Chances are you have at least one contact on your phone from which you dread receiving a call. Maybe he’s a nice enough person, but the thirty second question/answer exchange turns into a forty five minute conversation about nothing. That was forty five minutes of your life you’ll never get back. Mirror-check. If you don’t have that person in your contact list… YOU’RE that person. When is it appropriate for the intended message or exchange of information to be performed via email, text message, or a good old-fashioned phone call? Phone calls are obviously the tried and true standby when it comes to client communication.It’s somewhat hard to quantify, but a human voice can make a world of difference when it comes to client engagement. Human connection phone calls can sometimes make or break closing a transaction or negotiating a deal. There’s just nothing more human than a personal phone call. However, telemarketing and spam calls have stigmatized the telephone means of communication. As alternative methods of communication have increased, telephone culture is declining. Our culture is also transitioning to being more efficient with less time. People want conversations to occur quietly, on their own time, and at their convenience.This is why people prefer texting vs talking. Texting is a less obtrusive, more discrete, and yet still a near-instant way to communicate.And because they’re instant, texts get up to a 98% open rate. That’s higher than any other form of communication.High open rates are also why texting is 7 times more likely to get a response.Email is yet another ‘go-to’ conversational messaging technology. It’s actually the most widely adopted form of digital communication in the world. Email has also proven effective for decades. Personalized marketing campaigns allow businesses and organizations to nurture customers, deliver engaging content, and personalize messages.But email marketing can suffer from lower engagement rates.In fact, the average person will send 25% more texts than emails. That’s an average of at least 15 texts vs 12 emails per day.While the average person receives dozens of emails, only 17% of people have zero unread emails. Whereas 74% of people have zero unread text messages.The truth is that many emails go unread and even get deleted without ever being opened.Text messages have up to a 98% open rate and around a 45% response rate. In fact, 74% of customers will even respond to a text from a business within an hour vs 41% for email. Customers are also much more likely to mark advertising emails as spam. So when it comes to receiving email, some audiences may never even have the chance to see your message.Email works great for long, in-depth customer communications. Whereas text message marketing is best for short messages, calls to action, and immediate engagement. In the end, each serves a different purpose. Be efficient with time and effective with people.
Until next week, love where you live. And if you don’t… contact your local REALTOR®.
Brian Haufe, 2022 MBOR President
