marketing

Based on survey responses, the report covers how text messaging is being used in business communications today, predicts where the market is heading in the next 12 months, and explores what challenges and opportunities this creates for businesses.

70% of people say texting is the fastest way to reach them. That’s just one of the many findings in the 2024 State of Business Texting Report published today by Text Request, the industry-leading business messaging platform. The report, anchored in more than a thousand survey responses, details how organizations are texting with customers and employees, what trends to expect over the next calendar year, and what opportunities this creates for businesses.

“Rather than blasting out promotions to subscribers, which can be very effective, most organizations are using text messaging for everyday conversations and to replace phone calls,” says Text Request VP of Marketing Kenneth Burke, who led the survey and analysis. “Businesses are seeing that text is the most effective way to connect with customers and employees quickly and get a response, so they’re taking advantage of that opportunity for everyone’s benefit.”

Significant findings in the 2024 State of Business Texting Report include:

• 74% of people read every text they get
• 54% of organizations say text message is the most effective channel for getting a response
• 75% of organizations are texting for customer service
• 87% of consumers want to receive texts about appointment scheduling and reminders
• 66% of people get 20 or fewer texts per day—far less than the average email count of 156—making text a great way to stand out in communications

“If you’re going to reach someone quickly, you’ve got to text them,” says Text Request CEO Brian Elrod. “That’s something we’ve all felt, and this data supports that experience. Think about how helpful it is to be able to reach everyone immediately, and get a response. You can get twice as much done in half the time, cut costs, and increase revenue. That’s the trifecta.”

The report goes on to show how this data can be applied throughout organizations for customer service, sales, marketing, hiring, and more. To view the complete report, go to: https://www.textrequest.com/ebooks/state-of-business-texting-2024

Cloud Hosting, Intuitive Interface and Complete End-To-End Business Analytics for HVAC, Electrical and Plumbing Professionals

Successware, a business management software company for the home service industry has introduced its new state-of-the-art platform based on next-generation technology. Available now, the upgraded platform boasts a simpler, more intuitive interface, data-driven features and secure cloud-based hosting. Professionals in the HVAC, electrical and plumbing industries are now able to access a complete end-to-end business management solution with mobile application that makes day-to-day operations streamlined and efficient.

For over two decades, the Successware® Classic software platform has been helping customers in the trade industry manage and grow their businesses. When developing the new platform, Successware was able to build upon the popular functionalities of the Successware® Classic software while adding enhanced features that elevate the user experience and offer the most comprehensive functionality in business management software on the market. Updated features include:

• Analytics-Driven Reporting Dashboard: The analytics-driven reporting dashboard allows clients to see key performance indicators and advanced data analytics at a glance. This tool shows total revenue, gross margin, cost of goods sold and more in one convenient location, giving users access to essential business data to help them drive decision making.
• Call Handling: The call handling screen is now more intuitive and allows users to collect customer information to help schedule jobs more easily. The call handling screen automatically updates scripts and available appointment time slots with the time slot capacity management feature as job information is entered, such as call reason, job class and job type.
• Dispatch Assistant: The brand-new dispatch assistant makes it easy to assign technicians to jobs with a drag and drop feature. Users are able to see who is available for the job, the technician’s skill set and travel distance between job sites.
• Cloud-Hosted: Hosted in the cloud, the new platform gives businesses the benefits of increased uptime and security, scalability, data backup and disaster recovery, freedom to work anywhere and more.

“We have fostered trusted relationships with our customers over the past 20 years and have been carefully listening to their feedback every step of the way,” said Rohit Change, Chief Operating Officer of Authority Brands. “The new platform launch is a culmination of that insight combined with ground-breaking technology to help trade professionals take their businesses to the next level with advanced analytics, a fully integrated communications platform with voice, text, and email and many additional marketing tools. We know our dedicated users will find this feature-rich platform to be an essential tool in their business management and look forward to helping them streamline their operations through our best-in-class customer service for years to come.”

Like the Successware® Classic software, the new platform provides all-in-one business management solutions integrated with its mobile application. In addition, Successware’s back-office software still offers a full suite of features such as sales and marketing, field tools, contactless payments, integrated accounting, online learning, omni-channel communications and more.