As AI Steals The Limelight, SMS Dominates Business Outreach
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
AI is currently one of the most-hyped technologies ever. People waxed lyrical about the invention of the internet or the power of Google Glass, but nothing has come close to the zealotry accompanying the introduction of artificial intelligence. New systems, we’re told, will solve everything, from material scarcity to death itself.
However, the recent headlines are hiding developments elsewhere in society. While the world’s geniuses focus on the impending possibility of superintelligence, many other technologies are quietly whirring away, making businesses better.
SMS is one such technology. Like AI, engineers developed the basics of it decades ago. However, it came to maturity significantly faster, reaching its zenith in the early 2000s. Since then, no amount of clever digital messaging apps have been able to replace it, and people continue to use it to this day.
SMS, or short message service, is the technology that allows us to send and receive text messages on our mobile phones. Despite being so old, it is still one of the most effective and reliable ways to communicate with customers and prospects.
According to the mass texting service, Text ‘em All, it’s an easy and affordable solution for any business looking to reach customers and thrill new audiences. The company says that the communication option lets firms schedule messages and reach customers through methods that are meaningful to them. New outreach is virtually unlimited, the firm says, and it’s possible to get the message out fast. That’s because, unlike conventional emails, companies don’t face spam blockers or other advanced technologies that prevent them from reaching their audience. Once they prove their legitimacy, their capacity for outreach is virtually unlimited.
Text ‘em All also says that firms can use mass texting for more than marketing. In fact, direct selling should be relatively low down their list of priorities. The company says that the best uses for mass texting are things like appointment reminders and employee updates. It’s a way for firms to offer better services to their stakeholders, improving their organization levels and keeping everyone apprised of changes. Some firms, the mass texting outfit says, are using SMS for emergency communications. When conventional broadband is down, mobile telephony continues to operate.
Additional applications include job openings, surveys, health notifications, and even prayer requests. Churches and other religious organizations are benefiting from the ability to quickly communicate about spiritual matters, bypassing email which can be slow.
But what makes SMS so powerful as a business marketing tool? Let’s take a look.
First, SMS feels more personal and direct than conventional email or social media marketing. While people filter messages on these platforms, SMS delivers them straight to customers’ pockets, driving high open rates and engagement. Brands can personalize communications with their customers’ names, locations, and behaviors, and create intimacy through regular interactions. Trust grows quickly because few firms send stakeholders texts, and even fewer do so in a helpful manner.
Another benefit of SMS messages is their timeliness and urgency. Companies can provide customers and other stakeholders with time-sensitive information, including appointment reminders, delivery notifications, or flash sales. People can then act on the new information immediately by following the link or clicking through to a call, driving conversions and improving efficiency.
Another benefit of SMS is its simplicity and convenience. It doesn’t require app downloads or internet connections, and the interface is simple. Many older users prefer it to modern systems.
The effort required is minimal across the board. Customers can send businesses SMS and they can reply in a few clicks. Nobody needs to navigate complicated apps or email clients, and incompatibility is not an issue. Stakeholders simply open the message on their phones and start reading.
SMS is also surprisingly versatile and adaptable if you use the right services. Businesses can use it for various stages of the customer journey, or the outreach tasks mentioned above. For instance, you can use SMS to:-
It’s likely that AI will play an increasingly valuable role in SMS outreach over the coming years. Intelligent technologies will reduce the need for rote programming and instructions, and make it easier to interface with SMS-enabling platforms. Companies will invest in smart bots that can make independent decisions on what to do next to achieve the firm’s goals.
For instance, you can imagine AI playing a role in planning and writing text content. Companies can generate hundreds of well-written texts in mere seconds, instead of having to wait for people to write them, and send them out in a matter of minutes. They can also generate a vast array of texts with every kind of information for their customers, keeping them up to date on everything, from appointment times to webinar reminders.
AI with agency could potentially direct these processes itself. While that might sound quite long-range, it is already an ability many AIs have today, even if they are not well-known. The software can arrange various activities itself, without first consulting a human, letting it take over the management of SMS operations and change the face of business. Whether it will be effective remains to be seen.
Text ‘em All says it is already experimenting with various automation features to save users time. With the keywords feature, users can set up their accounts to automatically respond with specific texts to certain user messages. Auto-replies arrange the task without the requirement for any human input, regardless of the hour of the day or the number of customers asking questions. Firms, the brand says, can keep in touch with their contacts even when they are away from the phone and not available to take calls.
In summary, while AI is stealing the limelight right now, other technologies are proving valuable to customers and businesses. SMS is unlikely to disappear, just as SEO is still here, many months after the introduction of GPT-4.
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