When it comes to business text messaging, there are several key items to keep in mind regarding content, etiquette, and overall professionalism.
The main items you want to consider when texting a businessman include:
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Getting permission
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Texting during business hours
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Politeness/Professional Tone
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Proofread before you send!
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Be concise
Let’s take a closer look at this mode of communication and all of the rules you should be following within it.
What is Business Texting?
Business texting is any form of communication that is conducted via text messages either pertaining to your business or your customers.
Above all, it is the most convenient way to reach someone within your company or a client.
A popular way to use business texting is through communication channels that are created for specific purposes.
One channel can be for marketing messages and business communications, while other communication channels can be used to communicate with a given customer.
Since text messages are always delivered via mobile phones, it makes the message content extremely accessible and will alert you right away if a customer responds.
Businesses will often use business text messaging to connect with their customers and to convey personal or timely information to a specific client.
Now that we know what business texting is used for, let’s review how to structure these messages and some good examples of how your texting should be conducted.
How Do I Structure a Business Text Message?
A good rule of thumb to follow when using text messaging is that business texts are a more formal mode of communication than normal texting.
“Normal” texting is the communication method we are all familiar with, and it invites informality and a friendly tone in most circumstances.
While a friendly tone should also be present in your business text messages, you will also need to maintain a professional tone when texting customers and even your employees.
When you start texting or begin a text exchange, make sure to open your message with a friendly greeting that includes your name.
If you are gauging customer satisfaction or gathering information about select customer experience, keep this sentiment central to the message.
In general, you want to avoid one word texts and just “talking.”
Though you want to foster a relationship through this conversation, it is also important to know when the communication should end.
You don’t want to waste your time or theirs, so be mindful of your message length and content, as well as when you are sending this message.
Use short messages and avoid including other tasks for the customers to complete within a single message.
Stick to the point of the message and you’ll be in a great spot for your SMS messages.
The actual structure of the message is fairly simple, and will be the same regardless of who the messages are being sent to.
Your messages will be in short form, meaning that they should be short, sweet, and concise regardless of the content within them.
When it comes to structure, keep these items in mind:
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Always include your name/business to open the message
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Address your customers by name whenever possible throughout the messages
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Open with a greeting before getting into the content of the text to add informality and balance to the text message
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Use short sentences to describe the important information within the message itself
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End with either a link to your website or a similar conclusion– you want the message to conclude in a memorable way that invites a response or an action
Like other content you are creating for your business, the beginning, middle, and end of your text should all follow a similar structure and be constructed in a specific manner.
Your greeting and conclusion will be mostly the same for every text.
You’ll want to open with a personalized greeting that states both your name and the name of the person who is receiving the text.
Similarly, once you find a conclusion that you like, you’ll likely only need to adjust the name included when you send SMS.
The middle of each message is where you’ll have choices to make, but the format of the message will remain largely the same.
Experiment a bit and find what works for you and your business!
When Should I Utilize Text Messages?
You can use a business text message in a lot of different ways.
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Send confidential information to a given client
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Send tips and tricks to your employees about a new product or service
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Create a channel specifically for communicating with your C suite
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Start sending mass messages through SMS channels
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Provide a link to your website or social media pages
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Use SMS to schedule appointments or tee times for business meetings
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Use text messaging to provide detailed information or to foster a conversation
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Help display your brand persona through your messaging
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Help with creating value to your clients through your availability and communication channels
Regardless of the purpose of the message, make sure you take a moment before hitting send to make sure that your words convey the intended sentiment.
A good rule to follow here is that a text message is still a form of writing.
It involves complete sentences and each message is representative of your brand.
When you are sending SMS to a customer, make sure that your message invites an answer and gives them a chance to respond.
Your text messaging should be intentional, so make sure to communicate your purpose clearly and in a simple way.
You may find that including an exclamation point or other variations in your words results in a higher response rate from your customers.
Experiment with your business text messaging to find what works best for you!
When Is It More Appropriate to Utilize Phone Calls?
It is clear that text messaging and talking on the phone are very different functions and thus have different places where they should be used.
A phone call is the best way to actually speak with a person quickly and without any delay in response time.
Companies will use phone calls in a few different ways, as it does differ from texting in several areas:
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Eliminates time for a customer to respond
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More personal than texting
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Allows employees to gauge customer satisfaction in a more comprehensive manner
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Phone calls can be used as an example for training purposes
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You can better provide assistance to the customer while they are on the line with you
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It is convenient and invites a connection with the person
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When you have a customer on the phone, you are able to deliver your message just as clearly as if they were right in front of you in person.
In some ways, talking on the phone is the best way to get accurate information about customer experience and their perception of your brand value.
You’ll be able to provide your consumers with a clear answer to their questions and other personal information, including past service, tips for improved communication, and any other valuable information that your customers should note.
Many businesses overuse the efficiency of the phone call, ignoring the benefits of the business text message and opting for pure over the phone communications.
There are times where a phone call is more appropriate, especially when it comes to conveying urgent information to consumers that is not suited for writing or message format.
However, most businesses find that their ability to communicate is improved once they begin to utilize the text message format for their business needs.
Benefits of the Business Text Message
It’s important to review the benefits of using text messages to communicate with your clients, as well as the usefulness of the service for inter-business texting.
First, some benefits for your customers:
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Allows them to respond to your messages
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They can sign documents easily in a text message
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Use their own messaging to reach you and your employees quickly
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Can send screenshots to provide an example of an issue or area that they need help with
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Your correspondence is saved in writing to use for reference
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You can promote different aspects of your brand through your writing
Your clients are able to benefit a lot from text messaging, but so are you and your employees!
Before we wrap up this article, let’s go into some tips and tricks for optimizing your business text endeavors for your business.
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Create improved relationships with your customers by injecting your brand persona into your messages.
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Include an example of a success in your business– this can include a successful customer experience, update in your product, or anything similar.
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Treat your clients with respect and be mindful of their time as well as yours.
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Make sure the intention of your message is VERY clear to your customers, especially when you are texting about a business transaction.
Make sure to use these tips when you are embarking on your communication journey with your customers.
How Does This Relate to Communicating With a Businessman?
While you can use the features of the business text message to communicate effectively with your customers, you can also use it to foster communication with other business professionals that you are eager to connect with.
An example of this would be that you may be looking to connect with a business professional in order to make a connection or advance your own business in some way.
While you may think to utilize a call here, it actually may be a better idea to engage in business text messaging instead.
This is where the best feature of text messaging comes into play– you don’t have to rely on knowing the schedule of the person you are trying to contact.
It does not matter if the professional you are trying to connect with is in a meeting, or out of town– you are still able to send them a message without interrupting the flow of their day and yours as well.
Let’s go through an example of how this conversation may unfold in a text message:
You: Hey, ____! This is ____ from Kennected. I would love to connect with you sometime this week- let me know your availability and what works best for you. Thanks!
Them: Hello! I would be free for lunch this Thursday if that works for you. Let me know where and when.
This method of text messaging is extremely useful for this specific purpose.
This is a format you may utilize for someone you already know and are familiar with, but if you have not yet met this person, you may need to include more to serve as an introduction of sorts.
Use this example to see how easy this communication can be.
One of the most attractive features of conducting your communication in this manner is that it truly wastes no time on either end.
As long as you are operating within business hours, it does not matter if the person you are communicating with is busy in a meeting or meeting with a client.
They’ll see your message when they have a chance to respond to it, and you can carry on with your day without worrying about hearing back or having to schedule time out of your day for a call.
How Kennected Uses Business Texting
Here at Kennected, it is extremely important for us to be able to communicate quickly and effectively with both our customers and with business professionals.
We pride ourselves on our ability to conduct business texting in a way that both benefits us and our clients.
In the digital marketing world, it is crucial to be accessible and reachable through online mediums, and texting is a great way to implement that into your business.
Once you begin to utilize these features, you too will see just how beneficial text messaging can be for you and your business.
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The post How Do You Text A Businessman appeared first on Kennected.
source https://kennected.org/how-to-text-businessperson/
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