Businesses need to use text messages to reach millennials

Millennials have an overwhelming preference for texting according to new research. In fact, when given the choice between only being able to text or call on their mobile phones, 75 percent of millennials would rather lose the ability to talk.

Respondents to the survey from enterprise mobile specialist OpenMarket say texts are preferred because they're more convenient and on their own schedule (76 percent), texts are less disruptive than a voice call (63 percent), they prefer to text rather than call in general (53 percent) and because they never check voicemails (19 percent).

With millennials making up nearly a quarter of the US population, OpenMarket's survey offers insight for enterprises on how to best communicate with this age group. The results show that 75 percent of millennials surveyed find text reminders helpful, yet only 30 percent are receiving them from companies they do business with regularly.

Among other findings are that product offers and coupons account for 62 percent of alerts received, account activity payment reminders and potential fraud alerts made up 59 percent, order alerts or delivery notifications 56 percent, general appointment reminders 51 percent, security authentication prompts 32 percent, and satisfaction surveys 22 percent. Millennials say they find text alerts helpful because they're an effective way to be reminded on their own time (60 percent), one less thing to have to remember (57 percent) and the most convenient way to be reminded (55 percent).

"As the survey results reveal, companies have a massive opportunity to connect with millennials by communicating via text messaging," says Jay Emmet, general manager of OpenMarket. "Whether it's sending them an alert that their package has arrived or offering customer support via texts instead of calls, using SMS allows companies to communicate exactly how and where millennials like. Nearly half of millennials are more interested in receiving texts from businesses now than they were two years ago, proving that SMS is becoming more essential for connecting with this growing segment of customers".

You can find more information on the OpenMarket website and there's a summary of the findings in infographic form below.

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