Transactional SMS: The Beginner's Guide

Customers during the sales journey want to know what they’ve paid for is on its way and will be delivered as intended. eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento and Zoho can be made even more powerful by integrating transactional SMS into the mix.

Web-based SMS solutions are more accessible than ever and easy to install into your existing suite of sales or marketing software. Considered best practice across many industries and business operations, use SMS functionality for:

• Customer relationship management and automation
• Data privacy and cybersecurity
• Customer service and support
• Order confirmations
• Delivery updates

Transactional SMS can streamline and boost your communications efforts with minimal cost and seamless integration.

What is Transactional SMS?

Transactional SMS is an effective communications channel that allows your customers to interact with your brand or company using SMS messages. The transactional element is based on how it provides value to your customer. This could be information about shipping, for example.

Transactional SMS is an automated system designed to reduce manual intervention and increase customer satisfaction and service.

Transactional SMS in practice

Transactional SMS works by integrating it into your existing CRM or sales software such as HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, and other leading providers. This is achieved using an SMS API key.

A Transactional SMS is sent according to predefined actions. For instance, when an ordered item is out for delivery, the software triggers an SMS sent to the customer.

Transactional SMS is an automated communications system much like EDM. Templates can be customised on a per-user basis with personal details, order numbers, query tickets, and other unique identifiers.

How your eCommerce business can use transactional SMS

Your eCommerce business can use transactional SMS to improve customer service, handle queries, and increase security.

Transactional SMS can be sent upon sign-up to your platform as a welcome message, giving customers a convenient alternative interaction channel.

Your platform can also send out order confirmations and shipping updates to customers as they happen. This can alleviate anxieties around payments and build anticipation for the arrival of an online order.

Transactional SMS helps confirm bookings and send appointment reminders using automated workflows. The convenience of two-way SMS allows customers to simply change or cancel their booking with a quick YES or NO reply. As a result, the business can stay on top of a busy schedule and prevent no-shows.

Facilitating additional online security is an invaluable advantage of transactional SMS. Customers can use it to produce one-time passwords for two-factor authentication (also known as 2FA).

One-Time Passwords can verify sign-ins and payments, especially with a highly effective OTP API that generates unique SMS passcodes to meet requirements. This second layer of cybersecurity also highlights an attempt to breach security in real-time with fraud detection alerts.

The many advantages of transactional SMS

The most significant advantage of transactional SMS is that it’s fast and convenient. Nine out of ten adults always keep their phones on them, with an SMS being read within seconds on average.

SMS has a far superior open rate compared with email – 98% compared with a 25% benchmark for retail, according to HubSpot. This is primarily due to spam and junk mail hampering the effectiveness of email as a transactional channel. Worse yet is the prevalence of “phishing” and other malicious emails that have further eroded user trust.

SMS is sent directly to a user’s handset; email may not be pushed to phones in real-time, depending on user preference and notification settings.

On the business side, transactional SMS is easy to integrate within your existing CRM dashboards and software using API keys. You’ll be able to create custom triggers and refine your automation with the help of analytics data.

SMS is a low-cost alternative with a high return on investment through improved customer service and satisfaction.

What to consider with transactional SMS

Transactional SMS is fast becoming the standard for customer service, handling customer queries, and improving customer security in the broader marketplace.

SMS automation and ease of integration with eCommerce platforms streamline your ongoing marketing and engagement efforts for minimal cost and notable return.

To enhance your offering by harnessing the power of Transactional SMS, talk to our friendly team on 1300 883 400 or start your journey here at smsglobal.com.