Customers want fast, convenient, and personalized customer service from businesses. Text messaging ticks all those boxes and then some. Because of this, texting is a go-to channel for businesses looking to provide quick and reliable customer service.
But why and how exactly do you use texting for customer service?
Before diving into specific ways businesses use text messaging to enhance their customer service experience, take a look at some of the benefits of using text messaging as well as some best practices.
Convenience and Accessibility
Unlike phone or email support, customers can send and receive text messages at any time, from anywhere. Even if a customer is on the go without access to a computer, they easily receive updates, ask questions, or provide feedback through texting.
Real-time communication through text messaging helps reduce wait times and increases overall customer satisfaction. Although you can send texts at any time to your customers, still respect customers’ time. Stick to sending messages during normal business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., unless you need to respond to a customer because they expect a reply ASAP.
Personalization and Customer Engagement
ext messages enable you to make your conversations with customers more personal and engaging. Use customer data to address customers by name, provide tailored recommendations, and even send personalized promotions or discounts.
Customers feel appreciated and valued when they receive personalized messages, which leads to increased engagement/replies, positive reviews, and repeat business.
Efficiency and Cost-effectiveness
Text messaging is also a more efficient and cost-effective way to provide customer support. Instead of dedicating your support team to time-consuming phone calls or emails, use SMS automations to respond to frequently asked questions or provide basic information. Ultimately, texting is a more scalable way of providing customer service.
For small businesses with a small customer support team, text customer support is essential if you want to keep up with support requests. All customer support interactions are visible in one place, allowing your customer support team to engage with multiple conversations at once. This helps them take advantage of any down time between customer support messages.
The easiest way to add a text messaging customer service is a “text us” widget on your site. Skipio’s Web2Txt goes on any page of your site and gives people a way to text you directly. You reply and the messages go right to the person’s phone.
While texting shouldn’t completely replace email and phone customer service, incorporating texting into your support plan increases efficiency and provides better service at a lower cost, if only because it’s much faster.
Best Practices for Using Text Messaging for Customer Service
To effectively use text messaging for customer service:
- Obtain consent from customers before sending them SMS messages
- Provide clear instructions for opting out of SMS messages (and honor the request immediately if someone replies STOP)
- Keep messages short and concise
- Include a question or call-to-action in each message
- Respond quickly to customer inquiries
- Use automation for follow-ups and frequently asked questions
- Clearly communicate hours of availability
- Move certain conversations off texting to email, phone, or video chat
11 Specific Ways to Use Text Messaging for Customer Service
- Confirm appointments or deliveries
- Send order updates and tracking information
- Provide quick answers to frequently asked questions
- Send reminders for upcoming deadlines
- Reschedule appointments or deliveries
- Gather customer feedback through surveys or polls
- Handle customer inquiries and support requests
- Send personalized thank you messages after purchases
- Send reminders for subscription renewals or account updates
- Provide links for educational resources or how-to guides related to products or services
- Provide troubleshooting and technical support
By implementing these 11 tips, you can create a more personalized and efficient experience for your customers through SMS support, leading to increased satisfaction, loyalty, and, ultimately, business growth.
Increase Your Success
Whether it’s responding quickly to questions, sending appointment reminders, or asking for feedback, incorporating SMS into your customer service strategy will make a significant difference in the success of your business. Using texting for customer service helps your customer support team be more personal and more responsive to customers while also being able to handle more support requests.
Looking for an SMS customer service platform? Use Skipio to elevate your customer service. Skipio is specifically designed to help you communicate effectively and build customer relationships that matter.
