Better Communication Through Conversational Texting

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No one likes having dinner interrupted by a phone call.

And no one buys when they are unhappy.

So, how can we reach our prospects in a manner and time that’s convenient for them?

In this episode, I’m joined by Jonathan Pogact, VP of Marketing at Drips, a company offering a conversational texting platform that helps keep you from irritating your prospects.

What we talked about:

• The power of conversational texting
• Partnering externally and internally
• The 5 pillars of partnership

Keeping up with the conversation

Dealing with constant communications from companies can get pretty taxing.

So much so that a cottage industry has emerged around rejecting unwanted advances from salespeople.

We have spam folders. Our cellphone companies warn us about potential scam calls.

We can pay to get on do-not-call lists, opt out of junk mail or buy cutesy signs to hang on our doors warning we’ll shooting solicitors.

But what about when your prospects want to be contacted? They’ve signed up. They’ve consented.

It should be easy, right?

Well, that depends on how you communicate — and how often.

The tomb of the unknown number

If you are using a phone to reach them, good luck. How many people pick up unknown numbers these days?

Even when they do, you have no way of knowing whether you are interrupting a wedding, funeral or Netflix binge.

And the problems are only compounded if you work for an organization that needs an ongoing back-and-forth with the prospect.

What conversational texting like Drips’ platform offers is a way to have an ongoing conversation with customers through SMS whenever they feel like communicating…

On a medium that doesn’t demand their full attention.

“We’re not trying to create the cold call for text. This is all about people. It’s about communicating through a channel that is most convenient for them.”

JONATHAN POGACT at Drips

No more missed calls. No more dinners interrupted.

And far fewer opportunities for your prospect to get frustrated and start ignoring you altogether.

Internal partnerships

Drips’ goal with its platform is to elevate relationships between companies and customers.

And working to achieve that goal, Jonathan gained myriad insights into the power of relationships.

Particularly when it comes to partnerships — both within and outside your company.

One of the best ways you can get better at your job is by partnering internally.

If you are in marketing or in sales, you should work closely with your client success teams.

“One of the biggest unlocks that you can do as a marketer is partnering with your client success team to understand what clients are saying about your products.”

JONATHAN POGACT at Drips

If you want to tell better stories, your client success teams are the best resource because they are the ones who are getting feedback directly from the customer.

They’re hearing firsthand how the prospects are reacting to your solutions and messaging and can tell you the interesting use cases the customers are sharing with them.

It’s important to have that feedback loop in place.

The 5 pillars of partnership

In order to scale quickly and go to market fast, Drips also made extensive use of external partners.

And their success is built upon their ability to form strong bonds with their clients.

“ur success formula has been how we develop relationships with clients that serve our ideal client profile.”

JONATHAN POGACT at Drips

Yet, looking for partners can be a challenge…

So Jonathan keeps it simple and boils the process down to 5 pillars — essential before embarking on any partnership.

1. You have to be ready to partner (i.e. have influence in their space)
2. There has to be someone in your marketing department and someone that can own the partnership
3. You have to be generating revenue
4. You need to be giving value first — without expectation for something in return
5. Then, you need to pick (only a few) partners who are in your weight class — you might get a lot out of partnering with Google, for instance, but they’ll probably laugh if you ask

In the end, finding success is all about the relationships we build.

And that starts with having the right conversations.

This post includes highlights of our podcast interview with Jonathan Pogact, VP of Marketing at Drips.

Subscribe to hear this episode and many more like it. For the entire interview, you can listen to The B2B Revenue Executive Experience. If you don’t use Apple Podcasts, we suggest this link.

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