By Brooke Chaplan

When it comes to gaining more customers, you need to be on top of the latest technological strategies. This way, you can stay ahead of your competition. One of the most under-used marketing and retention tools is that of texting. Many millennials and those of Gen-Z prefer text to even email and social media when it comes to instant communication. But how do you use text for customer outreach as a small business? From appointment reminders to marketing, special event celebration and order confirmations, there are many simple ways to implement texting into your business strategy. Here are four strategies that involve texting solutions.

Appointment reminders

If you have a service business, instead of wasting time and money in giving customers traditional appointment card reminders or calling each person, upgrade to text reminders. Many texting solutions allow your staff to simply check a box that states the customer wants to have appointment reminders. Then, with every appointment that they schedule, they’ll get a nice reminder automatically.

Text marketing

We’re all familiar with the traditional forms of marketing. These are print ads, billboards, digital marketing, email marketing, and social media, to name a few. Text marketing is becoming a new way to reach consumers. There are tons of texting solutions for small business that can allow you to harness the power of mobile advertising. You can send both text messages and picture messages to inform potential clients about new products, specials, and so forth.

Send out birthday wishes

If you really want to make your customers feel special, then you need to send them a text message that is all about them. The best way to do this is when it’s their birthday. Send them happy birthday wishes via a text message. This allows them to feel like a valued client as you’re only sending good wishes and aren’t asking them for anything in return.

Send order confirmations and updates

Customers will absolutely love being able to get real-time updates on the products and services they order. Instead of having to log in to their email account to get updates, they can do so from their phone when you send order confirmations and updates via text. For example, you can let customers know when their order has shipped. Or, you can let them know that your service professional is on the way to their location. Either way, they’ll love being updated about what’s going on with their order or requested service.

Texting is changing the way businesses are operating. It’s best to jump on board now and learn how to integrate texting into your business model before your competitors do. Remember that those businesses that embrace the changes early on are more likely to survive than those who simply ignore changes until they can’t any longer.

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Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan.