Business and personal life aren’t that different when considering the communication means. Today, texting is arguably the most preferred communication means. As a business, regardless of size and industry, you need to tap into the texting channels to supercharge your engagements. Texting isn’t just great at reaching out to customers; it can also improve team collaboration, considering how instant and detailed the information can get. This is especially with the modern setting where MMS capable of handling multimedia options like audio, video, pictures, and GIFs, not just basic SMS, is supported. Taping into the many benefits the channels offer significantly relies on your business texting app. As such, before investing in an app, you must consider a few aspects to ensure you realize a productive process. Among the top consideration to help you invest in the right business texting app includes:
The team
How many people are on your team? As a solopreneur, you may not need as many features to help manage the conversation since you run everything. However, for a group, whether using one or more phone numbers, you need an app that keeps everyone on the same page. As you compare the apps, check the features and weigh them against the number of people who need access to the texts, their departments, and what they can or can’t do using the app.
For a growing business, you need the sales and customer support teams to use the texting app. This means you need an app that allows you to assign certain members given tasks. It also needs to facilitate seamless collaboration, such as seeing who is typing and replying to who. This helps avoid concerns like responding twice or missing incoming messages, just to name a few aspects. Besides your immediate team size, factoring in growth is essential, ensuring you can scale up as your team expands.
Usability
Will you have to take a short course to learn how to use the business texting app? If yes, it’ll hardly improve your team’s productivity since the downtime and the potential hiccups moving forward can suck up more time. An easy-to-use app that seamlessly integrates with the rest of your tech infrastructure is recommended. An intuitive and user-friendly texting app that an average Smartphone user can comfortably navigate will save your business more time and improve efficiency.
Supported devices
As a consumer, texting mostly happens on mobile devices. As a business, you need a more innovative solution, especially when managing teams and many customers. This means considering the common gadgets used in the workplace is essential. Besides tablets and smartphones, you may need a texting app compatible with your PC. This lets the team efficiently switch from sending emails to texts since they don’t need multiple devices. The centralized operations offer flexibility since when in the office, the team can use computers and switch to mobile devices when on the go.
Texting needs
Business texting needs vary, from facilitating better team collaborations, customer onboarding, and support, to promotional use. Each aspect requires a certain app capability. You can find an app covering all your needs, but defining them is essential to ensure you don’t invest in an overly loaded solution you’ll hardly scratch what it offers.
The main check will be an organized inbox if you are looking for a business texting app to facilitate smooth team interactions and customer support. This allows you to handle the multiple conversations that mostly happen simultaneously efficiently. If you need a more conversational solution, an app featuring templates would be the better option, allowing you to respond quickly.
Transactional purpose requires more details. For instance, checking the automation features is essential to ensure customers get timely alerts such as account updates or appointment reminders. Other aspects like order confirmations or delivery notifications may need further configurations, such as integrating the business texting platform with your website or app. This means you’ll need to select an app that integrates with your workflow automation tool or provides access to APIs.
How about the marketing; do you intend to use the business texting app to send promotional messages? If yes, you need a business SMS service capable of mass texting and automation. This makes scheduling and sending large-scale promotional materials easier, improving the department’s efficiency. Establishing your business needs makes it easier to narrow down the options. This is because you can quickly eliminate the ones that don’t mark all or most boxes on your checklist.
Customer support
You don’t want an app you buy and cut ties with the service. The best way is to look at it more like a partnership. This emphasizes the need to consider customer services, ensuring you’ll access the needed support whenever needed. A professional and responsive customer support team will get you going within a reasonable period, whether dealing with technical difficulties or struggling to understand a challenging concept. This eliminates frustrations that can make the business texting app virtually useless.
The cost
Your budget is a definite check, but it is not always straightforward. You may be tempted by the cheapest app in the market, only to be frustrated by its inefficiencies. This doesn’t mean the priciest will tick all the boxes and offer you a great experience. You may find an app attracts a high price due to its many features, yet you won’t use half of it, meaning you’ll be wasting more money. An ideal approach is weighing the cost against the value the app delivers. This helps you avoid falling for irresistibly low-cost deals that don’t meet your needs or a pricy option you’ll hardly use the extensive features.
Selecting the right business texting application may take time and energy as you do your homework and compare the many available options. Nonetheless, it is worth the due diligence employed since the app will shape your progress as you strive to tap into the many benefits texting offers in the modern digital age. Follow the above pointers; you’ll find the process more manageable and productive, helping you get an app worth the value of your investment, if not more.