Call or Text

Matthew Gower

Communication with our phones has dramatically changed throughout the years. This has led to many people preferring to text someone rather than talk to them on the phone. 

“It has been estimated that 60% of millennials like to communicate with businesses through text messaging. They think it is less invasive than phone calls and believe texts have a more personal touch than the other forms of communication,” according to Textmagic.com.

This is drastically different than how phones used to operate, where users had to call someone and didn’t have the ability to text. There are still many people who think picking up the phone and calling someone rather than texting them is more personal. Although, there are many who share the opposite opinion.

According to SlickText.com, five billion people now can send and receive texts compared to the one billion in 2003 and text messages have a 209% higher response rate than phone, email or Facebook with text message open rates as high as 98%.

There are many reasons some people prefer texting over talking on the phone such as privacy. For example, it is not a common statement to say someone overheard a text, but it can be quite common for someone to say they overheard a conversation on the phone.

Some people prefer texting because it can be less time consuming than a phone call because it could last longer than they might intend to be on the phone. Another reason they might prefer texting is that it makes some people feel like they are not “put on the spot” when asked a question or told something they did not expect. But rather, receive the question or the information in a text and have time to think about their response before giving it. Many people find this way of communicating less stressful and helps avoid awkward long pauses of silence that can sometimes occur on a phone call.

Other reasons people may prefer texting are customization options when texting; such as emojis, gifs etc. These can help add a certain tone or convey a sense of emotion in what someone is texting.

Marketing has also benefited from the ability to communicate directly with their customers in a way they were not able to in the past. For example, direct communication has aided marketers in letting customers know when a promotion is happening with their service or deal that they are offering. Many customers may not know about these deals unless they were signed up to receive notifications for such things and this tactic has led to new marketing strategies for many different companies such as polls and increasing traffic to stores or websites.

CEO of Buff City Soap Justin Delaney commented on how his company benefits from such marketing.

“We use the text message marketing service ‘Voxie [SMS]’ to help drive interest in our retail locations. We provide information about the new store openings and special promotions at each of our stores. Voxie was a great tool for introducing concept as it helped bring traffic into our store and increased business from both existing and new customers,” Delaney said.

There are many other companies like Voxie that implement similar strategies for other companies and have helped businesses spread their brand or products to individuals who might not hear about them if not for such marketing options.

That is not to say text messaging is always the best option. Sometimes there can be a conversation that should be either a phone call or a face to face conversation; especially when it comes to more serious subjects or information. Knowing when to do so can be important to the way someone hears about a traumatic event or bad news without getting offended or misinterpreting what the text says.