Here are a few statistics I want you to consider:
- Of all the uses for cell phones, sending and reading text messages come in at number one and number two. Making a call comes in at a distant number six.
- Texting is the most widely-used and frequently used app on a cell phone with 97% of Americans using it at least once a day.
- Over 80% of American adults text, making it the most common cell phone activity.
- Text messages have a 98% open rate, while email has only a 20% open rate.
- On average, Americans exchange twice as many texts as they do calls.
- American women text 14% more than men.
- A large public utility company analyzed their incoming contact center calls (400K calls per month) and discovered that 80% came from cell phones.
- A 2012 study found that text was the highest rated contact method for customer satisfaction out of all other customer communication channels. Text earned 90 out of 100 points, while voice calls earned 77 out of 100.
- SMS text chat converts a $6-$20 call to a chat that costs pennies per session.
- Roughly half of all customer service calls go unresolved.
In my latest article for No Jitter, I explore how adding text messaging to contact centers attracts new customers, improves customer satisfaction, and increases agent performance.
Tao, Zen, and Tomorrow 