5 Reasons Your Ag Business Should be Texting

No, I’m not talking about texting your mother. (You should call your mother, not text her….)

I’m talking about texting for your ag business and why you should be using it in conjunction with your current marketing strategy. Texting for business aka mobile messaging is a premium marketing and communications channel that instantly reaches the user via text message on their mobile phone.

Mobile messaging in agriculture can be used as a marketing tool, an integrated solution within your current marketing plan or as a continuous sales outreach. Various features of mobile messaging include:

Individual and group messaging.
- Idea: Segment your text messaging audience by location or sales person for geo-specific offers.
Ability to conduct two-way conversations.
- Idea: Have a customer with a product issue? Have them text any images to customer service!
Automation of workflow through text message triggers.
- Idea: Did an event happen in your area and you need to let your growers know to apply a product or visit their local branch automatically?
Quick polling of your audience.
- Idea: Follow-up after a new feature release of your app or quick feedback from a customer who utilized your new crop input.

Number 5: It’s Expected in 2021

Much like the when the internet was catching fire, and business credibility stemmed from having a website; the same thing is happening with text messaging. Users spend an enormous amount of time on their phones that it has become a prominent request for business communications.

The question used to be, ‘What’s your website?’ and now the shift is to ‘What’s your keyword?’ . Mobile stats from bankmycell.com and the 2020 Ag Media Report continue to validate the entrenched usage of mobile devices:

3.8 billion people own a smartphone. That’s billion. with a B.
75% of customers want to receive offers via text message
45% of farmers and producers receive agriculture related text messages at least once per week. *2020 Ag Media Report

Number 4: Speed

Texting is the fastest, most efficient way for a business to reach its customers and solicit almost instantaneous feedback via their most trusted device. Think about how many text message offers you’ve receive just today – Home Depot with Labor Day savings, ag news updates from FarmProgress.com or a reminder of your upcoming eye appointment.

90% of text messages are opened and read within 3 minutes.
Average response time is 90 seconds.
The brevity of a text message appeals to today’s fast-paced life.
Instant opt-ins (meeting all FCC compliance laws) with Text-in Keywords.

Number 3: Performance

With speed, comes performance.

Number 2: Convenience

99% of all mobile phones have the ability to send and receive text messages by default. Which means there is no app to download, no service to sign up for, and nothing standing between you and your customers with relevant and timely information or offers.

Number 1: Where is your phone right now?

I bet you know exactly where it is, possibly even in your hand as you’re reading this or within eye sight.

The number one reason you should be using texting messaging is the fact that most consumers have a mobile phone, and they all know where it is all of the time. It’s the most intimate and immediate channel of communication you can have with your customer.

In addition to being a premium marketing channel, text messaging can be integrated into your business’ operations from event promotion, lead generation, sales announcements, location updates and more!

Texting is rapidly becoming the most preferred communication method, as well as the best performing marketing channel among businesses.