Engage With Your Customers in Their Daily Routines: Via Their Mobile Devices
In the modern digital age, businesses are constantly seeking innovative ways to engage with customers, particularly the younger generations such as Gen-Z and Millennials. A growing trend is the preference for self-service customer support channels that minimise human-to-human phone calls, with text messaging (SMS) emerging as a key player.
SMS offers several advantages for businesses. With extremely high open rates (around 98%) and immediate engagement, SMS messages ensure that crucial information, like order updates or flash sales, are seen quickly and acted upon promptly [1][4]. This immediacy fosters trust and loyalty among customers.
Moreover, SMS is perceived as a personal, direct channel, similar to communication with friends or family. This personal touch bolsters credibility and enhances transparency, making businesses appear more trustworthy [1][2][4]. Furthermore, SMS marketing requires legal compliance for opt-in and opt-out options, further reinforcing trust.
The conversational nature of SMS enables businesses to provide instant answers to common queries, such as order tracking or product questions, without the need for customers to search websites or contact support manually [1]. This streamlined support process speeds up response times and improves overall customer satisfaction.
In addition, SMS supports self-service and reduces support burden by automating responses to repetitive questions, freeing up support teams and improving operational efficiency [1][2]. Personalised SMS messages, made possible through integration with CRM and marketing platforms, further drive loyalty and engagement [3].
SMS is versatile across industries, useful for announcements, reminders, feedback collection, promotions, and more [3]. However, strict rules exist to protect consumers from spam and unwanted messages, and businesses must comply to maintain trust [2].
Best practices for SMS marketing include implementing conversational AI or automated replies, ensuring compliance and easy opt-out options, personalising messages based on customer data, keeping communication direct and relevant, and integrating SMS into omnichannel strategies [1][3][4].
It's important to remember that a mobile number is considered a customer's personal identity, almost as personal as sharing a home address or Social Security number. The average person checks their smartphone approximately 80 times a day, making SMS a highly effective communication tool [5].
In heavily regulated industries like financial services, customers can make payments, qualify for loans, and more using their mobile devices [6]. However, breaking the rules can lead to the shutdown of messaging services [6].
Businesses have been connecting with customers via text messaging for several years, and the trend continues to grow. With 95% of text messages being opened and read in under five minutes, and Gen-Z checking their phones more frequently than Baby Boomers, SMS offers a cost-effective and engaging communication solution [7].
Traditional SMS messaging is evolving into RCS, which can send encrypted messages with embedded media content [8]. This advancement further enhances the potential of SMS as a powerful customer engagement tool.
In conclusion, using text messaging thoughtfully enables businesses to maximise open rates, build strong customer trust, and empower customers through convenient self-service support. This leads to better engagement, faster resolution of inquiries, and ultimately, stronger customer relationships.
- In the realm of business, SMS marketing for customer experience is a significant aspect of a mobile-first customer communication strategy, particularly in industries like finance and lifestyle, where it can facilitate social and financial transactions, thus improving the overall customer experience.
- As people now spend an increased amount of their day engaged with technology, businesses can leverage mobile messaging in customer service to foster a sense of personal communication via SMS, thereby enhancing the business's trustworthiness, reducing support burdens, and driving customer loyalty.
