How many times have you called a friend or family member, only to have them get back to you by text a little later?
We’re guessing a lot.
There’s no doubt about it: we live in a world that’s dominated by texting. In fact, the number of monthly texts sent over the last decade has risen by more than 7,770%.
In today’s fast-paced, content-filled world, texting is quick and easy. Plus, text messages help avoid a tiring game of phone tag and can be seen when it’s convenient for the recipient, not when they’re in the middle of something important.
Therefore, it’s unsurprising that today’s consumers want businesses to text them—but you may be shocked to know just how important it is...
An incredible 58% of consumers believe texting is the most effective way for businesses to reach them quickly. And 96% said they were frustrated by being unable to get in touch with a business the way they prefer because they didn’t offer texting.
So, the research clearly shows if you’re not texting with guests you could be missing out on business opportunities, but what are the other benefits?
Let’s explore them now...
Benefits of Business Texting
Texting has a whole host of business advantages, including:
Increased likelihood of being opened.
Higher response rates.
Incredibly fast and easy.
Effective at capturing attention.
We all know that emails can remain unread in mailboxes for days, while some might never be opened. The same holds true for voicemails.
But texting?
That’s a whole different story.
In a recent study, 40% of people admitted to having at least 50 unread emails in their inbox, while only 4% said they had 50 or more unread mobile messages.
Thanks to the ease and brevity of text messages, people are significantly quicker at opening and replying to them. Text messages are known to have a 98% open rate (compared to about 20% for emails) and it takes only 90 seconds for someone to respond.
Why Is Texting Important in The Beauty and Wellness Industry?
More guests than ever want salons and spas to communicate with them by text, especially when it comes to confirming, booking or rescheduling appointments. In fact, 60% of people said that they would rather schedule their hair appointments by text. And another 64% said an appointment reminder was the most valuable text they received from a business last year.
Along with the convenience it offers guests, texting can help reduce no-shows. Sending an appointment reminder by text increases the chances it will be viewed and as a result, guests are less likely to forget about an appointment. Plus, if they do need to cancel or reschedule, it’s easier than ever for them to do so.
Texting is also a great way to empower your team to build and nurture relationships with guests. That’s because they can quickly and easily answer questions about products, services or prices—while also saving your front desk team time by reducing the need for lengthy phone calls.
How ezConnect Streamlines Communications
Texting is clearly a powerful tool for salons and spas and one that is here to stay. ezConnect, a unified communications platform, helps you make every interaction count and transforms how your team reaches guests.
How?
With ezConnect, your salon or spa can:
1. Engage guests on their preferred channels
With ezConnect, you can be everywhere your guests are thanks to multi-channel communication. SMS? Check. WhatsApp? That’s supported, too! Your staff can pick a guest’s conversation from any channel and respond instantly to every question and request. Douglas J Salons have enjoyed a year-over-year growth in two-way messaging of 689% using ezConnect.
2. Deliver a consistent customer experience
ezConnect provides a single view of all your guests’ conversations at every touchpoint so that you can deliver a consistent experience. This includes their profile, past appointments, chat history and membership information. It’s also integrated with Zenoti, which means that you can quickly search and add guests, as well as message from your appointment book, or ezConnect interface.
3. Fill more chairs through better conversions
For our customers, ezConnect has resulted in up to a 70% drop in cancellations. That’s because ezConnect empowers you to respond to customer queries faster and automate your messages and reminders. For instance, with keywords and notifications and reusable templates your front desk stay on top of things that need a quick response.
Embrace the power of texting
There’s no question that texting is one of the best ways to communicate with guests. By embracing all that the ezConnect platform has to offer, you can elevate your relationships and see a host of other benefits to your business.
To learn more, visit https://www.simplified.io/ezconnect
Sign-up for ezConnect today!