SMS Automation: Boost your workflows and customer engagement
Romain Didelot
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Introduction
An automation strategy meets the No. 1 challenge for many companies: capturing consumers' attention. Whether it's marketing automation or customer relationship workflows, an automation strategy enables you to reach your customers instantly at the most opportune moment, after an action on their part or when they're waiting for an event.
And SMS, as the #1 channel for customer engagement, is a must for automation. Are you looking for a solution or software that enables you to adopt an integrated, automated approach to customer relations? A platform, API or plugin to combine push notification, SMS and email channels within a marketing automation strategy?
smsmode© explains everything you need to know about integrating SMS into an automation strategy, the different testing and dispatch tools available to you, and the best practices you need to know to make your automated campaigns a success.
Definition of SMS automation
SMS automation, also known as SMS automation, refers to the automatic sending of text messages to targeted individuals or groups with limited human intervention. This text message, written and programmed in advance, is sent by a platform at a strategic moment to establish timely, personalized communication with the company's customers.
The benefits of SMS for companies
A platform SMS that integrates with an automation strategy can deliver numerous benefits, 3 of which clearly stand out:
Our commitment
SMS enjoys exceptional engagement, with an open rate of 98%. The direct nature of SMS encourages customers to pay more attention to a SMS than to an email or push notification, making the SMS channel an effective communication tool for both marketing and customer relations in the broadest sense.
Instantaneous
SMS is read quickly (within 4 minutes of receipt in 95% of cases). With it, companies can quickly transmit communications that are considered unmissable. It's ideal for announcing flash sales, reminding people of appointments or informing them of the status of an order.
Customization
Another major benefit of SMS automation. Thanks to customer data and variables that can be integrated into messages, it's possible to send customized content, tailored to customers, their preferences and their consumer behavior. From specific offers based on previous purchases, to personalized reminders and abandoned basket recalls, a wide range of ultra-personalized uses can be envisaged.
Find out more about our major study based on 745 million mailings SMS.
SMS VS email: who wins the KPI match?
As mentioned above, the open rate for SMS is 98%, well above the usual 20% for emails. But this isn't the only KPI where SMS comes out on top :
- The click-through rate for SMS is between 6% and 16%, once again much higher than for emails.
- The average conversion rate for SMS is 29%, compared with 3% for email.
- The average ROI for SMS (all uses combined) is X37.7, compared with X36 for email.
This is due to the nature of SMS. Most users receive an audible notification or a vibration when the message is received. What's more, it's only read on the cell phone, a device constantly in use by all consumers. On the other hand, emails can be drowned out in a saturated inbox or arrive as spam, diminishing their impact as soon as they are received.
The main use cases forSMS Automation
Marketing and promotions
Promotional campaigns are a frequent use case for automation. These messages can contain discount codes, announce new products, or inform about sales. They contribute to increasing sales throughout the year in a variety of ways:
Promotional campaigns: special offers, discounts or promo codes, sent to customer lists segmented according to interests and purchases.
Abandoned cart reminders A SMS reminder that can include a promo code to encourage customers to complete their purchases.
Product launches: automatically inform customers of new products or events.
Anniversary dates: a message at the right time, on the customer's birthday or account creation date, is not only a sales factor, but also a way of building loyalty.
Customer service
SMS is also used to optimize customer service based on previous customer interactions:
Order confirmation: Inform customers of the receipt and status of their orders.
Delivery tracking: Provide real-time updates on shipping and delivery.
Satisfaction surveys: Gathering feedback after an interaction or purchase.
Reservation confirmation
It's part of customer service, but deserves its own section for its usefulness. Sending an immediate confirmation by SMS after a reservation or order is a highly effective practice (4X fewer missed appointments when reminders are set up) whose power is multiplied tenfold when automated.
These confirmation messages can detail the date and time of the reservation, an order number, or instructions for rescheduling an appointment.
Automatic reminders Automatic reminders: automatically notify patients or customers of upcoming appointments (health, beauty, services).
Confirmation or cancellation: Offer the possibility of confirming or rescheduling an appointment via a link or a simple SMS.
Queue management: Send alerts when it's a customer's turn.
Re-engaging inactive customers
Reviving your inactive customers is essential to keeping your database engaged. Send personalized messages that remind customers of previous interactions, offer incentives to encourage new purchases, or provide relevant content to effectively reactivate them. Here are a few case studies:
Revival of expired subscriptions or services: relevant for SaaS, clubs or online services
Restart after a specific period of inactivity: define a period of inactivity in a workflow and restart with simple, clear content.
Personalized suggestions: send recommendations based on purchase or browsing history.
Reminder of loyalty points or accumulated benefits: encourage customers to return by reminding them of the benefits they could lose.
Many sectors can benefit from SMS automation
As you may have read, the vast majority of automation use cases are marketing-oriented, and seem to be calibrated for e-commerce (often referred to as Marketing Automation). But in truth, all industries with a need to notify their customers can benefit from the implementation of SMS automated. Here's a non-exhaustive list.
Integrate and automate SMS from your CRM. Benefit from centralized access to customer data, synchronize information and automatically trigger the sending of messages from your workflows.
Human resources
Recruitment : Transmit targeted offers, inform candidates of the status of their application or schedule interviews.
Internal communication Disseminate important or urgent information to employees.
Training : Remind people of session dates or share resources.
Education sector
Notifications to students and parents: Send exam reminders, report card access links, late payment alerts or information on school events.
Absence follow-up: Inform parents of their children's absences.
Finance and administration
Payment reminders: Notify customers of due dates or late payments.
Identity verification: Use authentication codes (2FA) to secure connections or transactions.
Events
Invitations and confirmations: Send reminders to registered event participants.
Real-time updates: Inform participants of any changes, unforeseen events or delays.
Logistics and Safety
Critical alerts Warning of incidents, natural disasters or organizational emergencies.
Safety messages: Broadcast safety tips or instructions, confirm status updates.
Best practices for SMS automation
Compliance with regulations (opt-in and unsubscribe options)
It is imperative to obtain clear, formal consent from customers before any communication. This ensures compliance with legislation and confirms that your audience is engaged and consenting. Customers should be able to opt out of SMS campaigns by sending responses such as "STOP" or "Unsubscribe". This respect for your customers' preferences plays a key role in preserving their trust and minimizing complaints.
What's more, this topic is crucial, as message automation often involves processing and storing large quantities of customer data. Companies therefore need to put in place robust measures to protect this sensitive information against cyber-attacks, data leaks and unauthorized access.
It's best to make sure your partner has mastered these few points:
- Encryption of stored and transmitted customer data
- Two-factor authentication for platform access
- Implementing strict privacy policies
- Training employees in good safety practices
- Compliance with data protection regulations such as RGPD.
Data security is a major issue for companies using automation SMS, as a breach could have serious consequences for customer confidence and the company's reputation.
Contact segmentation
Contact segmentation lets you divide customers into segments based on defined criteria such as purchasing habits, preferences, or previous interactions. This approach makes messages more personalized and relevant, enabling you to improve customer engagement and conversion rates right from the start.
The right frequency
Determining the right marketing pressure is essential to avoid recipient fatigue and keep customers engaged. Find the right balance to be present in your customers' minds without overwhelming them. A rhythm of around one message a week is generally a good compromise, but your own rhythm may vary according to your industry and your customers' preferences.
Personalized content
9 out of 10 consumers say that personalization influences their purchases (source: BDC.ca). So it's quite clear that you'll benefit from playing this card. Personalizing your messages obviously involves the use of variables in your SMS ($first name, $last name, $product...), but also by segmenting your audience through workflows according to their interests, demographic characteristics and purchasing behaviors to adjust your messages accordingly.
Choosing the right time to send
Automated triggers and workflows form the basis of automation. They enable messages to be programmed according to specific events, such as registrations, purchases, cart abandonments or visits to the website.
Choosing the right time to send SMS is therefore essential for optimizing open and response rates. Plan your SMS campaigns in advance and coordinate them with your other marketing channels, such as email and social networks, for a coherent and effective communication strategy.
A/B tests
There can be no automation without data. That's why it's essential to go through an A/B testing stage when setting up your automations. It's a powerful strategy for optimizing SMS campaigns and increasing their effectiveness.
Testing allows you to experiment with different elements, such as message content, timing, and calls to action (CTAs)... to discover which options are most effective for your target audience. You could, for example, compare the effectiveness of short messages with slightly longer ones, or test several CTAs to see which generates the most engagement.
By implementing these tests, you gain precise information on your customers' preferences and behavior. This enables you to fine-tune your marketing strategies and improve their performance.
Performance analysis and reporting
This is the final stage of every campaign, indeed of every project: analyzing data, tracking performance, to evaluate the effectiveness of automation campaigns SMS. Open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, ROI, A/B test results... all this data helps companies track the effectiveness of their campaigns, identify areas for improvement and adjust their strategies accordingly. All you have to do is keep what works and iterate 🙂.
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