In our modern, connected world, mobile devices empower us with access to the people and information we want when we want it. We sign electronic documents, make important purchasing decisions, and send critical messages in real-time from powerful, pocket-sized computers that would’ve seemed like science fiction a mere 20 years ago. The explosive ubiquity of mobile devices — a recent report claims the BYOD & Enterprise Mobility Market by itself will be worth $73.3 billion by 2021¹ — and the capabilities they provide (particularly text messaging), have changed the way we engage and interact with one another, and the ways in which we do business.

As professionals and as consumers, we’re constantly sending and receiving messages across channels such as email, social media, and instant messaging applications. But even with countless messaging options available, many businesses have come to recognize that texting is the most familiar channel for a majority of their customers — and for many, it’s their favored form of interaction period, whether they’re tapping out important instructions to their broker or sending adorable kitten photos to a friend.

According to a recent study by Twilio², 85% of global consumers want the option to communicate with businesses via text message for everything from setting appointments to interacting with customer support. While only 48% of businesses are currently equipped to communicate via text message, that number is rapidly growing for one very simple reason: Text messaging is where your customers live. A Gallup poll³ conducted earlier this year found that text messaging is the most popular form of communication among American adults, with younger generations (those on the verge of dominating the business world for the foreseeable future) overwhelmingly preferring text messages to emails, phone calls, and social media. Driven by the demands of youthful, tech-savvy consumers, businesses engaging customers via text message will soon transition from forward-thinking exception to commonplace expectation.

However, recordkeeping requirements and supervision obligations present a meaningful challenge to organizations looking to engage with their increasingly mobile client base. Many firms have simply introduced policies banning the use of text messaging. While ostensibly a quick solution, this strategy will likely prove unsustainable in the long-term, as younger, digitally-native generations who rely on texting as their primary communication platform continue to grow into the dominant demographic among employees and clients. In business and in life, people tend to default to tools they find comfortable and familiar, which means that regardless of how stringent your ban may be, no matter how frequently you send out company-wide reminders, text messaging will happen. As demand for text message communications inevitably swells, organizations relying on prohibition will fall behind their competitors and ultimately lose their foothold in the market.

Fortunately, intuitive, robust options are available for all businesses seeking to take proactive steps to leverage text messaging to communicate with employees and clients while still minimizing their compliance, legal, and reputational risk. View our 5 Steps to Eradicating Text Message Risk for useful insights into building an effective mobile risk management program that will allow your organization to take advantage of text messages for business without additional exposure to litigation.
 

¹https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/byod.asp
²https://assets.ctfassets.net/2fcg2lkzxw1t/5l4ljDXMvSKkqiU64akoOW/cab0836a76d892bb4a654a4dbd16d4e6/Twilio_-_Messaging_Consumer_Survey_Report_FINAL.pdf
³ http://news.gallup.com/poll/179288/new-era-communication-americans.aspx