Many salespeople will tell you that texting is rising in popularity. We now have evidence.
“According to a study by Pew, 83 percent of American adults own cell phones and 73 percent of them send and receive text messages. Pew surveyed more than 2,200 people and asked those who text to cite their preferred way of being contacted on their cell phone. Almost a third –31 percent — prefer texting. And, 53 percent said they prefer a voice call while14 percent say it depends on the situation.”
The Pew study does not directly address the workplace, but the feedback that I get from sales representatives seems to confirm that this behavior carries over into the workplace. Increasingly, it is harder and harder to speak directly with customers. In the recent past, voice mail was deemed the culprit with customers screening calls and then returning the calls to the sales reps at their leisure. At least, that is how it seems.
Salespeople are left with the option of leaving a trail of voice mails (which seems rather desperate) or calling at different times during the day, such as early or late in the day, hoping that the customer might accidentally pick up the phone. Email is a viable option but it
Snail mail and faxing remain options but seemed to be rarely used by the “modern” salesperson.
Also, gone are the days of idle telephone banter between the customer and the rep. On the buyer’s side of the issue is the increased pressure to get more and more work done. They have little time to establish rapport with new sales reps and may not need the rep’s help as much as in the old days prior to the internet. With more and more information available on the web, buyers are more informed than ever. They need less help and less talk.
So, when you cannot reach your customer by land line or email or cell phone, try texting them. You might just get an answer back.
John Bradley Jackson
Entrepreneur, Professor, Author
Deja New Marketing
© Copyright 2011
Source: Read more about the Pew study at CNET.