Cut Down Response Times With Conversational SMS Marketing

You’re tackling everything from stocking shelves and answering customer questions to planning your next big sale in your daily business routine. 

With all that’s on your plate, keeping up a personal touch with every customer might seem harsh.

However, conversational SMS marketing offers a practical solution that turns regular updates into engaging messages.

SMS broadcast marketing has been a staple and effective marketing channel for businesses for years. With its high open rates and instant delivery, it’s no wonder businesses of all sizes rely on SMS to reach their audience.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to get started with conversational SMS marketing and introduce you to the best tool that improves the effectiveness of your SMS marketing efforts.

What is Conversational Messaging?

Instead of merely broadcasting information, conversational SMS marketing works by allowing businesses to send information and receive responses from customers in real time.

In conversational messaging, responses can be personalized based on the recipient’s behavior, preferences, and past interactions. This personalization strengthens the connection between the customer and the brand.

Real-time customer engagement is a crucial aspect of conversational messaging. Customers receive responses to their queries, which improves their experience and builds trust in your brand. 

Conversational SMS Marketing vs Broadcast SMS Business Messaging

Broadcast SMS business messaging focuses on one-way communication and doesn’t encourage replies. In cases where shortcodes are used, they often can’t even accept replies and end up returning an error message to the sender. 

In contrast, using conversational SMS marketing emphasizes two-way communication, personalization, and high engagement. 

Broadcast SMS Business Messaging

Broadcast SMS business messaging involves sending one-way messages to customers. These messages typically include promotions, reminders, or notifications without expecting a response from the recipient. 

Information is sent out without inviting replies, and the interaction ends after the message is delivered. These messages are often generic and lack personalization, which means there is minimal interaction between the business and the customer.

For example, a retail store sends out a message announcing a weekend sale. The customer receives the information but cannot reply to ask questions or engage further.

Conversational SMS Marketing

Conversational SMS marketing fosters two-way communication that creates a more personalized and interactive experience. 

Customers can reply to texts, ask questions, and interact directly with the business. These text messages are tailored based on individual customer data, such as previous purchases or preferences.

For instance, a retail store sends a message about a weekend sale and invites customers to ask questions. A customer replies to inquire about product availability, and the store responds with specific information and personalized recommendations.

The Key Benefits of Conversational Messaging

Conversational messaging offers numerous benefits that can impact customer interactions and improve business outcomes. Here’s a detailed look at the key advantages:

Higher Response Rates

The interactive nature of conversational messaging naturally leads to higher response rates. When customers know they can engage in a dialogue rather than just receiving information, they are more likely to respond. 

The entire interaction becomes more personal, fostering stronger relationships with the customers.

Cost-Effectiveness

Conversational messaging can be a cost-effective solution for customer communication. Automating responses to common inquiries using templates, responses to keywords, etc, can reduce the need for extensive customer service agents. 

Improved Customer Satisfaction

Customers’ satisfaction and loyalty to the brand increase when they receive timely, relevant responses. Happy customers are likely to repeat purchases and recommend the brand to others.

Unlike broadcast texts, conversational messaging is a two-way street. Customers can ask questions, make requests, or give feedback right at the moment, and there’s someone on the other side ready to respond. 

This interaction helps build trust and makes customers feel they are genuinely listened to.

When customers can easily tell businesses what they like or don’t like, businesses can use this feedback to get better. 

Seeing that a business listens and makes changes based on their input can make customers feel more satisfied and connected to the brand.

Real-time Customer Support

Conversational messaging provides instant support to customers, addressing their concerns and queries as they arise. This prevents small problems from escalating and ensures a smooth customer experience. 

Real-time support is essential in retail, healthcare, and finance industries, where timely information and assistance can impact customer satisfaction.

How to Get Started with Conversational SMS

To successfully implement conversational SMS, you need to choose the right platform, understand your audience, and craft meaningful conversations. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

Choosing the Right SMS Marketing Platform

Look for a platform that offers comprehensive features like automation, sophisticated segmentation, templates, and detailed analytics while keeping you compliant with legal standards. 

Textellent stands out for its tailored solutions for conversational SMS, providing excellent customer support and seamless integration with CRM systems.

This conversational messaging platform keeps you in touch with your customers from the moment they show interest in your services through every step of their journey.

Textellent allows you to avoid the need for broadcast messaging by instead sending text messages customized to each customer’s previous interactions and preferences with its advanced tagging and segmentation features. 

It can even trigger messages based on actions the recipient takes and use drip campaigns to follow-up.

Additionally, this conversational business texting solution helps you monitor the success of your SMS campaigns by monitoring responses and conversions. This information can help you tweak your approach to achieve better results. 

Plus, with its ready-to-use message templates, you can communicate clearly and consistently in your brand’s voice.

Building a Subscriber List

A successful conversational SMS campaign starts with a subscriber list. 

Growing your SMS subscriber list is made easy with Textellent. Customers can fill out a form on the website opting in for texts or effortlessly subscribe by sending a simple keyword to a shared short code or a standard 10-digit phone number.

Additionally, the opt-in process must comply with legal standards such as TCPA. These regulations require explicit consent from users before you can send them SMS marketing messages.

It’s also important to keep your list fresh and updated. Textellent automatically removes invalid numbers and subscribers who opt out to help businesses remain compliant. This improves engagement rates and reduces costs by not sending messages to unresponsive numbers. 

Textellent even uses AI to detect if someone is opting out using negative sentiment instead of commonly used words like stop or unsubscribe to help keep businesses compliant.

Segmenting Your Audience

Once people start signing up, you should maintain your list by keeping it organized and segmented. It allows you to send more targeted, relevant messages. 

SMS segmentation helps in crafting messages that are more likely to engage each specific group.

Best Practices and Tips for Conversational SMS Messaging

When using conversational text messaging, it’s important to keep your approach friendly and efficient. Here are some practical tips to ensure your SMS campaigns drive engagement.

Be Clear and Concise

Since SMS messages are meant to be read quickly, keep your content clear and to the point. Avoid filler words and lengthy introductions to ensure your message is understood quickly.

You must stick to simple language that your audience can easily understand. Avoid industry jargon or technical terms unless you are certain that your audience is familiar with them. 

Clear and simple language makes your messages more accessible to a broader audience.

Include a Strong Call to Action

Every message should encourage your customer to take some form of action. You can use action verbs that incite enthusiasm and clarity. 

Phrases like “Buy now,” “Reply with your thoughts,” or “Visit our site today” are direct and leave no room for ambiguity about what steps the recipient should take next.

You can also create urgency by using time-sensitive language or offering limited-time discounts. Phrases like “Offer ends soon,” “Limited availability,” or “Act now” prompt quick responses.

Provide Value in Every Message

Your messages should always offer something valuable to your customers. Whether it’s exclusive information, a special discount, or a helpful tip, make sure they have a good reason to stay engaged with your SMS conversations.

Everybody loves feeling like they’re getting a special deal. You can offer exclusive discounts or early access to sales through SMS, which can make your audience feel valued. This rewards them for their loyalty and incentivizes them to stay tuned for more messages.

Incorporating Multimedia Elements

Adding multimedia elements to your conversational SMS messages can transform standard texts into a more engaging and interactive experience. 

Textellent supports MMS to enrich your marketing with vibrant images and texts from its extensive library.

But remember, any MMS marketing you send should be closely related to your message.

For instance, if you’re promoting a new product, include an image or short video of the product in use. This helps to clarify your message and enhances engagement by showing rather than just telling.

While multimedia can be effective, it’s also important not to overuse it. Use images, videos, and GIFs when they add value to your message or when they are essential for explaining your point. Too much multimedia can distract from your message rather than improve it.

Respond Quickly

One of the biggest advantages of SMS is its immediacy. When customers reply to your messages, try to respond as quickly as possible. It keeps the SMS conversation flowing and shows that you value their time and engagement. 

Keep in mind that customers are likely to expect a faster response when they send an SMS reply than when they send an email, so your staff needs to be ready and prepared for that.

Engage Smarter with Textellent’s Conversational SMS Tools

Discover how Textellent can transform your SMS marketing strategy with its powerful two-way conversation capabilities.

Experience seamless integration with your CRM and other key stems, as well as insightful analytics that will help you grow your business and improve your customer journey.

Sign up for a free trial or request a demo consultation today!

FAQs About Conversational SMS Marketing

How can conversational SMS be used for customer retention?

Conversational SMS is a dynamic communication channel for customer retention because it keeps your brand engaged. You can send loyalty rewards, exclusive updates, and personalized offers based on the customer’s purchase history and reply to any incoming responses that answer customer questions.

Also, quick check-ins or feedback requests show customers that you value their opinions and want to improve their experience.

How should I respond to unsubscribes in conversational SMS?

When a customer chooses to unsubscribe, the system will automatically put them on a do not text list. You can choose to send automated messages acknowledging that they have opted out, though this is not required. 

Can conversational SMS be streamlined without losing personal touch?

Yes, with the right tools and strategies, you can create reply templates for frequently asked questions or use questions that allow customers to text back the word that best describes their interest or need without sacrificing the personal touch.

You can personalize your messages with the customer’s name or other personal details using dynamic fields.