Texting from Salesforce for Engineering Service Businesses
Key Advantages and Use Cases from an Engineer’s Perspective
Author’s Note: As the author of this article I am both one of the architects of Text Anything and software and mechanical engineer who worked in industry and spent his summers building houses with, or rather for, his grandfather. So I am familiar with engineering services, building things and getting yelled at when things don’t go as planned. One of the biggest benefits of Text Anything is that you can make Salesforce a communications platform for what seems to be humanities default communication medium anymore, texting. Get the conversation off of email, get it off of company and personal phones and put it in Salesforce where you will have unprecedented access to information.
As you read this white paper keep in mind that 97% of text messages are read within 15 minutes. Only 21% of marketing emails are ever opened and here is a screenshot from my Gmail account.
Engineering service companies using Salesforce with or without Field Service Lightning can effectively utilize text messaging to enhance communication, streamline processes, provide timely updates to clients and communicate with team members in the field. Text messages have a much higher open rate compared to email and you can reach your employees where they are in near real time. Let’s explore some of the key ways your engineering services firm can leverage text messaging in Salesforce with the Text Anything application that provides both 1:1 and 1:Many texting capability:
Field Team Coordination: Text messaging allows engineers in the field to communicate with the main office or project managers in real-time. They can share photos, updates, report issues, request additional resources, or seek clarifications through text messages - both SMS and MMS, enabling quick and efficient collaboration. Moreover they can communicate with teams all at once and in a manner which is significantly faster than email.
With the Salesforce mobile app and Text Anything, which works with the Salesforce mobile app, these communications can be captured in Salesforce. What once would be lost or siloed in a personal or work phone, can now be captured as provenance in the client record. This is important for field service as, by putting text conversations and images, etc., in a Salesforce record, whether the are stored in a case or on the account record, the next field agent has access to the text history of the last visit. This includes conversations with the customer, photos from whatever is being serviced, notes, etc. By building records of a field service in Salesforce as text records, which are permanent records that live in Salesforce as a custom object, you are enhancing your field service activities and enabling your service agents.
Project Coordination: Engineering firms can send text messages to clients and managers over the course of a project and have a record of all those communications in Salesforce. With the Salesforce mobile application (that Text Anything works with) those communications can also be captured in the field. With work phones and personal phones so much of your project communication is siloed. Why not put it in Salesforce where there is a record of every event?
Moreover, with Text Anything you can send 1 to Many text messages. Need to send a message to all your project managers at the same time? Currently you’d send them an email. How often do they check email in the field? Once an hour? Once a day. 97% of text messages are read within 15 minutes. So if you mass text 100 project managers in the field, 97 of them will have read your critical text messages within 15 minutes. Now compare that to email? Moreover you now have a record of those text messages going out to every project manager documented in Salesforce.
And with Text Anything for Salesforce sending bulk or mass text messages is as easy as sending a text message. In the scenario described above you would simply create a list view called “project managers” and then in the Broadcast Group tab, start a broadcast with the target your project manager list view. If individual project managers responde those messages will show up in the utility bar component where you can then address them individually. And again, a record of all back and forth messages is maintained in Salesforce.
Project Updates: Via text you can send text messages to clients to provide project updates, such as progress reports, milestones achieved, or upcoming deadlines. This keeps clients informed and reassures them about the status of their projects and the benefit of doing this by text message is again the speed in which the messages are read. Text messages may not replace formal project milestone updates or presentations, but they do a great job of communicating real-time milestones and alerting to formal milestone reports that may get overlooked by email. If
Appointment Reminders: Text messaging can be used to send appointment reminders to clients, ensuring that they are aware of scheduled meetings, site visits, or consultations and of course invoices. This helps minimize no-shows, improves overall efficiency and can aid in the accounts receivable process significantly. Appointment reminders is probably one of the most useful things to automate with Text Anything given the amount of work and appointments that traditionally go into engineering service engagements.
Emergency Notifications: In the event of an emergency, such as a site incident or weather-related concerns, engineering services can use text messaging to promptly notify team members, clients, and stakeholders. This ensures that everyone is informed and can take necessary actions. We have seen clients successfully leverage Text Anything for this purpose. Often overlooked in organizations with a large number of employees using Salesforce is mass communication (outside of email). With Text Anything you can mass text all your employees using Salesforce in the event of an emergency. And in about the time it takes you to log into Salesforce.
Material and Equipment Updates: Your engineering projects involve the procurement and on-time delivery of materials and equipment. Text messaging can be used to inform team members about the status of orders, deliveries, or any delays in the supply chain. You can communicate with your vendors directly from Salesforce to keep track of vital shipments and track the progress of inbound materials and to coordinate with teams who will receive the deliveries. This helps maintain project timelines and ensures smooth operation in the field, and again, by doing it from Salesforce you have centralized your communication and all the correspondence is one location for the betterment of the project.
Some of the key issues your engineering team may face where texting can be a vital asset, and where texting from your Salesforce environment plays a key role is with the common issues found in project material and equipment. These include inventory management. Set up a system to text your receiving department of shortages directly from the field instead of emailing. The texts will go directly to your receiving personnel and the replacement orders can be communicated back to the field using the same text channel. Regulatory compliance. Often times the men receiving the products do not know the ins and outs of the related regulatory compliance but someone at home office does. Setting up a communication between the field and internal engineers via Salesforce can un-silo those otherwise siloed conversations and be added to the account history if they need to be referenced in the future. Supply chain disruptions. They happen and critical shipments delayed can set a project back. You can’t do anything about mother nature but you can make the most out of it by alerting your team in the fastest way possible. With Text Anything simply create a mass text (broadcast) when you are alerted of a critical supply chain disruption.
Quality Control Checks: Text messaging can facilitate quality control checks by allowing engineers to report and document findings through text messages with attachments. For example, if a shipment arrives and is rejected due to damage it received in transit. This can be captured in Salesforce where someone at the home office can use the images to coordinate a replacement shipment with the vendor thus easily taking the burden off of the resources in the field. Texting from Salesforce can assist in assuring that the information is captured in real-time and can be addressed promptly by the right people in your organization.
Safety Reminders: Your engineering service company can use text messaging to send safety reminders and guidelines to team members and contractors. This helps reinforce safety protocols, promotes a safety-conscious culture, and reduces the risk of accidents. This is particularly effective when using mass texting to employees starting a new project in the field.
Training and Certification Updates: Text messaging can be utilized to inform engineers about upcoming training sessions, certification renewals, or professional development opportunities. This can help ensure that the team remains up-to-date with industry standards and enhances their skills.
Project Documentation: Your engineers can use text messaging to quickly capture and share information, such as measurements, sketches, or notes, with colleagues or clients. This aids in documenting crucial project details, facilitating collaboration and reducing errors and minimizing rework whenever possible. Again, as an added benefit the communication stream is captured in Salesforce should there ever be a question of who said what; it will be in your Salesforce org and not siloed on a personal phone.
Customer Support: Text messaging can serve as a convenient channel for clients to reach out to engineering services with questions, concerns, or support requests. By offering a text-based support option, engineering firms can provide timely assistance and improve customer satisfaction. With respect to engineering services, texting [from Salesforce] has the added benefit of including images and files for the support agent on the case, and for the next support agents to refer back to.
Recruitment and Job Openings: If your business relies on a network of contractors, finding them on short notice can be difficult. However, storing that network of contacts in Salesforce where you have ability to mass text them can be a great tool in alerting them of upcoming job openings. Since 97% of text messages are read within 15 minutes you can get to your prospective resources faster than by email and include links to job descriptions and application forms.
Best Practices
Remember to always get consent to text your customers. Obtaining text message consent from an individual to a business is an important step to ensure compliance with regulations and maintain a respectful relationship with recipients. In addition, with the introduction of A2P 10 dlc (application to person, ten digit long code) compliance, informing carriers how you capture your customer’s consent needs to be documented as it is included in the campaign application process. Also, per the campaign monthly maintenance fee (this applies to US companies texting US phone numbers with active A2P campaigns only) your campaigns will periodically be audited and your messaging should match up with your campaign application or you run the risk of having your messages blocked. Here's a general guideline on how text message consent can be given:
Provide Clear Information: Clearly explain to the individual what they are consenting to. Clearly state that they are agreeing to receive text messages from your business or organization. Include information about the types of messages they can expect to receive, such as event updates, promotions, or important announcements.
Consent Opt-in: Offer a clear opt-in mechanism for individuals to provide their consent. This can be done through various methods:
a. Online Forms: If the consent is obtained through an online form or website, ensure that the opt-in checkbox for text message consent is separate from other checkboxes and clearly labeled.
b. Text Keywords: Allow individuals to provide consent by texting a specific keyword to a designated phone number. For example, you can ask them to text "JOIN" or "YES" to indicate their consent.
c. Written Consent: In some cases, written consent may be required. This can be obtained through physical forms, contracts, or agreements where individuals explicitly provide their consent for text message communication.
Provide Opt-out Options: Clearly inform individuals about their right to opt-out at any time. Make it easy for them to unsubscribe from text messages by providing clear instructions on how to stop receiving messages. For example, you can include a statement like "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" in your messages.
Transparency and Privacy: Clearly communicate your privacy policy and how you handle personal information. Assure individuals that their contact information will be kept secure and will not be shared with third parties without their consent, unless required by law.
Confirmation Message: After an individual provides consent, send a confirmation message acknowledging their opt-in and reiterating the details of their subscription. This helps establish a clear record of consent and ensures that the individual understands what they have agreed to.
Remember, it is important to comply with applicable laws and regulations regarding text message consent, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the United States or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. Familiarize yourself with the specific requirements in your jurisdiction to ensure compliance.
We hope you found this article informative. If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out, we are more than happy to talk with you about your use cases and how we can help.