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Most of the time FranFunnel is talking about a business “investing in texting,” we’re speaking about them formally incorporating texting technology into their sales and marketing toolkit. (Because we all know that employees are using texts on their own cell phones anyway…) And, unsurprisingly, us here at FranFunnel are unmitigatedly bullish on why almost every single business needs to be prioritizing these changes in order to best position themselves to communicate with leads and customers effectively.
However, for those involved in the finance game, the idea of “investing in texting” is a bit different. For them, the question is whether companies providing texting technology are the right to fund for future growth.
And while you you may believe that these are two independent concepts, allow 1999 Jeff Bezos to draw the connection for you:
Recently, David Beisel, one of the co-founders of NextView Ventures laid out why he is interested in investing in texting companies.
Allow us to share some of his insights as well as add a few bits of color from our side.
How do consumers cut through all of it? They don’t. Instead they limit what channels they actually pay attention to.
Heck yeah brother! You’ll constantly be hearing us saying that you need to be where the people ARE. It's not about inviting them into the world you prefer. Just because your team wants a specific form of communication doesn’t mean that that’s what works. And in today’s context, there’s nothing more effective than texts.
Yes, there is something truly special about SMS… it’s:
Personal. Most important, yet the most subtle, SMS implies a personal interaction. Historically there’s always been a person at the other end, not a “machine,” so users interact with these messages fundamentally differently. This context opens the possibilities for fostering a truly unique relationship.
Texting is a human behavior. It’s about connecting two people. Texting should be thought of for business the same way you think about it in your personal life. It’s not sterile.
It’s unclear to me how sustainable the business models are, but there’s no denying that the immediacy & directness of the text message UI lends itself to consumer services which can become incorporated into the daily rhythm of people’s lives. If someone’s any wish can be granted with a simple request, SMS lowers the friction to those fulfilling those dreams.
Franchising can sometimes be thought of as “too big” for the texting environment. How could something as large as a life-changing investment start from a text? The answer is quite easily. David speaks about texting as a fulfiller of dreams and we agree. There’s nothing too large to begin with a text as these days as everything from marriages to international relations begins with a text!
You may not be ready to make financial investments in texting companies, but hopefully hearing about how someone who does it should make you think about how your business can take advantage of this new world.
Eli Robinson is the General Manager of FranFunnel and the COO of Metric Collective. He's responsible for 95% of his friends' green texts.
