SMS is a great channel to nurture leads, but are you leaving the real benefits on the table by using one-way text notifications and alerts?
It's no secret that SMS is your customer's preferred method of communication. 90% of text messages are read within the first 5 minutes. So why are your SMS efforts not drastically moving the needle to reduce overall acquisition cost and convert more leads later in the funnel?
If you're sending manual one-to-one texts to customers, chances are you're spending a lot of your time managing your inbox for little payoff. Leads can drop off or get lost, and consistent nurturing takes time away from the ready-to-close leads. Manual texts can't scale.
To speed up the process, many sales teams now use traditional one-way platforms to send automated text messages. Set up a workflow and send out a text to anyone who enters the funnel or put them in to a drip campaign with a link attached. The problem with one-way texts is that they force a customer to another channel like a website, email or phone call to complete the process. Or worse, they aren't setup to handle any questions or requests a customer has in response. There is a lot of room for drop in an already complex sales process, and there is little value in this text message for the customer. One-way texts don't convert. So how can you fix it?
Automated two-way texting enables businesses to have a conversation with customers that they can reply to. In an automated conversation (between a customer and a robot) they can text back complete tasks, like finishing pre-qualifying for a service, receiving a quote, finishing an application, or expressing interest in a timely offer, directly inline. This strategy makes text messages instantly valuable for your customer, and gives you the information you want at the same time: are they still interested or not.
By using automated two-way texting to re-engage leads at various points in the funnel, you can nurture them on autopilot for days or even months. Your texting robot will nurture customers in your pipeline and follow up until they're ready to take the next steps, and your sales team can focus on the highly qualified, hot leads. The process is fully autonomous, and the robot can send the details to your CRM so you know exactly where your customers are in the process and when they're ready to act. One-way automated texts can't do any of that.
We know that speed is important when it comes to successful customer acquisition and nurturing strategies, but knowing which leads are interested and ready to move can be a guessing game. New opportunities are lost, and qualified leads become cold while they wait to be contacted. Using the data you already have, you can programmatically trigger texts to leads with new offers at the exact right time. This optimizes your re-engagements for real results.
Want to learn more about how Mav can help you start having automated two-way conversations with your customers?
