Whether someone is a facility cleaning manager, building service contractor (BSC) or distributor, everyone has been in a situation where a crucial email either almost slipped through the cracks or was noticed too late. Spam filters and security measures are necessary systems for the amount of phishing, malware and other unpleasant emails that many companies receive on an everyday basis — but with all of these protections runs the risk of important inquiries getting accidentally sorted in.
A recent column from USA Today’s Steve Strauss outlines this conundrum, detailing his own experience of how a six-figure contract almost never came to fruition if not for a coincidental check of the spam folder. Through this experience, he came to realize that email was both an inefficient and risky way to handle important client matters. Instead, he prefers the method of texting instead to make sure the next big contract doesn’t fall through the cracks like the first one almost did.
Quick-Hitting Client-Texting Facts
1. Research has shown that texting reminders to customers leads to 40 percent fewer appointments missed
2. Considerably higher than the average e-mail newsletters, text marketing campaigns have been shown to achieve opening rates of up to 98 percent.
3. Converting missed calls into a texting exchange can generate twice as many leads for businesses. Many people, especially professionals from younger generations, prefer not to talk on the phone in general and won’t even answer a number they don’t recognize many times for fear of spam.
Additional Considerations
For employees that would prefer not to have their primary phone also be used for business inquiries, software exists that can give people a second phone number strictly for business-related matters while still just needing one device, helping to organize messages accordingly. Users can also generate auto-responses, text promotions and convert calls into text messages far more efficiently than a conventional email setup.
For a related story, check out this recent Sanitary Maintenance feature about the best methods for interacting with prospective job candidates.