1、2020 State of Texting 2020 State of Texting Table of Contents 2020 State of Texting Introduction | 1 2020 Key Insights | 2 3 Consumer Mobile Habits | 4 6 Changes in Consumer Preferences | 7 9 Phone Calls, Emails and Texts | 10 14 Chatbots and Apps | 15 17 More Businesses are Texting | 18 19 Common U

2、se Cases | 20 23 Texting Tools | 24 29 Addressing Business Texting Concerns | 30 31 Reducing Opt-Outs | 32 How RCS will Improve Texting | 33 A Look at the Features | 34 35 Who is Zipwhip? | 36 Predictions for the Coming Year | 37 38 Methodology | 39 Appendix | 40 2020 State of Texting Introduction Y

3、ou might have thought the idea was absurd. Texting was designed for quick conversations with family and friends, not connecting with businesses, right? Texting was too casual, the space for messaging was too limited, and typing a business message out on a keypadwell, forget about it. Fast forward to

4、 today. Companies of all sizes, from the smallest businesses to the largest organizations, are reaching out to customers by text and more and more customers are reaching back. In fact, often consumers are the ones sending text messages to businesses in the first place. The reasons for communicating

5、by text are varied: customer service inquiries, sales and marketing opportunities, security alerts, package delivery notifications, transportation updates and more. Texting is becoming the preferred way for consumers to get information quickly and easily; literally, its right at their fingertips. Co

6、nvenience is king. The challenge is getting there before the competition. Consumers are using their buying power to let companies know that the faster they can solve a problem, provide a service or meet a need, the greater the chance they will secure their brand loyalty. With the accelerating pace o

7、f advancements in technology, including improved texting software, chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI), companies are realizing that they need to adopt better ways of communicating with consumers to cut through the noise and stay competitive in the 21st Century. As the creators of Texting for

8、Business, we designed this report to be a comprehensive look at how consumers and businesses use texting and other communication methods to connect. We identified key insights to help businesses understand consumer communication preferences so they can adopt a texting communication strategy that get

9、s results. We encourage the re-publishing of text, data and graphics in this report, as long as all uses appropriately cite and link back to the original report. If youd like access to the raw data, please text our press team at (206) 816-3605 or email . What if you had been told years ago that busi

10、nesses would soon be communicating with consumers on their cell phones? But they wouldnt be calling or emailing them, they would be texting them. 1 2020 State of Texting 2020 Key Insights Texting is an increasingly popular way for businesses to reach customers and employees. Our research shows that

11、68% of businesses use some form of texting today. On the consumer side, 91% of respondents said they have received a text from a business, which is a 20% growth over last year. Of the consumers who said they text with a business, 35% do so anywhere from once a day to once a week. Read more here. The

12、 majority of businesses are texting from cell phones despite the risks involved. While more businesses are texting with customers, 88% admitted to using personal or company-provided cell phones to do so. Using a cell phone instead of business texting software jeopardizes customer privacy, puts compa

13、ny assets at risk if the phone is lost or stolen or the employee leaves the company and increases the likelihood that TCPA compliance is not being met. Read more here. Consumers favor texting over other messaging apps. Of the consumers we surveyed, 77% said they use texting more than other messaging

14、 tools. Using the native texting app on their phone helps keep messages organized and ensures that new messages arent missed or buried in other messaging apps downloaded on their phone. Read more here. 123 2 2020 State of Texting Texting is now an expected form of communication between businesses an

15、d consumers. Texting is used for more than communicating with family and friends. Consumers see the value in texting. Interestingly, 43% of consumers said they have proactively texted a business. And 1 in 3 consumers has tried to text a business and never gotten a response back, which indicates they

16、re texting a business that has not yet text- enabled their phone number. Read more here. Despite advancements in chatbot technology, consumers still prefer to get help from a human. Advancements and enhancements in technology continue to be welcomed by consumers, including the use of chatbots to ass

17、ist in answering questions. Yet, 74% of consumers said they still prefer to get help from a human rather than interacting solely with a chatbot. This data is unchanged from a year ago, indicating that human involvement remains a key component when it comes to consumer satisfaction. Read more here. R

18、CS features will improve texting experiences for businesses and consumers in 2020. Despite a gradual rollout of RCS (Rich Communication Services), the momentum is gaining ground with carrier networks, phone manufacturers and software companies. Consumer awareness surrounding its capabilities is also

19、 growing, with a 30% increase in the percentage of people who say they are somewhat or very familiar with RCS compared to last year. Read more here. 456 Continued: 2020 Key Insights 3 2020 State of Texting Consumer Mobile Habits We use our cell phones for a variety of reasons throughout the day. How

20、 often do you check your phone? Do you do it consciously or unconsciously? The truth is you probably do both. We pick up our phones when we need information, want to connect with others or simply to entertain ourselves. Our phones are our lifeline to the outside world, and rarely do we travel far or

21、 go any extended length of time without interacting with them. Cell phones have become a constant companion for many of us. If we think that ours has been lost or misplaced, a feeling of unease or even anxiety can set in quickly. As a society, we have been conditioned to reach for our phones almost

22、instinctively. Our survey data found that the majority of consumers check their phone more than 20 times a day, with 16% saying they check it more than 50 times. Consumers are tied to their cell phones 4 2020 State of Texting And 75% of consumers reported that they check their cell phone within 30 m

23、inutes of waking up. Seventy-five percent is a huge number. When one of the first things someone does each morning is check their phone, it has gone from being an occasional practice to an engrained habit. It also indicates just how important it is for us to feel informed, how often we use our phone

24、s to interact with others and the amount of time and mental energy we devote to our mobile devices. One of the most used features on a cell phone is the text messaging app. And when it comes to text messages, were sending a lot of them. On average, consumers send 13 texts and 3 emails from their per

25、sonal cell phone each day. That means were sending 4 times more text messages than emails now. Continued: Consumer Mobile Habits 5 2020 State of Texting Consumers send four times more texts than emails on their personal cell phone every day. This data doesnt surprise us. Texting is the highest-prior

26、ity form of communication and a highly preferred one. Whether a person is texting a friend, family member or a business, having zero unread text messages is still the norm. There is just something about an unread text message that beckons us. And unlike email inboxes where messages are generally per

27、ceived to be less urgent, when a person receives a text message, theyre likely to read it and reply within minutes. Continued: Consumer Mobile Habits 6 2020 State of Texting Changes in Consumer Preferences Just because consumers spend a lot of time on their phones doesnt mean theyre easy to reach by

28、 any medium. Consumers want choices. When asked whats most important when connecting with a business, 31% of consumers said they would like options when it comes to how they communicate. While there isnt a one-size-fits-all solution, a combination of communication tools is often the best approach. U

29、sing emails and text messages to communicate with customers may work best for some businesses while text messages and phone calls may work better for others. Consider your customers preferences and the type of business you run before moving forward with any changes to your companys outreach strategy

30、. Currently, if youre only using email and phone calls to communicate with customers, it might be a good time to consider expanding your options. Younger generationsGen Y (millennials) and Gen Z, specificallyuse texting more than email, so adopting text messaging makes sense to attract them. 7 2020

31、State of Texting Service-based companies have tremendous success when using texting to connect with customers, particularly when scheduling appointments and sending confirmations and reminders. Sending short text messages at the right time greatly reduces late cancellations, missed appointments and

32、no-shows which can be quite costly, especially for small businesses. On the other hand, some businesses may find that using email works best, primarily if they send long-form messages or need to attach documents. The key is to be aware of what customers want and to use the appropriate method for the

33、 best outcome. Listen to the preferences of your customers and youll be rewarded in the long run. Continued: Changes in Consumer Preferences Only 24% of businesses today find it very easy to get a response from customers. Consumer communication preferences have evolved with technology, and businesse

34、s that dont oblige those preferences will continue to struggle. Using a shotgun approach to send generalized marketing or sales content to a single database of customers hoping to appeal to all of them rarely hits the mark. Likewise, sending a whole bunch of different messages to the same people is

35、counterproductive. Businesses would be smart to strategize their messaging. Dont make getting a response more difficult by spamming customers with too much content or content that isnt relevant. 2020 State of Texting 8 2020 State of Texting Continued: Changes in Consumer Preferences Sending timely i

36、nformation that offers value is a critical component to good customer communication, regardless of the method used to send it. Does your product or service make their lives better, save them money or relieve a pain point? Ignore these questions and your messages will be ignored, too. And you may soo

37、n find that theyve unsubscribed from your emails or opted out from receiving your texts. People want to feel understood, know that a business values their time and have confidence that what a company offers will benefit them in some way. If you want to engage with customers, make it easy for them to

38、 see the value in what youre offering and make it just as easy for them to reach you. 9 2020 State of Texting Changes in Consumer Preferences Phone Calls, Emails and Texts Phone calls are becoming less and less preferred by consumers We all grew up with phones in our homes, so we know the convenienc

39、e they offer. Back then, most phones were attached to a cord and even if they were cordless, they still had a base that plugged into the wall. Reaching consumers that way had its limitations as individuals had to be home to answer. While we now carry our cell phones nearly wherever we go, ironically

40、, the call button is one of the least used features on it. Texting and messaging apps are used much more often to communicate. So, why are calls declining in terms of consumer preferences? One reason is because its getting harder to get ahold of someone. When we get a call from an unknown number, we

41、 tend to ignore it and let it go to voicemail where the recording may or may not be heard. If we do listen to the message and return the call, we often end up getting their voicemail in return and the game of phone tag begins. According to our survey, 60% of businesses say they play phone tag somewh

42、at to very often. How much time is phone tag costing your employees each day? Is it even a consideration? It should be. 10 2020 State of Texting Consumers view calls from unknown numbers with skepticism, assuming theyre either spam (unwanted marketing), a scam (fraudulent in their intent) or a roboc

43、all (recorded message from an auto dialer). Robocalls in particular are making it more challenging for businesses to reach consumers. The increasing number of them has people ignoring the sight and sound of a ringing phone unless they recognize the custom ringtone or see a name from their contacts w

44、hen the screen lights up. In our 2019 phone call survey2 we found that nearly 88% of respondents said they ignore phone calls from businesses and unknown numbers “often” or “very often.” Some industries still rely on phone calls as a primary contact method, however. When asked if they would prefer t

45、o communicate via text, email or phone call for various use cases, our survey respondents only selected phone calls for one use case recruiting. Continued: Phone Calls, Emails and Texts For recruiters, speaking with job candidates over the phone can give them a better understanding of an individuals

46、 skills and work history as well as a chance to speak with them about their career goals. So, its understandable that phone calls are used as a primary point of contact, with the expectation that texts and/or emails are used to convey other information later during the hiring process. Email is no lo

47、nger a high-priority medium People are busy and they want information delivered to them quickly and succinctly. While email works well for some types of communication as mentioned earlier, consumers dont prioritize it like they do texting. Case in point, the average consumer has 96 unread emails in

48、their inbox and only 0.5 unread text messages at a given time. That makes it clear which method is getting prioritized. 11 2020 State of Texting Continued: Phone Calls, Emails and Texts Texting is still consumers preferred messaging tool As noted earlier, texting beats email for the number of messag

49、es sent per day, with four times as many texts being sent. And it beats email in terms of the priority level of the message. Texting also surpasses popular messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Snapchat and Instagram which are used more for social media conversations and sharing filtered images and videos