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5 Text Messages You Could be Automating Right Now

Posted by Sophorn Chhay on Dec 04, 2015

31563051_s.jpgCopyright: stefanolunardi / 123RF Stock Photo
Part of the appeal of a good text is that you can do it in seconds.


Unlike an email, which could take forever to compose, or a Tweet, which is sometimes tricky to create in a format so small, a typical text seems like it’s neither too long nor too short.


Besides, you can also easily follow up with a second (or third) text to the same recipient if you have more to say after 160 characters.


Texts are perfect for one-to-one discussions, which can lead to some lively conversations, or even basic back-and-forths as simple as “Can you please pick up more milk?” “K.”


It’s an effective medium, since more and more people use mobile phones and are very comfortable with sending and receiving texts as a primary means of communication.


But businesses may find them the opposite of fun, especially if their online marketing efforts involve SMS-based outreach.


Because though it may take just seconds to send one text, these seconds can add up and you spend your day sending similar notes to your customers. Often, you not only have to text multiple people but send the same message out over and over.


A texting service can help with many of these tasks, such as helping you organize your database and schedule messages so you’ll potentially have to just hit “send” once and blast a message out to hundreds or thousands of clients who have opted-in to your products. What will you do with all that extra time, besides create more messages?


A related feature that some texting services provide is the ability to send an automated text message – this means once you set it up and create the message as a routine task, your texting service will “do its thing” and you don’t have to worry about regularly crafting the same messages.

Here are some examples:

  1. “Happy birthday!” If your customers or clients are asked to register to fully participate in your site or show their support for your business, make sure their birthday is requested. Then, configure your system to automatically send them a greeting around this special occasion. Even better would be to bundle it with a link to a special offer, such as a free downloadable coupon or a special savings. “For your birthday week, you get 20 percent off any purchase!” Jamba Juice includes this for members of its Insider Rewards program, such as notifications of free drinks.

  2. “Don’t forget!” If you have a multi-stage process for registration, entering a contest or accessing/joining your company’s VIP area, you can set up customer alerts if they are slow to take each step or complete the whole thing. Polite texts like “you only have two steps left before you can take advantage of ____” or “you may have been distracted but just a reminder to join.” (Side tip: you also can consider if your process can be shortened, or if there’s a particular step that causes hang-ups, questions or confusion). Or, you can also remind them to complete the process if you’re seeking suggestions for something or votes involving your whole customer base. You may get a fair response from some of your more loyal customers. But you definitely could use a larger response to provide a better cross-section or representation from your customer base. So a series of texts encouraging people to take part, and how easy your process is, and how useful, can hopefully nudge some of the people who have been hesitating.

  3. “Miss you!” If you track customer interactions, either by purchases or visits to your site or retail location, you can configure your texting service to send out a note after a certain amount of time goes by without any visits. “We haven’t seen you for awhile, but would love for you to come see ____.” This “come on back” offer can also include offers.

  4. “What did/do you think?” After a transaction, like a purchase, or a significant process, like successfully signing up for a VIP club, or even a customer service call, it’s a good time to seek feedback. Customers are hopefully happy (not enough time for them to become unhappy) but also may give honest opinions.  It wouldn’t hurt if someone from your sales staff personally followed up, but an automated text message is a good start.

  5. “Thanks for entering” If you have an online survey or contest that you encourage people to enter, an automated text message can tell them a) that their entry was successfully received, b) that their entry is appreciated, and c)  the process such as how and when a winner will be chosen.

Some degree of balance is required from keeping your customers informed and giving them so much attention that they start to say “enough!” For more suggestions and strategies visit Trumpia.com.

 

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Topics: SMS Marketing, SMS Messaging, Automation

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