The common customer communication practice after a meeting is to follow up by phone call or email. However, with the growing trend of business (not just personal) texting, with the simplicity and exceptional open rate results, more companies are including it as part of their overall marketing plan. Sending a photo with the text when thinking of a customer can provide better overall connection and personalization.

According to Pew Research Center, texting is the most widely used app on the smartphone and 97% of Americans use it at least one time per day. The number of texts sent per day is staggering, 6 billion a day just in the US alone (Forrester Research). The interesting trend of texting continues to grow as the exchange of texts is double compared to direct calls (Nielson Research).

With regards to business (and the most important aspect of business – Sales), prospects that are sent text messages have a close ratio 40% higher than those that have not received texts according to Velocify. Face to face is best, but combining the follow up sales process with texts vs. the standard phone call and email might be a better fit and increased responsiveness from a prospect.

There are many text tools available today that can provide consistent automated follow up with customers for scheduling appointments, holiday greetings, birthday messages and specific valuable information to be sent out quickly. The texting app’s of WhatsApp can provide additional texting opportunities for global customers and prospects.

The statistics are clear that people prefer texting. Just think about the last time you received an email vs. a text. We have a tendency to look at the text immediately vs. the email.

Engagement and building customer loyalty are so important to drive business growth and with the addition of a text based marketing plan that’s low cost and value added, it might be a component to help drive your business growth.