“Text messaging as a communication channel is impersonal because it lacks the emotional connectivity of face-to-face and verbal communication, yet it feels extremely personal.”

This personal element is what that makes text messages, an effective sales medium. But, familiarity factor is also critical for prospecting via text. According to the Lead360 study, that covered 3.5 million lead records from more than 400 companies, a text message sent alone converts at 4.8%. That same message, sent after a phone contact increases conversion by 112.6%. So, to get 112% results, combine text messages with another medium, use the familiarity factor and –voilà- the sales is done!

To effectively utilize this sales medium, Jeb Blount has given 7 keys to structuring effective text prospecting messages. They are:

1. Identify Yourself
2. Message Matters
3. Be Direct – Be Brief
4. Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling Count
5. Avoid Abbreviations
6. Transparent Links
7. Before Clicking Send – Read It Again

Read more at:

http://jebblount.com/7-keys-text-messaging-sales-prospecting/

One of the challenges that the digital marketers face is to reach the right customer. Nowadays, social media marketing is treated in the same way as email or SMS. But, nowadays, social Customer Relationship Management is gaining importance and marketers can now identify leads on social channels and send them straight into the CRM system, so that they can be converted into sales. The major difference between traditional and social CRM, is that the customer becomes important and companies actually interact and collaborate with customers, building relationships with them. This approach can be more successful than traditional sales and marketing campaigns. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/social-media-marketing/maximising-every-customer-sales-opportunity-with-social-crm/1709

Contact centers are making the transition towards cloud technology from premises-based solutions. In a premise-based solution, companies make a huge investment, whereas in a cloud based solution, there is quick deployment, and less investment. It is more flexible. The operational cost is also less in cloud based solution. Updates of the contact center software can be delivered quickly through the cloud. Unlike premises-based solutions, a cloud hosted contact center is not a fixed solution. Call centers are developing beyond phone support to also handle customer interactions. Customer services are now given via chat, email, SMS, and social media. For contact centers call reliability and security are major concerns while moving to a cloud based solutions. But, due to flexibility, reliability, and future-proofing, companies are looking forward to move to cloud based solutions. To read more about the benefits of cloud based solutions, follow Carl Noblitt (VP Account Management, AireSpring)’s article link: http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/850/Default.aspx