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It’s a rare day that you don’t see most people with a cell phone in their hands.
The portable communication economy has been firmly in place for years, and consumers from 18 to 60+ are now part of the digital communication “generation.” While some users may be more experienced than others – nearly every person knows how to make basic phone calls and send and receive text messages.
The beauty of this from a marketing standpoint is we constantly have a communication line directly to our potential customers. Ensuring your business is ready to make the foray into one of the most effective forms of marketing and communication starts with making it easy to find a “text us” button on your own website.
Why You Need A Text Button On Your Website
For many years now live chat has been an advanced form of communication that the smallest law firm and huge corporations like Walmart and Amazon have taken advantage of. Have a problem with your order? Need information on a divorce? The ability to communicate in writing, with a saved transcript and a semblance of anonymity has appealed to multiple generations. The issue is – once the tab is closed, or if the internet disconnects- your live chat is potentially lost. This also eliminates the ability of the business to reach out to potential or past customers to inform them of service updates, sales, and other marketing initiatives.
Enter texting (or SMS messaging) – directly from your website – to your customer’s phone. This form of communication extends the live chat experience into a portable conversation. Not only can you continue the conversation 5 minutes, an hour, or 7 days after the initial contact – you have a direct line into the satisfaction, follow-up, and future sales pipeline for your business.
Texting with your clients lets you prompt your leads to save your number as a contact into their phone – then they have it to share when the neighbor, friend, or loved one asks for the name of their roofer, plumber, or mechanic!
Who is Texting These Days?
Everyone from GenX all the way to Gen Z and the up-and-coming consumer generation of Gen Alpha are texting these days. We’re even seeing many Baby Boomers gravitate toward mobile phones instead of landlines. While older generations may generally prefer a voice phone call to a text, many have embraced texting as an acceptable way to communicate information to companies they do business with.
In a study from Klayvio from September 2021, texting has become even more important during and after the pandemic forced us to stop communicating face-to-face.
According to their study, “What’s the One Thing Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Boomers Have All Relied On in the Pandemic? Texting.”
- Text messaging is the preferred communication platform on cell phones for all generations, including Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers.
- More than half of Americans (51%) feel happier when they receive text messages from their friends (58%) compared to their family members, including siblings (43%), Mom (38%), and Dad (29%).
- Nearly half of Americans (43%) have unread texts on their phones, and the average American has 47 unread messages.
What Should Your “Text Us” Button Say?
As marketers, we know that providing the button is only half the story. Getting the clicks are important – so what your button says, and how that message is noticed and interacted with drives those leads to contact you.
Consider offering to solve the problem your clients face within that message… “We can help” could be a great call to action. Sometimes something as simple as “Text With Us” can do the trick. Ultimately – the call to action that resonates with your audience is the sweet spot – and you’ll never know what that phrase is until you test it.
According to Aaron Weiche from Leadferno, “Great calls to action are straight to the point and drive an action. “ Consider trying phrases that answer “why” as well as “how.” He suggests testing CTAs on your texting button that mirror the following:
- We can help
- Ask a question
- Book an appointment
- Reservations
- Schedule with us
We suggest you start there – and test variations as you try to refine and find the best phrase possible. Along with testing the verbiage on your button – you should test the best contrasting color and maybe even a bit of movement in your texting button.
Where should your “Text Us” Button Appear?
Not only should you have a button, and carefully craft your call to action – you need to consider where your texting button appears. It should show up no matter where on the page the user scrolls. A floating “Ask A Question” button can make a big difference in snagging that lead as soon as they’re ready to contact you.
How Do I Install Texting On My Website
There are a few different tools that help you not only integrate a texting button on your website, but answer those texts with a computer-based dashboard to help you track leads, push out messages, and respond to clients as they reach out to you. This alleviates the need for you to provide cell phones, and rely on employees to answer the phone messages when they’re “on the clock.” Managing your text contacts with computer-based solutions (or a cellphone app) allows multiple people to manage your contacts easily.
You can use tools like SimpleText or Leadferno (our favorite here at Sterling Sky – we’re a Leadferno partner) to install the text button easily with minimal coding required.
If you’re a solo-person business, you could just install a simple coded “text us” link that would send that contact straight to your single phone.
We highly recommend you try out texting for your business – you could see an increase in leads – and more leads can equal more business – and that’s something we’re all working towards.
