Exploring the benefits and features of transactional SMS

The ability to send transactional SMS messages is quickly becoming the go-to option for businesses of all kinds, from marketing to banking. They’re used to tell customers a wide range of information, which could be anything from a special offer to an alert letting them know of changes to their account. But because transactional SMSs are such an important tool, how do you ensure people listen and you get your message across?

Emails might end up in a spam folder. Social media posts often skip the customers’ radar. And with so much noise online, more and more people ignore brand communication attempts. 

Business text messaging can help you avoid the communication void. SMS messages are one of the most reliable ways to get your message in front of your audience. People trust SMS marketing a lot. Data from Attentive found that 91% of people currently subscribe to their favorite brands’ SMS lists or would like to if given the opportunity.

SMS notifications have open rates close to 100% and great engagement, making it an effective communication channel. Not only can you send promotional messages, but you can also inform and notify your customers about their orders, bookings, and pass on other information with transactional SMS. 

That’s what we’ll try to figure out in this article. Learn what transactional SMS is, its features and benefits, and how you can start using SMS in your business.

When you think about typical SMS messages, you’ve probably sent and received at least a couple of those just today. Mostly from friends and family, but businesses also use it to communicate. For example, if you tried to log into your bank account or a similar service page, you might have received an SMS with a verification code to confirm your identity. 

This type of SMS communication between companies and customers is called transactional business text messaging. Transactional SMS messages don’t have a promotional intent. Instead, brands use them to inform and communicate with customers.

Any industry or business can find a way to incorporate transactional text messages in their communication. For example, transactional SMS messages are great for sending time-sensitive information such as passwords or codes to validate account accesses. Because of the high open rates and no need for internet connection and apps, governmental institutions also use transactional SMS messages to notify people about upcoming weather alerts and important events.

Below are some examples of transactional SMS types.

Confirmation texts are important to make sure your customers know the status of their orders. Let’s say you order something, but even after a few days, you hear nothing from the vendor. At this point, you would start to worry whether your money ended up in the wrong place. Sending a confirmation SMS creates more trust.

Protecting customer data online is a top priority. That’s why many businesses use or are even obligated to use verification procedures. By sending a code or a password to a user’s phone number you can authenticate their identity as the process requires another device to confirm it. 

As the receiver must react quickly, SMS works best because they arrive within seconds and don’t require an internet connection.

If you’re planning to contact customers via SMS in the future, send a welcome message first. Otherwise, when you send the first message without any context, they might get confused and block your number.

When a customer books a flight or accommodation, confirming their reservation using a text message is more convenient than sending an email or a notification to their profile. You can’t rely on an internet connection when people are traveling, but a text message goes through as long as they have phone reception.

Has it ever happened to you that a payment reminder for an upcoming subscription landed in the spam folder and you were surprised with an unexpected card charge? It’s important to let people know about upcoming payments in advance. Late payments can seriously affect your business. In the UK, every year 50,000 small companies go out of business because of that.

With fast and same-day delivery services, your customers should receive timely alerts about their orders. Is it coming today at lunch? Send an SMS to make sure they can modify the delivery time or adjust their schedule to be there to receive the package.

Reminding people about their abandoned products is a great way to finalize a sale. Abandoned cart reminders have an open rate of 41.18% and can be pivotal in the purchasing journey.

Surveying your customers is a great way to get social proof for your website and spot performance gaps. However, it can be difficult to get feedback without directly asking for it. After you deliver an order or your customers interact with your service support agents, send a short text asking them for feedback.

Encourage two-way communication with customers to make appointments and reservations. Most people prefer sending a text instead of calling. And it’s better for you, instead of trying to track missed calls and pick up a phone mid-work, you can manage SMS more easily. SPAs, gyms, restaurants, and similar businesses benefit from two-way SMS communication.

While it might take longer to notice and measure transactional SMS results, it’s imperative to your overall SMS marketing strategy.

Instead of occasionally sending promotional messages, with transactional SMS you can establish a communication base. Your customers trust your brand more when they receive not only offers and deals, but also welcome texts, reminders, confirmations, and other important information.

SMS notifications have an outstanding open and engagement rate. Almost 100% of SMS will be open and read within 3 minutes of receiving them. People trust SMS communication more because it’s less available than, for example, email. Use this to your advantage for sensitive and timely text messages.

Have we mentioned that transactional SMS message don’t require an internet connection or specific apps? As long as your customers aren’t deep in the woods without phone reception, they can receive your messages. And if you use a reliable SMS service provider, your texts are delivered within seconds.

An established SMS service company can turn your text messaging for business strategy around. They provide tools to automate SMS communication and measure its progress. This way, you can set and track your goals to see improvement possibilities.

Although there are strict laws protecting personal data like phone numbers, transactional SMS messages are less regulated than promotional texts. Unlike promotional messages, you can send transactional SMS with just general consent to your terms and conditions.

As you can see, almost all companies can find ways to use and benefit from transactional SMS. If you’re still on the fence about SMS communication, we want to share our customer’s success story.

Tokio Marine is a leading insurance company in Thailand. Since the early days, they’ve used multiple communication channels to reach their customers. Before, some departments used one SMS service, while others relied on different communication methods. This caused information to be lost, and some clients weren’t contacted at all.

Tokio Marine decided to give Infobip a try to unify their communication. After implementing our transactional SMS service, the company increased its delivery times from 50% to 90%. And its policy renewal processes are now two times faster. SMS automation and one platform to manage everything allow their agents to save time and provide better service.

Transactional SMS is a great way to:

If you want to try transactional SMS in your business, we have a solution for you. Infobip offers a reliable SMS service for all types of business. We invite you to join some of the biggest brands across the world in building successful communication with your customers. Try transactional SMS service for free.