We’re moving beyond just emails in this modern business world. While people send about 280 billion emails every day (expected to reach 333 billion by 2022), many of these emails go unread. Here’s an interesting fact: only about 25% of business-to-consumer emails get opened. But text messages? They’re becoming the new star of business communication. Studies show that 82% of people read a business text within just 5 minutes. This makes sense when you think about it – most people keep their phones close by, and texting has become the go-to way of communicating, especially for those under 50.
Here are four key reasons why keeping records of business text messages is so important:
Follow the Rules and Regulations
Think of text archiving as keeping a proper record of your business conversations, just like you would with important paperwork. Many businesses need to follow specific rules set by organizations like FINRA outside business activities, SEC, GDPR, and MiFID II. Government offices also need to keep records to comply with laws like the Freedom of Information Act. Here’s the thing: a quick text message to a client might seem casual, but in the eyes of these regulations, it’s just as important as a formal letter.
Protect Your Business in Legal Situations
Even if your business doesn’t have to follow specific regulations, keeping text message records is still smart for legal protection. Just like emails and phone calls, text messages can be used as evidence in court. Having a proper text archiving system means you can easily find and prove what was said in text conversations. This is especially important if someone makes false claims against your business. The key is to store these messages in a way that proves they haven’t been changed and makes them easy to find when needed.
Improve Employee Communication
Good business means knowing what your employees are saying to customers and each other. Text archiving helps you keep track of these conversations. Are your employees making promises they can’t keep? Is someone sending inappropriate messages? Having records helps you catch and fix these problems early. It’s also great for training – by looking at past messages, you can show employees examples of good and bad communication. This isn’t about spying on employees; it’s about ensuring everyone represents your business professionally and knows how to communicate effectively.
Make Marketing Better
Remember how text messages get read more often than emails? That makes them great for marketing, but you need to know what works and what doesn’t. With good text archiving, you can track when messages are sent, when they’re read, and how people respond. Think of it like having a scoreboard – you can see which messages get the best response, what time of day works best for sending them, and which offers people like most. This information helps you make your marketing messages better over time.
Making Sense of It All: Why This Matters
Text messaging isn’t going away – it’s becoming more important for business every day. Just like you wouldn’t throw away important business letters or delete all your emails, you shouldn’t lose track of important text messages. Whether it’s for following rules like FINRA outside business activities, protecting your business legally, training employees, or improving your marketing, keeping good records of text messages is just smart business.
