Business texting, like any business communication, is a dance between selling and information, between friendliness and respect, between brevity and thoroughness. In this dance, the difference between you and a mass marketer is how much attention you pay to your partner.
A mass marketer isn’t concerned with a personal connection or a tailored approach. You can be different.
An attentive conversational texter asks: is my goal a response, a time for a call, a yes or no? Am I adding value? Do I sound like a human? Once you know your objective, figuring out what to say, directly, without flash, comes easy.
Here’s how to send conversational SMS campaigns without sounding like a dreaded mass marketer.
Make a warm connection, even when you’re sending messages to hundreds of contacts.
Here’s a simple formula you can use to make it personal:
So you might send:
Use meaningful details, segmenting by how you got your contacts’ info (a trade show or a mailing list, for example), or by their interest areas.
Remember the first message is just a warm touch. While you want to get to that phone call, texting isn’t just another excuse to get prospects on the phone.
Empathize with your market, and stay attuned to your contacts.
Marketers who text in bulk can feel impersonal because they aren’t paying attention to who they’re texting or the responses they receive.
Make sure the text you’re sending specifically addresses the needs of your prospects. You can do this by referencing their organization directly in the text or sending a link to a resource that addresses their field of expertise.
A great way to address your prospects needs and push the conversation forward is to provide rich value in your messages.
Think of each text as a chance to prove you’re a knowledgeable resource. Come bearing a curated gift to your prospects’ expertise, like a link to a helpful guide or video.
You’re only a cold texter if you haven’t introduced yourself.
If this is the first text you’ve sent to a contact, acknowledge that, just as you would if you were approaching a stranger in a store. Cold texting can cause a disconnect if the sender is overly friendly and fakes an intimacy that doesn’t exist.
Here’s a couple of example on how to toe the line between too cold and too friendly:
Name the connection, then provide the value.
Business texting has changed over the last decade. Remember those spammy texts with “unbelievable” offers, if only you’ll text back a 5-digit code? Now, conversational texting is about being personable and offering value.
Be direct, be clear, and write like you’re speaking to a peer you don’t know yet.
No need for paragraphs or multiple texts in a row. Get your information across quickly and succinctly.
Check your database integrity. Periodically, inventory your text lists to make sure you have correct numbers and prospects in the right segmentation. You’ll avoid awkward spamming with clean organization.
You know what it feels like when you get a conversational text that doesn’t speak to your needs. (It’s annoying.)
Be prompt and reply to your prospect when they touch back. Treat your prospect like their time is valuable. Be a resource, just as you would if you had nothing to sell.
Looking for more on how to send conversational business texts that get responses? Check out our 101 texting templates.
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