REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Xtime has launched Text Marketing, a new add-on for Xtime Invite users, the company announced. The new feature was designed to help dealers diversify their outreach strategy and cut through the marketing noise to better engage with customers through their often-preferred mode of communication.  

Text communication is on the rise, executives noted, citing recent Gartner research that shows texting response rates have soared to 45% as well as the 2019 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey, which shows that texting is gaining traction among all age groups.

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Xtime Text Marketing offers a new channel to increase customer engagement and conversion with in-message scheduling, targeted marketing, and audience-building features, all built to comply with the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, according to the announcement.

“Dealers have a hard time getting vehicle owners to respond to marketing communication, even when it includes convenient links and advantageous offers,” said Tracy Noonan Fred, vice president and general manager of Xtime. “Research shows 89% of consumers prefer to communicate with organizations via text, so being able to text straight from the SMS platform is an optimal way for dealers to capture a consumer’s attention and begin a conversation that leads to new business.”

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