5 Ways To Improve Customer Retention Through SMS

There’s a reason why 82% of consumers prefer to enable SMS notifications, and at least three out of 10 consumers would switch to use messaging than phone calls. You see, messages are promptly replied to while phone calls mean indefinite periods on hold.

Is SMS still relevant?

Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Social Media are flooding the advertising market, and businesses are spending huge dough on them, but at the end of the day, messaging or SMS is still effective at increasing and retaining customers for you. After all, 79% of millennials accept that brand or product introduction happens through mobile devices for them. Besides, with more than $1.4 trillion in spending power in 2020, your business would want to retain these first-generation digital natives.

In fact, it is the new and perfect payment channel. Remote mobile payments are initiated with SMS; also, the delivery of hyperlinks to secure mobile app enabling customers to carry out transactions is through texts. 

How should you use the texting magic?

There are some key ways to improve customer retention through SMS, and here are five of them:

1.    Serve Customers Through Text Messages

Provide your customers the satisfaction of instant responses. From queries, to requests, notifications, acknowledgements and more, using mobile messaging for troubleshooting and interaction is hugely preferred by consumers today. Building up text messaging for businesses and customer service platforms based on SMS is a quick and seamless process. Texting is instant and mobile, and the best way to provide round the clock customer support.

2.     Adopt Contextual Marketing

Imagine the delivery of targeted text messages that inspire your customer to engage more with your business or product. One tactic that can be employed here is called Geofencing, where proximity to physical stores or particular spaces elicit contextual text messages. For instance, delivering a coupon to the customer whenever they pass by a restaurant, or a cab advert when they land at an airport or arrive at a railway station. A customised SMS ad has more chances of being acted upon.

3.    Seek Permission

Everyone hates spam, but with SMS, the game turns around as text messaging follows permission-based marketing techniques. Targeted ads can be delivered to customers who have signed up for them and are happy to receive notifications. Businesses can plan specific marketing campaigns geared towards specific regions, audiences, and unique product offerings. This level of personalisation also helps to build long-term loyalty.

4.     Seek Customer Feedback

Text engagement with customers on the latest products and offers keeps the brand in focus. There’s a fine line between educating your customer and information overload, however. How do you avoid crossing the line? Ask your customers how to improve through forms and SMS surveys. Easy click texts can help you to proactively solve problems before they become worse.

5.     Reward Loyal Customers

Retaining old customers costs five to 10 times less than acquiring new ones. Moreover, old customers are likely to spend 67% more on average than new ones. Launching a loyalty programme via SMS is simple and inexpensive and can delight your customers. Loyalty rewards, special offers, and secret flash sale notifications can also encourage them to redeem reward points in turn. 

The right text messaging strategy can bring in benefits and profits. You may also take advantage of white label SMS services for a wide variety of applications, SMS services, and management tools. There’s more to customer retention with SMS as you will need to personalise your SMS outreach, test them frequently, and keep customers happy.