Customer engagement refers to the interaction between a company and its customer. Engagement starts from the time a customer is interested in a product and continues until the sale is made and even after to provide service. Engagement is the key to ensure customer satisfaction . Engagement is not just communication but is a strategy that ensures an emotional connect between the business and the customer. Of the various types of engagement strategies, SMS or text messaging is one of the most effective.
SMS for customer engagement
SMS refers to the use of short messaging service or text messaging. It involves sending messages to the mobile phone of customers. An SMS usually has a 140-character limit and the message is therefore called a short message. The message should be brief but yetconvey information clearly. SMS is preferred by businesses nowadays due to the following reasons:
1) An SMS can be sent to any type of mobile phone. This makes it convenient to reach out to customers located anywhere, including in remote areas.
2) SMS messages are preferred by customers since they are non-intrusive. Studies indicate that nearly 86% of customers would prefer getting marketing messages through SMS.
3) An SMS is usually read by 97% of recipients in 3 minutes of receipt. The response rate for SMS is 46%, which is much more than email marketing.
All the above clearly illustrate why SMS is an excellent option for customer engagement. It can be used to interact with customers instantly and can be used to provide information needed by the customer.
6 successful SMS strategies for customer engagement
The following are six strategies that any business can use to ensure effective customer engagement.
1. Run marketing campaigns
Marketing campaigns can be run by the business using SMS. This is a strategy that can help to directly engage with customers to sell the product. The marketing campaign can be used to promote a product and send offers so that the customer becomes enthused to buy the product. The campaign can help in sending more details of products to customers and encourage them to visit the store. Such campaigns are the best way to use SMS to engage with customers and also improve sales .
2. Personalize the interaction
Promotional text messages are considered bulk or mass text messages. Some customers don’t like to receive such messages and may ignore them. For effective engagement with customers, the SMS can be personalized. The name of the customer and other such details can be included in the SMS. This ensures the message looks personalized and the customers feel it is an exclusive message. This is an effective engagement strategy.
3. Send valuable content
Content is king and this is true for any form of business. You can offer useful content to your customers to engage with them. For instance, if you are in the healthcare business, then you can send health tips to customers or advice on how to take precautions against COVID-19. Such information would be useful to customers and they would wait regularly to receive such information. This helps in effective engagement, which can be used to boost business.
4. Offer service through SMS
Customer service is crucial to ensure customer satisfaction. You can offer service through SMS. Customers can be given the option of booking service requests or appointments through SMS. appointment schedules and service reminders can be sent through SMS. Customers can also be encouraged to send queries or complaints through SMS. This will help in solving customer problems proactively to engage with them.
5. Encourage them to take action
For effective engagement, the customer must be encouraged to take action on your messages. For this, you need to use a call to action or CTA. A CTA will ensure the customer is motivated to take action based on your message. The action can be either visiting your store or your online store. It can be taking a trial of your service or actually making a purchase.
6. Use SMS for interactive communication
SMS is not merely a tool for one-way communication but can also be used for two-way communication. It can be used for interactive communication where you can reply to the customer and have a conversation. You can make use of keywords to provide information automatically based on the keyword send by the customer. You can also use SMS to reply to messages sent by a customer and carry on a detailed conversation.
All the six strategies listed are effective and can ensure perfect customer engagement. This is the best way for a business to satisfy customers and boost business. If you have a business, you can subscribe to a SMS marketing service. This will help you start sending SMS for customer engagement immediately, so you can reap its benefits.
