Texting makes it easy to connect with customers in a faster, more convenient way – but what do you say in your texts? How can you make sure you’re adding value and saying something worth reading?
Here are some types of messages that are specific to the customer, relevant to their individual needs, and engaging enough to generate action.
- Appointment-related communications: We have a whole page on our website dedicated to the types of messages you might send before, during, and after a customer’s appointment. Some can be set to send automatically, and others are best if you or your team send them manually. Use our page to get ideas, but keep in mind that what should be automated versus what messages are personally sending will come down to your specific offerings. In general, texts that can be automated would include: appointment confirmations, reminders, any day-of instructions (regarding arrival, entry, or required documents a customer might need to bring), and pre-appointment forms or surveys (yes, you can send these via text using Captivated!).
- A message to show your hard work: Whether you’re creating a product for a customer, caring for their child or pet, or are performing a service on their house or car (or anything else!), it’s always a good idea to shoot them a text so they can see how it’s going. If you’re assessing an existing problem, you might attach a video explaining what you’re looking at. Texts like this add value to the whole customer experience, and lend transparency as well.
- A personal follow-up: If there was a repair, service, or add-on product that you discussed during your time with a customer, make sure you’re following up on that in a timely manner! Within Captivated, you can make internal notes and trigger workflows to help streamline the follow-up process, which is a big help here. For something urgent, best practice would be to follow up within a few days. Otherwise, you might wait a week or two. No matter when you send it, always add as much personal detail as you can – use their name, and use yours too!
- A targeted, relevant offer: This could be an offer you include in your follow-ups, or even a seasonal discount or offer. But one best practice would be to truly keep it relevant and specific to the customer – a discount on a product or service they’ve purchased before, or an add-on that goes along with what they have. Note: Captivated allows you to ‘tag’ customers, which can help you categorize them and keep lists to send offers more easily. In that case, you could send a text to all customers on a certain list, with your targeted offer.
- Personalized, informative snippets: This type of text can help add value while bridge the gap between the last time you saw your customer, and the next time you hope to. If you are able to tag customers (like you can with Captivated, as mentioned above), you might tag them based on their needs or problems; this way, you could send a fact, reminder, or quick advice over to everyone on your list who would be interested.
- An invitation to review your business: This one is a no brainer, yet is missed by countless businesses. Shortly after a customer visits or has an appointment, you need to be reaching back out to get their feedback – not only to hopefully boost your online reputation ratings, but also to get direct insight into what you’re doing that’s working well, and what areas might still need improvement.
- A quick reminder to renew or re-order: Keep lists of different subscription levels, return intervals, or refill timelines for customers, and be sure you’re reaching out to remind them ahead of time when they’re due to come back to you. You might offer a discount for paying in full or stocking up early, or suggest an add-on or upgrade for their next order.
We’ve discussed the benefits of using a texting software platform so your company can send messages like this (and more) from one unified spot in a more streamlined fashion. If you’re looking for one that might be a good fit, check out our website and see a demo for yourself.
