Getting Started with Rule One.
Text notifications can be sent with immediate delivery, require minimal staff time, and have no production costs. But what if you don’t have textable numbers for all your customers?
Start at the beginning
The best time to collect customer contact information is when you get a customer. As new customers sign up for water service, ask them for a textable phone number as well as an email address. Most customers will gladly provide this information when you let them that you want to be able to contact them about service disruptions, boil orders, watering restrictions, or other critical water issues.
Fill in the gaps
Even if you have a textable phone number for every contact moving forward, you may still have gaps in your current contact list. Yoppify can help you clean up your current list (Get help with Rule One)—or you can use these ideas to get started on your own.
Take advantage of customer support calls:
Anytime a customer calls is a fantastic opportunity to update or collect contact information. You can use information on file to help confirm a customer’s identity by checking off their birth date, home address, and mobile number against details previously given.
If no phone number is on file, use this opportunity to update your contact listing. Position the request as a benefit to the customer by letting them know that you want to be able to provide critical information relating to their water.
Use existing contact methods:
You may not have a phone number or email for all of your customers, but you definitely have a service address. Send a mailer asking customers to update their contact information or to provide it in the first place.
Make it easy for customers to provide their information:
Provide an easy way for customers to update their contact information and then promote it as an option. Some utilities may create a custom form on their website while others may prefer customers to call in directly to update information.
Chat bots:
Chat bots can help collect customer contact information by providing automated questions that nudge customers to provide their mobile numbers. This isn’t an unusual feature for chat since customers may expect a reply at a later time or date when they are away from their computer. Want to add chat to your website? Get a consultation with Yoppify.
Getting your contacts in order allows you to reach customers when it matters most.
Outdated (or missing) contact information can be the ultimate road block to effective communication. Learn more about “Getting your Contacts in Order” on the Rule One page.
