How Two-Way SMS Marketing Can Increase Engagement

Two-way SMS communication is highly effective for businesses seeking better engagement and simplifying customer interactions.

Unlike traditional one-way messaging, two-way SMS allows customers to respond directly to messages they receive. This creates a dynamic conversation that leads to quality customer service and a better customer experience.

In this article, we will explore the dynamic capabilities of two-way SMS marketing and how it can be seamlessly integrated into your existing marketing strategies to boost customer engagement.

What is Two-Way SMS Marketing?

Two-way SMS marketing is a method of communication where both the business and the customer can send and receive SMS messages. It creates a back-and-forth conversation that allows for personalized, conversational messaging. 

For example, a customer might reply to a promotional message with a question, and the business can respond directly. 

Typically, two-way messaging works best with a real and recognizable 10-digit business number, as 5-6-digit code numbers don’t generally support dynamic two-way communication. 

Using a real business number for customer service interactions increases user satisfaction and builds a stronger relationship between the business and its customers.

How Two-Way SMS Marketing Works

First, businesses must set up an account with a service provider offering two-way messaging capabilities. 

Once set up, they can send messages to their customers and receive responses in real-time. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the process:

1. Choose a service provider: Select a provider that offers two-way SMS functionality.
2. Set up your account: Register and set up your account with the service provider.
3. Create and upload your contact list: Gather your customers’ phone numbers and add them to your contact list.
4. Draft your messages: Write clear and concise messages that encourage a response.
5. Send and receive messages: Start the conversation by sending out your first message and be ready to respond to customer replies.

Benefits of Using Two-Way SMS Campaigns

Two-way SMS messaging offers many benefits that improve customer interaction and business operational efficiency. Here are the key advantages:

Better Customer Engagement

Two-way SMS creates a direct communication channel between businesses and customers. This interaction boosts engagement and fosters a sense of connection and accessibility. 

Engaged customers are more likely to become loyal customers. The more interactive the communication, the stronger the relationship becomes. Two-way SMS enables businesses to stay top-of-mind by continuing a dialogue rather than relying on one-off promotional messages.

Immediate Communication

For businesses that need to communicate time-sensitive information—such as appointment reminders, delivery updates, or promotional offers—two-way SMS is the ideal channel.

Customers can respond immediately, confirming appointments, changing delivery times, or redeeming offers. This reduces missed opportunities and helps businesses stay efficient in managing customer needs.

Increased Open Rates

People receive far fewer text messages compared to emails.

While email inboxes are often filled with promotions, newsletters, and other non-urgent communications, SMS are typically reserved for more personal or important messages.

SMS has an impressive open rate of 98%, higher than email’s average open rate of 20-30%. As a result, customers are less likely to ignore or delete a text message without reading it, which leads to higher open rates.

Higher Response Rates

SMS messages feel more personal than other marketing channels. An SMS message is a direct conversation between the business and the customer.

The conversational nature of two-way SMS encourages customers to respond because it mimics the natural back-and-forth flow of a real conversation.

Personalized Interactions

Two-way SMS marketing allows for a level of personalization that goes beyond the standard message blast.

Because of ongoing communication, businesses can tailor their responses based on customer feedback and preferences.

Personalization can be achieved by integrating SMS with customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Then, you can send personalized messages based on past purchases, browsing behavior, and customer demographics.

Convenience for Customers

Many customers prefer text messaging as a method of communication due to its convenience. Research has shown that 72% of consumers want to be able to text with businesses.

Unlike many messaging apps and emails, SMS does not require internet connectivity and can be accessed on any mobile phone. 

Cost-Effectiveness

SMS marketing cost is relatively low compared to other marketing and messaging channels. 

Traditional customer support operations that rely on call centers are expensive due to the need for personnel, equipment, and infrastructure.

Two-way SMS, however, automates much of the communication, reducing the need for large customer service teams.

Sending an SMS message generally charges a small fee per message, and bulk messaging plans can reduce the cost even further.

Given the high engagement and response rates, the SMS conversion cost is often much lower than other methods.

Easy to Track and Analyze

Many two-way SMS platforms come with built-in reporting and analytics tools that provide detailed insights into customer interactions.

These tools allow businesses to track key metrics like open rates, response rates, conversion rates, and customer behavior over time.

Many SMS platforms integrate seamlessly with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to store and analyze customer interactions.

This integration helps businesses build a complete profile of their customers, including their preferences, behaviors, and past interactions.

How to Implement Two-Way Texting for Your Business

Implementing two-way SMS texting involves several strategic steps. Carefully planning and executing these steps ensure successful and meaningful conversations with customers. Here’s how to do it:

Choose the Right SMS Provider

Select an SMS provider that offers reliable two-way messaging capabilities. Look for features like API access, integration options with existing systems (like CRM software), automation capabilities, and comprehensive analytics. 

Textellent is a popular choice that offers robust automated texting solutions that cater to various business needs. It supports full two-way communication that allows customers to engage and respond directly to your texts.

Determine Which Phone Number to Text-Enable

Text-enabling your existing business phone number is often the best option for creating a seamless customer communication experience.

If your customers are familiar with your phone number, they can easily text it instead of just calling. Many SMS providers, including Textellent, can text-enable landline, toll-free, or VoIP numbers.

Check with your current phone service provider or your SMS platform to see if your number can be activated for texting. This typically requires only a simple setup process.

Obtain Necessary Permissions

Ensure your customers give explicit consent to send them SMS marketing messages. This can be achieved through opt-in forms on your website, during checkout processes, or through a double opt-in mechanism via SMS. 

For customer service issues such as your installation team running later, your product being delivered today, etc., these consent permissions are not needed to send them text messages.

In addition, if a customer texts you directly, it is implied that they may receive a response via text. Be transparent about how often you text them and provide an easy way for customers to opt-out.

Segment Your Audience

Different audience segments might respond differently to your messages, so crafting specific content for each group can boost engagement.

Segment your audience based on relevant criteria such as past purchase behavior, demographics, location, and preferences. This enables you to tailor your messages more specifically, which can lead to higher engagement rates.

Craft Compelling Messages

You should create messages that are clear, concise, and engaging. Each message should include a call to action (CTA) that encourages a response, whether asking for feedback, offering a discount, or prompting a registration. 

Remember, the tone should be conversational and friendly, reflecting your brand’s voice.

Set Up Automated Responses

To ensure immediate communication, you can set up automated responses or templates for common inquiries or interactions. Automation can be used for confirmations, appointment reminders, and frequently asked questions. 

However, a system should always be in place to escalate more complex queries to human customer service representatives.

Test and Launch Your Service

Before going live with a full-scale campaign and two-way SMS messaging, conduct testing to iron out any issues with message delivery, response handling, and integration points. 

You can start with a small group of customers to gauge the effectiveness of your messages and workflows.

Monitor and Optimize

Once your campaign is live, continuously monitor performance through analytics provided by your SMS platform. You can track metrics such as delivery rates, open rates, response rates, opt-out, and conversion rates. 

Use this data to refine your approach and adjust message content, timing, and segmentation to improve overall effectiveness.

How To Improve Your Two-way SMS with Textellent 

Textellent transforms how you communicate with your customers. It simplifies the entire process from when a customer first shows interest to ensure every interaction feels personal and timely.

Unlike basic tools that offer minimal engagement, Textellent integrates texting at crucial stages of the customer journey, from the instant they become interested in your service and continue to move through the life cycle, including pre-appointment to post-appointment follow-ups.

Whether you need a simple messaging tool or a more advanced system, Textellent adapts to your business.

You can start with the basics and scale up to more advanced features as your needs grow. This ensures that you can create an SMS process that works for your business without the hassle of complicated setups.

One of Textellent’s standout features is its advanced tagging and segmentation capabilities. This allows you to send personalized messages to your customers based on their previous interactions and preferences.

With Textellent, you can easily monitor the success of your SMS campaigns. This SMS marketing software offers detailed analytics to see how many people opened your messages, responded, and took action. 

Understanding what works and doesn’t helps you refine your approach to improve your campaign’s performance.

Textellent also provides a variety of ready-to-use templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch every time you send a message. These templates help ensure your messaging is consistent and professional. Plus, they’re fully customizable, so you can add your brand’s unique touch.

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

Engage, Respond, Connect: Upgrade Your SMS Strategy with Textellent

Textellent makes connecting with your audience easily and builds stronger relationships through powerful, easy-to-use texting tools. It automates follow-ups and helps you personalize every message from one simple platform.

Whether you’re looking to boost engagement, improve customer satisfaction, or drive more sales, Textellent’s two-way SMS capabilities give you the tools to do it all.

With real-time back-and-forth conversations, personalized messaging, and seamless automation, you can deliver the customer experience that keeps people coming back.

What’s more, Textellent is affordable and flexible, designed to fit the needs of businesses of all sizes. This platform grows with you as your business grows, ensuring your communication stays effective without extra complexity.

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

FAQs About Two-Way SMS Marketing

How should I respond to opt-out requests in two-way SMS marketing?

Many platforms offer the ability to immediately block anyone who opts out with standard languages, such as STOP, from receiving any further texts, and many offer the ability to send an automated response indicating their wish to opt-out is being confirmed. 

Textellent goes a step further such that if anyone uses negative sentiment in their response, that contact is automatically flagged so that it can be determined if they were trying to opt-out or had some type of question. 

Ensure your SMS platform automates this process to comply with legal standards and maintain customer trust. Regularly review your opt-out procedures to ensure they are as streamlined and user-friendly as possible.

What are the common pitfalls in two-way SMS marketing, and how can I avoid them?

SMS compliance is essential when sending two-way messages. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) sets rules to protect consumers from unsolicited messages. Common pitfalls in two-way SMS marketing include:

• Overwhelming customers with too many messages.
• Neglecting to provide a clear opt-out option.
• Failing to monitor and respond to messages promptly.

To avoid these, establish a sensible messaging frequency, always include a way for customers to unsubscribe, and set up systems to ensure quick responses to customer inquiries.

What are inbound text messages in the context of two-way SMS marketing?

Inbound text messages refer to customer messages received in response to a two-way SMS marketing campaign.

Unlike outbound text messaging, which initiates a conversation or delivers information, inbound messages come from customers engaging with the content. It may be asking questions or providing feedback directly to the company through SMS. Textellent provides free incoming messages. 

Can my customer support team handle complex queries through SMS?

Yes, two-way SMS can be used to address both simple and complex customer inquiries. While basic questions can be handled through automated responses, your customer support team can easily step in for more complicated issues.