The UK’s love affair with texting continues. A recent Ofcom report revealed that for the first time ever the volume of mobile calls has declined, whilst on the other side of the equation the average consumer now sends over fifty texts every week.
Admittedly many of these texts are sent by the 16-24 year age group. Interestingly this group say they prefer talking face to face. However, with 90% texting family and friends on a daily basis compared with only 63% talking face to face it is clear that sending texts has become a way of life. Luckily for businesses, this love affair with texts presents a fresh marketing opportunity.
Perhaps because text messages have taken their place as an intrinsic part of our daily lives, we are far more likely to open text messages from businesses than mail or e-mails. Surveys show that we read over 90% of text messages from businesses. This percentage increases still further when the text is from a known and trusted business source.
This means that businesses which want to attract the attention of their clients can use texting with a fairly high certainty that the text will be read. For businesses in the health or beauty sector which need to minimise “no-shows” the use of text reminders can prove invaluable.
The Clinic Appointments Diary Management service includes a text service. This means that we can send appointment reminders by text, or e-mail, as well as send out marketing SMS text messages. Reminding clients of their appointments not only increases attendance rates, if for some reason clients are unable to make the appointment the text message prompts them to cancel, giving the business time to re-book the appointment slot.
Using texts to send out marketing messages is also an effective way of attracting clients’ attention. So, you can quickly and simply let your clients know if a new treatment is available or a new product has arrived. Add an invitation to book with the text alert and your client can call you via the Clinic Appointments Diary service and book their appointment on the spot. Better still, while they are booking via Clinic Appointments, you can concentrate on maximising your time with patients.
Yes, texting has arrived as a force in our lives. Using texts as appointment reminders or as marketing channels means that the text savvy business can make texting a force for their business good as well as providing an enhanced service to clients.