Written by When running a field service business, knowing how to communicate with your customers effectively is vital. While making and receiving phone calls has always been the standard for most companies when it comes to business communications, younger generations have challenged the status quo.
Now, more than ever, consumers and homeowners prefer faster, more efficient ways to communicate. In a recent study, 75% of millennials prefer to receive text messages instead of phone calls when engaging with businesses. This statistic has forced companies to reinvent how they build their customer service processes and adopt newer forms of business communication.
Here are four reasons you should be texting your customers.
1. Customers Prefer Texting Over Calling
Today’s modern consumers value convenience and efficiency over almost everything else. As a field service business owner, it’s essential that you recognize this trend early and work towards new communication standards. Text messaging is a less-disruptive way to reach your customers that enables them to engage with you when it’s convenient for them, especially when compared to phone calls. Text messages can also be saved and reviewed at a later time and allow your business updates or queries to be clearly understood.
2. It Allows You to Automate Your Communications
Using a messaging system when interacting with your customers gives you more options to automate your communication processes. With field service management application, mHelpDesk, you’ve got the ability to consolidate all of your customer interactions into one easy-to-use mobile solution. Further, you’ll be able to set up automatic text messages to customers, from job updates, appointment and invoice reminders and so on.
Do you have mHelpDesk and ready to set up your automated text messages?
It’s easy! Sign into your account and go to Settings > Notifications.
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3. It Keeps Your Customers Constantly Updated
Keeping your customers regularly updated before, during, and after service appointments is an essential part of developing long-term business relationships. Text messages provide an easy and fast way to communicate with customers that you’re on the way to their location while giving them the ability to track your whereabouts (pro tip: your techs can send “on the way” text messages and time estimates super easily in mHelpDesk).
Text messages also provide a helpful way to communicate back and forth with customers when you’re at the job site to provide real-time status updates and ETAs of job completion. It’s more likely that your customers will read what you sent, especially compared to email. In fact, a recent survey by Esendex found that the global average open rate of SMS is an overwhelmingly 94%.
4. It Helps You to Log Customer Interactions
When communicating back and forth with customers over the phone, it can be challenging for you and the customer to recollect all the details discussed in the dialogue. By using text messaging and email communications, it becomes much easier to have a log customer interactions. mHelpDesk centralizes al your
communication from your dashboard and tracks all communication, so you have access to all your communication history.
As modern technology continues to advance, phone calls are becoming less efficient when it comes to quality customer services. By utilizing text messages in your business communications, you can provide valuable, less-disruptive updates to your customers while keeping accurate records of your interactions and automating your workflows.
Ready to make text messaging to customers easier?
Take the burden off your customer follow-ups and marketing with mHelpDesk’s customizable, automated customer notifications. Schedule your free demo now!
Last modified: October 22, 2018
