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Transactional SMS is a type of SMS in business communication that perfectly balances convenience and effectiveness. This particular type of messaging is critical in driving customer engagement and conversion.
72% of people have purchased after receiving a transactional SMS from a brand. On top of that, people who are buying from text messages seem to buy more often.
In 2024, customers expect to communicate directly with brands. According to SimpleTexting, 79% of consumers opt-in to receive SMS messages from brands.
Businesses need to involve transactional SMS in their larger SMS marketing strategy. This guide will highlight the best practices to help you get started, laying a strong foundation for better customer satisfaction.
How Does Transactional SMS help businesses?
What Are Types Of Transactional SMS?
Here are some common types of Transactional SMS:
- Order Confirmation
- Account Alerts
- Delivery Updates
- Password Reset Notifications
- Bookings
- Appointment Reminders
- Fraud Alerts
- Account verifications
- Quick Sign-Up OTP
What are the Unique Features Of Transactional SMS?
Here’s what is unique about Transactional SMS that makes it different from other types of messaging for business:
- Informative: Unlike promotional messages, transactional messages are meant to inform, update, or alert customers about what they prefer and welcome.
- Fastest deliverability: Text messaging already boasts high deliverability and open rates; transactional SMS takes it further, focusing on the “speed” of delivering messages in real-time to keep the customer updated all the time.
- Most Convenient: Customers are getting the most crucial updates and information about their product, account, or service right to their pocket, with simple text and the least words, easy and quick to grasp.
- Highly Reliable: Since SMS does not rely upon cloud-based platforms or the internet, customers can fully rely on the messages to be received every time.
Also Read: Top 10 SMS Marketing Best Practises For Businesses
Ways Transactional SMS Helps Businesses
Here’s how transactional SMS helps business:
- Bring traffic to their business website
- Aid in customer service
- Automate customer support
- Increase Customer Engagement
- Lower costs
- Reduce Churn
- Boost average order value (AOV)
- Increase Customer lifetime value (LTV)
How is Transactional SMS Different From Promotional SMS?
It is easy to confuse transactional SMS with promotional ones. However, they are different in their inherent purpose and approach.
Businesses utilise transactional SMS to share time-sensitive information, alerts, and updates regarding a product or service to existing customers.
A promotional SMS aims to promote a product or service. They are advertisements, often about new product launches or announcing weekend sales.
While promotional messages are strategically planned within the SMS marketing strategy of a brand, transactional messages are sent based on triggered action and only when needed. They tend to be more personalised and specific to the recipient
The Role Of Transactional SMS In Customer Satisfaction?
Here’s how Transactional SMS improves customer satisfaction:
- High Open, Deliverability, and Response Rates: SMS has unparalleled open, deliverability, and response rates, allowing it to be instrumental where urgency, time-sensitiveness, and engagement are concerned.
- Instant, Convenient, and Reliable Source Of Information: Customers rely on transactional SMS due to their lack of dependency on the Internet, ease of communication, high readability, deliverability, and instant delivery.
- Reduce customer anxiety and ignorance: Since transactional messages are a proactive approach to informing and assuring about transactions, the details, and what next they can do, it alleviates the customer’s anxiety and reduces their ignorance about the procedure.
- Personalised and highly relevant: Transactional SMS are inherently personalised and specific to the individual, making it relevant and more meaningful to the recipient.
Best Transactional SMS Practices
Personalisation At Its Best
Leverage customer data to craft relevant, engaging, and more personalised messages that truly resonate with the prospect’s preferences.
Personalised messaging in e-commerce has witnessed 56% of repeat purchases from customers.
Here are some user data to personalise your transactional SMS:
- Name
- Demographics
- Location
- Buying behavior
- Time zone
- Birthday
- Other specific details
Personalisation doesn’t end with merely addressing the customer’s first name. It is about crafting strategically to connect with the consumer on multiple levels. And this is only possible through understanding their personality and behaviour.
For example, Benefit Cosmetics references customers’ buying history to personalise their SMS. Here’s what it looks like:
You can utilise personalisation to understand:
- What type of products are they interested in?
- What kind of messages do they usually respond to?
- At what stage are they in their buyer’s journey?
Such a tailored approach increases customer engagement and fosters a sense of connection between the customer and the brand.
In fact, personalised messages are 33% of contributors for increasing the likelihood of a customer subscribing to brand SMS.
Pro Tip: Segment your customers based on various defining factors such as past purchases, lifestyle, interests, age, gender, location, and other demographic aspects.
Must Read: What Is Google Verified SMS And How Does It Work?
Timing Is The Key
Sending the message at the right time is the key to high customer engagement and improving customer satisfaction. 84% of people around the world use SMS messaging, and 98% of them get opened in the right place and at the right time.
To leverage this, businesses must focus on the timing of their Transactional SMS, which can lead to:
- Better open rates
- More engagement
- Higher customer satisfaction
- Increase brand loyalty
- May result in increased revenue
For an example,
A transaction SMS for order confirmation right after the customer makes the purchase with information like order details, delivery updates, etc., will bring the buyer convenience and a better customer experience.
Pro Tip: Leverage Route Mobile’s messaging platform for A2P messaging that optimises the automated process of scheduling SMS to multiple recipients simultaneously, with ease.
Getting The Messages Right
Since there is a character limit on SMS, the clarity and comprehensiveness of the messages is paramount.
Businesses must focus on their messages to be:
- Clear, concise, and to-the-point
- Easy to scan through and understand.
- Tone should be professional yet not complex or unwelcoming.
- Avoid using any jargon or adding unnecessary information.
It also depends on the type of transactional SMS. A welcome or thank-you message must feel warm and friendly, whereas a message simply about an alert, like shipping status, can be more informative and straightforward.
Also Read: 10 Reasons Why Two-Way Messaging Is Must For Retail Businesses
Add Call-to-Action (CTA)
As soon as the customer finishes reading the SMS, they must know what they are supposed to do next. And that’s what Call-to-Action (CTA) does! It encourages recipients to take action by creating a fear of missing out, which is hard to resist.
Ensure you add a clear, relevant, and simple CTA like “ click here to know more,” “track your order,” etc. It should precisely tell or direct the audience what they should do.
Here are quick tips to craft some effective CTAs:
- Keep it short and impactful
- Avoid vague, use action phrases
- Make it specific
- Create a sense of urgency
- Try different CTAs through A/B testing
- Optimise and repeat what works
Collaborating With A Reliable SMS Service Provider
Leveraging the best of Transactional SMS requires infrastructure, automation, and expertise in business communication, which you can business can only gain through collaborating with a reliable Transactional SMS service provider like Route Mobile.
According to McKinsey, automation alone can reduce errors in communication by 50%.
Cloud communication platforms like Route Mobile offer a suite of comprehensive solutions like SMS API integration, A2P messaging, 2-way messaging, and RCS business messaging, managed through the CPaaS platform.
Enterprises can utilise the full scope of Transactional SMS through personalised automated campaigns, advanced analytical tools, and other next-gen communication solutions.
Conclusion
Transactional SMS is instant, highly reliable, and convenient and improves customer experience, aiding in boosting customer satisfaction.
On top of strikingly high open and response rates of SMS, this particular type of messaging is faster, accessible, and engaging, building trust and improving brand loyalty.
With these best practices, businesses can boost their customer satisfaction. Route Mobile, a top-rated cloud communication platform, offers a wide range of business communication solutions, including SMS transactional and promotional both. Contact our experts to get more information.
FAQs
What is Transactional SMS?
Transactional SMS are text messages sent to individuals by companies, providing them with necessary information, alerts, and updates related to a product or service. Transactional messages are usually relevant and specific to the individual and often time-sensitive. It can also include account information, delivery updates, bookings, appointment reminders, and more. Unlike promotional messages, these are more focused on delivering information rather than trying to sell or promote a product or service.
How Transactional SMS Help Improve Customer Satisfaction?
Transactional SMS ensures the customer receives informative, highly relevant, and important updates and alerts about their transaction, reduces customer anxiety, and improves overall customer experience. It helps give customers peace of mind, contributing to their higher satisfaction levels.
What Are Some Top Practices To Boost Customer Satisfaction Using Transactional SMS?
Top practices to boost customer satisfaction using Transactional SMS that will give you maximum ROI are personalising the messages and keeping the SMS clear, brief, and to the point. Leverage automation, timing, and powerful CTAs to drive more engagement.
