews leads to more customers and higher revenue. As a jeweler told us, “It’s simple. When we got more online reviews, we got more customers.”
So how does text messaging help?
People are 5 to 6 times more likely to read a text than an email, and 18 times more likely to click on a link in a text than an email. So when there’s a customer you want to get a review from, send them a text saying:
Hey [First Name], we loved working with you. Would you please leave us a review on Google? It will help us a lot. Thank you! [goo.gl/ourbiz]
An added benefit – increasing your online reviews will boost your SEO, which means more people will find your business and reach out. Over time, this becomes a powerful engine for growth.
How can your business start texting to increase revenue?
If you’re a sole proprietor, you might be okay just using your cell phone. But if you have employees and an office phone number (or several), you’re going to want a central place where each person can log in to text with customers and employees.
Text Request is a business texting service that makes it easy for your team to text professionally from any device using your current business number. It gives you the ability to do everything mentioned in this post, and you can get started in just a few minutes at textrequest.com.
