Millions of Customer Texts Go Unanswered: A Simple Way to Stop Ignoring Customers
Imagine this: A potential customer finds your website late at night and sends a quick text hoping to book a service or get a question answered. Hours or days go by without a reply. Frustrated, they move on to your competitor, and you never even know you lost a sale.
Customer communication preferences have changed. Industry research confirms that texting is one of the fastest-growing channels for customer communication, with SMS usage for customer support climbing year-over-year. In fact, AT&T estimates that 150 million messages are sent every day to business phone numbers that aren’t text-enabled.
Consider that if just one out of ten missed texts is a sales opportunity, those missed messages could be costing your business hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in lost revenue each month. Not only that, but each unanswered text risks a frustrated customer and a damaged first impression.
This article will explain how your business can avoid missing customer texts even if you and your team aren’t fully ready to integrate business texting into your operations.
Enable Texting on All Customer-Facing Business Numbers
Customers today tend to expect certain things like:
Immediate, convenient answers on their schedule.
Courtesy, even if their preferred communication option isn't available.
Clear instructions for how to successfully reach your business.
The reality for many consumers today, is that calling is no longer their primary method of communication. Many will prefer to text the numbers they find on your website, your ads, your Google listings, etc. And, if any of those business numbers aren’t text-enabled, those messages simply go unanswered - lost opportunities you’ll never know about.
For a customer, silence can feel like neglect. But, fixing this problem is simple. By enabling texting on all customer-facing business numbers - even if you don’t plan to respond - can activate a way for your text customers to reach you and get an auto response. This allows your business to appear responsive and accessible without changing your company’s operational workflow.
Auto-Reply to Customer Texts
Here's how easy it can be to guarantee every customer gets a reply. Begin by acknowledging every text message with an automatic reply and guide customers toward the best contact method to reach you.
Here’s a sample auto-reply response you can use:
“Our apologies. We do not currently accept text messages at this number. Instead, please call us at (###) ###-####.”
An auto-reply like this can prevent a negative customer experience, prevent missed revenue and allow your business to remain responsive even when it chooses not to manage text conversations with customers.
End Unanswered Texts And Missed Conversations
HostMy makes it easy for businesses looking to set up text auto-responders for their customer-facing business numbers. HostMyText is purpose-built for growing businesses and makes enabling and managing text messages effortless - whether you need a quick auto-reply today or a scalable contact center tomorrow.
With HostMyText Basic you can:
Instantly send 24/7 auto-replies for professional acknowledgment and clear next steps.
Text-enable existing business numbers (single or multiple lines) for immediate accessibility.
Access a shared team inbox that keeps all communications organized.
Build and maintain an enhanced contact list for better customer relationship management.
Remain HIPAA compliant with secure, industry-standard messaging practices.
Send bulk messages when you're ready to expand your outreach.
Whether you're starting small or scaling up, HostMyText offers the options your business needs.
Get Started with HostMyText Basic
Every day without a texting solution in place is another day text customers are being ignored. Use our simple signup to enable HostMyText Basic and set up auto-replies on all your business numbers - it’s fast, simple, and helps your business avoid missed opportunities.