Instead of making you wait any longer, I’ll give you the answer to the long-time debate of texting vs calling. 

Texting is the clear choice when trying to reach a large group of customers at once but calls are more intimate so your choice should depend on the strategy being executed and the number of people you are trying to target, especially in a time-sensitive situation. 

So even though there are texting vs calling pros and cons this also means that there is no winner instead, every situation calls for the right medium of communication. 

This could make or break your business’s marketing efforts depending on what your customers prefer. 

Check out a number of different situations including pros and cons of texting vs calling to understand when you need to use texting and when you need to use calls to contact your customers: 

#1. Promotional offers 

This one is pretty obvious. 

Even though businesses have access to software algorithms that allow them to make automated calls to thousands of customers at the same time, more than 50% of customers prefer texting over calling. Why? 

Because they can read it at their convenience. If the text is relevant to them, they’ll open it and get details from the business’s website or contact number. 

However, phone calls take this choice away from them. 

They’re forced to listen to the advertisement; plus, they can’t directly take action. Texts include hyperlinks that direct them to details whereas calls are slower with a more complicated call to action. 

Another reason is that texts aren’t as disruptive. 

Calling a customer outside of office hours can seem highly unprofessional, even if it is automated, whereas text is the perfect way to alert your customers about a sale that goes online at midnight just an hour before it. 

#2. Emergencies 

The fact that calls are disruptive can work in favor of your business as well.  

Companies that deal with sensitive information, products, and services need to opt for calls as the preferred choice of medium when alerting their customers. 

Suppose a huge withdrawal has been made from a customer’s bank account.

Banks use software that alerts them if a withdrawal over a certain amount has been made. In such a case, an alert is sent to their servers so those customer representatives can confirm the activity from the account holder. 

This happened with me once when I was booking a flight at 4 AM. Unusual activity at that hour might have suggested that someone had access to my account and was making purchases before I could notice. 

I received a call within 2 minutes of booking my flight and had to verify that I myself made the purchase. If in that situation, the bank chose to text rather than call, I might not have seen it; thus, making my account vulnerable to hackers. 

In the same situation, a bank can use text message as a backup if the customer does not receive their call: 

#3. Notifications and Updates 

In some situations, you’ll notice that it’s not so much texting vs. calling rather than the two being used consecutively. 

Every time you download an app that requires you to register your phone number, for example, WhatsApp, you’ll receive a text message with a code confirming your phone number. 

In fact, iOS is designed to automatically show the received code in the predictive text so that you can enter it without having to memorise the digits. 

However, on the off chance that you don’t receive the SMS, you can always opt for an automated call to receive your code. 

It’s not as convenient as text because you’ll have to memorise the digits the operator is telling you, but it’s the next best option. 

As a business, texting is the most common channel to use for sending out notifications and updates. 

Financial institutions like PayPal and banks use it to confirm payments whereas retail businesses can run text message Campaigns to send out exclusive updates to their loyal customers in order to improve brand loyalty and advocacy. 

With that being said, the most common use of texting while sending out notifications and updates is order tracking. 

Ever since the rise of online shopping, businesses have been working to involve customers in the buying process by allowing them to track their shipments at all times. 

Online businesses and courier companies send customers a text with their order’s tracking ID which allows them to find out exactly which stage their parcel is at. 

By giving your customer’s control and access to information, you’ll put their minds at ease; thus, making it likely that they will shop with you again. 

All in all, your customers prefer texting when it comes to less urgent information because SMS is faster and more convenient than calls which is exactly why software developers have integrated it with other apps. 

#4. Appointments 

It’s not surprising anymore that according to the texting vs calling statistics, 71% of customers prefer businesses contacting them via text or email rather than calls. 

With the fast-moving, busy lives that we lead, consumers no longer have the time to devote to calls, because one call on average uses up 2 minutes of their time whereas texting takes mere seconds. 

Plus, why tie your employees to a phone line 24 hours a day when they can text through online portable devices? (Check out platforms like ExpressText that offer online inboxes through which customer representatives can communicate with employees). 

The major issue when it comes to appointments via phone calls is the busy phone lines – be it a clinic, hospital, bank, or restaurant.

Instead of making customers wait for hours on end in order to book a reservation, businesses are coming up with texting and other messaging platforms through which customers can book appointments. 

SMS is cheap and easy to use – even Baby Boomers (our grandparents’ generation) in all parts of the world is familiar with SMS as opposed to online messaging platforms. 

To make things easier for your business, you can integrate your SMS Campaign with chatbot platforms like ManyChat so that you no longer have to rely on customer representatives. 

Not only will this increase the efficiency of your SMS Campaign as customers get instant replies but hiring fewer employees means cutting down on overheads as well. 

Thus, when it comes to texting vs. calling in scheduling appointments, texting is the clear winner. 

#5. Customer support 

Another thing you need to focus on in certain situations is your target audience. 

Sometimes, the right medium of communication depends entirely on the demographics of your target audience. 

For example, Baby Boomers would be much more comfortable with phone customer support whereas millennials find it a nuisance. 

So you need to ask yourself, who are you targetting? 

There are only a few businesses catering to Baby Boomers and Generation X, for example, country clubs, life insurance etc. 

This means that the majority of businesses should focus on texting as the preferred form of communication. 

Even statistics show that 84% of business calls and voicemails are being ignored because whenever consumers see a UAN or unknown number, they’re likely to not pick up. 

If you do your research into customer preferences, you’ll notice that if you really need to call your consumers, it’s best to leave a message beforehand so that they know what the call is in reference to; thus, increasing the chances that they will answer it. 

#6. Interaction with employees

There are a lot of businesses these days that offer flexible working hours and stay at home jobs for their employees. 

This is only possible due to the number of communication channels that exist which allow managers to contact their subordinates virtually. 

In this case, it is obvious that calls are no longer suitable for this purpose. 

In a decade where employees would call their supervisor to inform them that they won’t make it into work that day, today they simply text. 

In fact, many businesses have formal and informal text message workgroups that allow employees to interact with one another which comes in handy especially when there is a cross-department project. 

If a supervisor wants to send out a direct order to a number of employees who are in different locations, he/she can send out a text instead of having to individually call each subordinate. 

Plus, even though automated calls are an option for sending out mass messages, texts are the better option because they allow for two-way communication so that employees can ask questions and provide feedback so that there is clear information available about the task at hand for both parties. 

#7. Reminders 

Like I said, most millennials lead busy lifestyles which means they can be forgetful. 

A new trend that is up and coming is businesses reminding customers of their appointments rather than customers having to save the date on their calendars – because who does that anymore, right? 

For this, using both calls and texts is optimal – but with text reminders, you have the added benefit of less costly communication.

Nevertheless, it’s extremely important to use either of the two and remind your customers because many times due to long waiting lists, customers schedule appointments weeks or even months in advance. 

That means by the time the appointment comes, most customers have forgotten about it and haven’t made the necessary arrangements to visit. 

Thus, by calling or texting them you give them the option of rescheduling or confirming their appointment so that they don’t miss it and save both parties valuable time. 

#8. Feedback 

Once again, when it comes to feedback as well, it doesn’t necessarily have to be texting vs. calling but rather the two used consecutively. 

However, the first option should be texting. 

Whenever a customer makes a purchase from you, text them for feedback about their experience. 

You’ll notice that unhappy customers are much more willing to provide feedback as compared to customers that had a satisfactory experience. 

As a business, it’s very important that you view this as positive criticism and use it to improve your performance. 

What you can do is use feedback from SMS and call unhappy customers to compensate them for their unsatisfactory experience, for example, by offering discounts. 

Plus, calls show more effort on the business’s part and allow customers to express their experience in more detail. 

Conclusion 

In a nutshell, texting is replacing calls as a mode of communication. 

When you look at texting vs calling compare and contrast, there are only several instances where calls trump texting which is why the mode of communication is still being used widely. 

However, it’s safe to say that as technological advances continue to be made, calls are slowly starting to fade into the past. 

There are so many different communication channels available – including voice messages, video calls, live videos and so much more. 

While calls may not be as popular a decade into the future, all these new communication channels have developed from calls and the most convenient way to converse is through voice and speaking because it’s direct, less time-consuming, and leaves little room for misunderstanding. 

As for texting, it has a competitive advantage over other communication channels i.e. it doesn’t require an internet connection which makes it extremely personal; thus, we don’t see it dying as a channel in the near future.

After understanding the benefits of texting vs calling, which strategy are you going to start using more often texting or calling?