Text Messages Versus Other Forms Of Communication: What Consumers Prefer Most May Surprise You

More than 83% of the world’s population — 6 billion people — use smartphones, a  figure expected to rise sharply as evidenced by the 73.9% increase in smartphone users from 3.7 billion in 2016.

Time Spent On Mobile Devices

In 2019, U.S. consumers spent more time with their mobile phones than they did watching TV, according to research by eMarketer. At that time, smartphones accounted for 21% of the total time spent on media, and in just two years that number has risen.

According to a report by Insider Intelligence Inc., mobile phone users spent an average of four hours and 23 minutes per day on their devices in 2021, accounting for 54.8% of the time spent on digital media per day. 

The majority of mobile phone users aren’t making calls. Instead, they’re checking their favorite social media platforms like Twitter Inc. TWTR and Meta Platforms Inc.'s META Facebook or WhatsApp, sending emails, shopping online, reading news and texting. 

Mobile Messaging Stats

People seem to prefer messaging to connect with friends and relatives or to conduct business. The number of text messages sent each year is startling. Over 2 trillion multimedia messaging services (MMS) and short message services (SMS) were sent in the U.S. alone in 2020, proving that text messaging is a popular mode of communication.

Business text messaging is also showing no sign of slowing. During the same year, business messaging traffic reached 3.5 trillion, indicating a 9.4% increase from 3.2 trillion in 2019. Companies that aren’t using text messages to connect with their customers could be losing business.

Text Messaging Over Anything

According to a survey by Forbes, 64% of consumers believe businesses should use text messages to interact with them over any other form. 

Statistics also show that 70% of consumers believe SMS text messages attract more attention, and 66% rank mobile messaging as their first or second choice to contact a company. 

How To Meet Such Growing Demand?

In addition to having the technology infrastructure and digital solutions required to offer business text messaging, companies looking to offer such an experience to their customers will also need to hire a team of customer service representatives. This could require a large headcount on the payroll and considerable resources to achieve the desired results.

TDCX Inc. TCDX, a provider of digital customer experience (CX) solutions enabling companies to acquire new customers and build loyalty, says it is well positioned to support the move toward text-based customer support.

The company offers customer support services 24/7 through engagement hubs spread throughout its centers in Asia, Europe and the Americas. TDCX boasts a team of experienced people proficient in over 40 languages across the regions it operates in.

TDCX recently opened an office in HITEC City, India, a move aimed at expanding its global footprint. The office will help serve India’s fast-growing CX market as well as the global English-speaking market and is ideal for text-based support because of its high-tech workforce, booming digital infrastructure and low labor costs.

With text messaging expected to remain an important aspect of the customer experience, companies could consider tapping the strengths of outsourced customer experience solutions providers such as TDCX to deliver high customer satisfaction for increased brand preference and loyalty.

Featured Photo by Kelli McClintock on Unsplash

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