Why You Should Add “Call or Text Us” to Your Site Today

The phrase “just text me” has become synonymous with the easiest and quickest way to reach someone these days. But why should that convenience be limited to just your friends and family?

It’s just as easy for your business or organization to tell people to send you a text—and doing so can lead to more sales, better customer experience, and faster response times.

Learn about the benefits of adding a call or text call-to-action on your website as well as just how effortless it is to text enable your brand.

What Happens When You Text Enable Your Business?

When a customer texts us, where does it go?

This is often the first question someone has when they text enable their business. After all, it’s not like you’re purchasing a cellphone for all these new texts to be sent to. In the case of adding a “Message Us” button to something like your Google My Business profile, the answer may seem even more mysterious.

Thanks to business texting software, it’s possible for organizations to receive text messages via an online platform.

In simpler terms, companies like us have developed the technology that allows people to text a virtual number as it was just another cellphone.

While your phone’s inbox may look something like this:

Messages sent to your text-enabled business appear on a dashboard that looks something like this:

To the person that texted you, their message looks like any other text they’ve sent. But for you, their text can be received, sorted, and your responses automated. All thanks to the power of SMS software. We’d show you how that works exactly, but it’s kind of our secret sauce 😉.

All you need to know is what text enabling your business can do for you and how to get started.

How To Text Enable Your Business

Step 1: Pick your number

For someone to text your business, they of course need a phone number to send their message to. You have a few options:

• We can help you text enable your business’s existing landline (you’ll still be able to receive voice calls as usual)
• Opt for (and verify) a new, toll-free number
• Provision a dedicated short code
• For businesses that want to connect with a certain area, choose and register a new 10-digit line with an area code of your choice

Step 2: Create a keyword

A keyword is just a short word or phrase that, when sent to your number, automatically adds a number to your contact list. It’s not essential that you create one, but keywords can be a great way to quickly subscribe leads with little to no lift on your end.

For example, on the TD Ameritrade contact page, they provide a handful of ways to connect with their team, including a text us option. When clicked, a pop-up box with their keyword and short code (along with the mandatory compliance notices) makes it simple for interested parties to reach out and connect.

💡Note that keywords are necessary if you want to add a mobile sign-up widget to your site, one of the best tools to help build your contact list!

Step 3: Integrate with your existing business tools

While it’s not mandatory, a great way to squeeze the juice out of any text marketing platform is to integrate with the other apps you use to conduct business. This can be done in a variety of ways, including through our API, native integrations, or Zapier.

For example, combine SMS with your current customer service software to add another layer to your client communications. SimpleTexting integrates with Zapier, where you can search for and connect 1,000+ apps to create shortcuts for situations like these:

• Automatically open a help desk ticket (on Zendesk, Salesforce, Hubspot, or another popular customer service platform) when you receive a new incoming text
• Trigger SMS appointment reminders from your calendar or scheduling software
• Automatically follow up post-purchase with texts including review requests or satisfaction surveys

Adding a “Text Us” Option to Your Website

Thanks to text messaging’s high and fast open rates, businesses that text-enable their brand tend to drive more conversations with customers.

As anyone in relationship management can attest, conversations = conversions.

The key is making it as simple as possible for people to text your business. Depending on the type of text messages you plan on sending, there are two easy ways to elevate your website with interactive “text us” buttons that connect you with customers in seconds.

Click-To-Text Buttons

If you plan on texting customers one-on-one, a click-to-text button is a perfect solution for your site. Here’s an example to show you what we mean.

Let’s pretend you’re a realtor with 10 different properties on the market. On your website, each property has its own page. You open our click-to-text tool and customize a button for each listing that says “Schedule a showing.” When visitors to your website click that button, a pre-filled text message automatically opens up in their native messaging app.

All they have to do is click send. And since you have push notifications enabled, you’re able to follow up with this lead within seconds to schedule a showing.

All you had to do was write your default message, customize your button, and copy and paste the code onto your site. Converting web visitors into leads is that simple!

Click-to-text capability isn’t limited to just your web pages. Organizations across all industries are adding these options to site footers, headers, email signatures, Instagram bios, Google listings, and more!

If you’ve been looking for a way to reach more customers quickly, you won’t find a more convenient method than this. Don’t just take our word for it! Try these tools for yourself and you’ll quickly come to see why texting is one of the fastest-growing communication tools for organizations of all kinds.