SMS automation is the process of sending SMS messages to existing customers or leads in a large volume. It’s a great way to reach a large audience all at once, and is often considered more effective than other forms of messaging. SMS has a 98% open rate, unlike emails which can be a bit hit or miss.
The other beauty of SMS automation is the speed of campaign setup and delivery. It only takes around 8 minutes to set up a campaign and send to hundred, or even thousands of recipients. Add the fact that a text only takes a few seconds to read, and it’s the perfect form of modern marketing.
Who uses SMS automation?
All types of businesses and organisations use SMS automation as a quick and convenient way of connecting with customers. It’s not always about selling either. SMS automation is used to send reminder notices for appointments and payment reminders. Also, many other time-intensive manual tasks.
Best of all, if you do it properly, you can remain spam compliant, by simply adding an OPT OUT function. Recipients can reply ‘No’ or ‘Stop’, and your system can automatically remove them from the SMS list.
So, how does SMS automation work?
Scheduled messages
You can use SMS automation to schedule message delivery at certain times. It’s an automated way to reach a large number of customers at specific times. For example, if you’re holding a sale that lasts a week, you might send a reminder text two days out from the end of the sale.
Alternatively, you may choose to stagger your marketing messages purely to make it easier on your staff who need to follow up on leads. For example, if you’re adding a new product or service and want the opportunity to speak to interested customers, you can gauge their interest via SMS. But if you get 100 texts back saying ‘YES’, all at the same time, it would take a long time to contact them all.
Drip SMS automation
SMS drip campaigns are another popular way of using the service. In this scenario a pre-set SMS is delivered according to certain triggers. This is a way to send a series of staggered text messages to ensure leads don’t fall through the cracks.
Keyword responses
Keyword responses are a great way to connect with customers, and also boost efficiency. For example, customers can text a certain word to your number, such as ‘Hours’, and receive an automated response with your opening hours.
An added personal touch with SMS automation
Finally, SMS automation allows you to create a more personal connection with customers. This can be through keyword responses as above, essentially creating a back and forth conversation through a series of keyword replies. Or alternatively, you can automate messages to go out customers for certain milestones, such as birthdays. You can also use it for follow-up reminders, service reminders and even just to touch base if it’s been a year since the customer purchased from you.
SMS automation opens up a wide range of possibilities and could be the change your business has been looking for.
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