America is always plugged in. In today’s social environment, text messaging is one of the main ways people engage in conversation, with an exchange of 914 texts on average per month. That’s approximately 30 text messages a day, or double that number if you’re in the 18-24 age bracket.
While a large majority of those text messages are conversations, many of them are transactional, either personally or through a business, which has recently become very popular. Why? Businesses are seeing the value of customer engagement and interaction through their preferred communication channel, which in most cases is SMS.
How customers want to use transactional SMS
It’s interesting how many customers would rather send a text than call a business for customer support. In a recent study, 64% of the customers surveyed indicated this preference. This study also found out that customers would rather use transactional SMS to conduct standard functions, such as checking the status of an order, scheduling or making appointments, making or confirming reservations, finding store locations, checking balances or due dates, refilling orders and asking questions.
Fortunately, technology has advanced so that these tasks do not need the assistance of an agent to achieve positive results. Allowing customer autonomy in performing self-service transactions will increase customer satisfaction while lowering the costs associated with handling these transactions.
How businesses integrate transactional SMS
1. Business Ready
Businesses integrate transactional SMS by using messaging providers that easily connect with your existing APIs. Having a provider that can seamlessly integrate with your CRM or other data sources will assist the system in recognizing existing numbers and automatically incorporate their information into a series of texts. This integration should be able to update your databases, process payments and complete tasks without the need for human assistance.
2. Customer Integration
One of the most effective marketing methods for getting customer integration in your transactional SMS system is to make sure your audience is aware. Using a call to action on your website and other marketing collateral, social media and IVR will increase engagement and exposure. By inviting customers to start an SMS conversation, you can deflect call traffic and save money.
3. Voice to Text Transfer
81% of customers who have to wait on hold become very frustrated with the company. 44% of customers will prefer to have a text chat conversation with an agent rather than go through the red tape. Providing this option to your customers gives them choices on which method they would prefer and keeps phone lines open for those customers who will not be able to get the answers they need unless they have human agent interaction. Having a directive in your IVR that can direct your customers to either press a certain button to transact business through text, or continuing to hold for the next agent is good customer service that keeps your audience informed and engaged.
4. Timing
Many outbound SMS campaigns ask customers to reply with a phone call or email, which diminishes the customer experience. The problem with this solution is that customers cannot seamlessly move from one preferred channel to the next while maintaining context. Instead, customers will have to use a new channel and restart their initial conversation. When customers have to repeat themselves, they get frustrated. Businesses must be aware of the customer experience and have the right software and protocols in place so that when outbound texts are sent to customers, they can text you back. Making sure you utilize the right time zone for each customer is crucial in customer engagement success.
These are just a few ways transactional SMS messaging can be effective for a business environment. Selecting a messaging provider that is able to quickly implement a pilot program to assess its effectiveness and usefulness among your target audience is key. With this in place, you can iterate on the experience, helping your customers become engaged in your technology while saving money on your bottom line. Customer experience and satisfaction is always the first priority. Using a text messaging system will meet the needs of those who do not have internet access, further expanding your client base and social impact.
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