Bookstores have had to compete with digital booksellers and public libraries for years, and the coronavirus pandemic led to even more unforeseen challenges for booksellers. As U.S. and Canadian businesses bounce back after the pandemic, 2021 will be a great time for local bookstores to upgrade to landline texting to keep up with an increasingly digital client base.
Before the pandemic, the book store industry reported a decade of straight losses as online booksellers boomed. During the five years before 2021, the industry was projected to fall 5.7% each year, but COVID-19 led to an expected 10.8% revenue decline in 2020 alone, according to industry data.
Meanwhile, cell phone use has continued to expand to more corners of the globe and people are texting more than ever before. Recognizing this, many businesses have found ways to make it easier for their customers to communicate via text message, but traditional landline telephones make that difficult.
What is landline texting?
Landline texting is a business communication solution for business professionals who want to be sure their messages reach the recipient. It also makes it possible for people to text your business’s main phone number and have one-on-one conversations via text message. Thanks to landline business texting, you’ll spend less time talking on the phone, planning social media posts, and composing emails and more time connecting with customers to foster a strong community of readers around your bookstore.
Many businesses already have landline phone numbers, however most traditional landline telephones do not come equipped to send and receive text messages. That’s a problem because people are increasingly using their phones to send text messages rather than phone calls. Luckily, business texting service providers like Text My Main Number are available to optimize your business’s landline phone to send and receive SMS messages and images and set you and your staff up with access to an easy-to-use messaging dashboard.
Text My Main Number is an experienced business texting service provider with offering quality customer service and expert advice to local bookstores around the U.S. and Canada that want to get started with landline texting.
Here are 5 ways U.S. and Canadian bookstores can use landline texting
Landline texting makes it easy to complete day-to-day bookstore tasks
How many phone calls and emails do you receive at your bookstore each day? Between customers, suppliers, and other business colleagues, you and your staff can easily spend hours each week talking on the phone or answering emails. Luckily, much of that communication can get sped up and streamlined with landline texting.
Instead of requiring every person who wants to get in contact with you to call or email, you can encourage people to text your main business number to assist them.
Use a business texting service for bookstores to organize monthly book clubs with special contact groups
Part of the appeal of local bookstores are that they provide a space for readers to gather in one place and explore new books. With pandemic restrictions lifting in many areas, now is a great time to start or restart book clubs at your store.
You can set up and organize multiple book clubs by creating contact groups in your texting dashboard to communicate with each group individually. Bookstore staff can help clubs stay organized by texting out meeting reminders, reading lists, and promoting other books you think the group would be interested in.
Use landline texting to announce anticipated new book releases and author readings at your bookstore
Keep your loyal customers in the loop about hot new book releases and special events that are happening via text. If you already post your new releases on social media, you can send out a text with a direct link to the post that people can access on their mobile apps.
Texting can be particularly useful for customers to reserve copies of in-demand books and to let people know if a book has sold out. You can also create waiting lists for new books and text your customers when more copies arrive so they can come and pick it up at the store.
Studies show that people are more likely to open an SMS message rather than an email. Plus, it’s difficult to know if your audience sees your social media posts.
Answer common questions with pre-written text message templates
Help you and your employees answer common questions quickly and professionally with pre-written text message templates. With landline texting, you can create messages ahead of time to send in response to common questions about your hours, parking, and book availability.
Templates can be personalized and updated before sending, so if someone texts with a question about a specific book or author, you can pull up a template and fill in the exact information before sending it along to the customer.
Templates are a great tool to ensure your business communications are professional and accurate so customers trust your bookstore’s unique brand.
Organize curbside pickups via landline texting
Curbside pickups became a common customer service many businesses offered during the pandemic to help people practice social distancing and avoid crowded stores. Many businesses plan to continue their curbside pickup service as an added convenience for customers who do not want to enter the store to do their shopping.
With landline texting, it’s easy for your employees to coordinate curbside order pickup times and book orders without requiring people to physically enter the bookstore. You can simply encourage people to text your business phone number to place their order and you can have it ready by the time they arrive.
How to get started with landline texting
If you want to merge your phone service with text messaging, reach out to a trusted and qualified business texting service provider to discuss your options for a business texting service for bookstores today.