Background: SMS stands for ‘short service message’ and it gained popularity in the late 90s. For businesses, communicating with customers via SMS can be extremely helpful in driving sales and building better customer relationships. In her previous article, Sharol Monteiro explained measures to ensure Tally data security. Here she lists out the advantages of SMS to communicate with customers.

Messaging your customers is one of the best ways to connect with your customers. Today customers are generally not brand loyal; they are ready to switch at the smallest of discomfort. This is because there are numerous substitute vendors out there in the marketplace. The only way you can keep your customers hooked is by building a relationship based on trust.

Keep your customers informed. Inform them about the best offers available, send them a message as soon as a payment is made by them, wish them on their special days etc. 

For instance, for a customer, every grocery shop is the same but still, every customer has a preference. This preference is not because of the discounts that the shopkeeper offers but because of the relation or trust that the customer has with the shopkeeper.

How do you build trust? Keep your customers informed!

Inform them about the best offers available, send them a message as soon as a payment is made by them, wish them on their special days etc. This will make them feel valued.

Also read: Customer Service: How important is it for a startup?

So, let's start with the 6 reasons you should be sending SMS to your customers.

1. Trust

An excellent service is a no-brainer but other than that there must be some additional service to differentiate you from your competitors. You can send a payment receipt through SMS to your customer as soon as a payment is received. This will build trust and improve your company's image in the minds of the customer. A receipt in the form of a message is a digital and instant proof of a transaction.

2. Track an order

Ever ordered from Amazon? They provide timely updates about where your shipment has reached. Isn't that amazing?

Who wouldn't want to track their order after payment or even after placing an order! Also, it keeps your brand continuously in the mind of the customer.

3. Brand image

Do what your competitor is not doing. Differentiate your brand to make it look more trustworthy and reliable. Retaining an old customer is 10 times cheaper than acquiring a new one. Sending an SMS is one unique way of retaining your existing customers.

Also read: How to build an evergreen brand

4. Special day wishes

Who doesn't like being wished on their special day? Sometimes it is good to care for a customer and flatter them with wishes on their birthday. When the customer feels special, they will want to purchase more from you.

5. Discounts

We all want a VIP treatment, don't we? Message your customer about the discount before others, this will make the customer feel valued.

For instance, here's a message template for a retail textile shop- "Hey [Carol], haven't seen you in a while…hope you're doing fine. We were missing you so here's the deal, buy two T-shirts and get 50% off on the second one. Offer valid only till 3rd Nov don't waste any more time and see you soon!"

This is a promotional message, but the message doesn't come across as a pushy promotional message because here the sender values their customer and the customer feels special for being remembered and given a discount offer.

6. Quick and convenient

These days, nobody wants to be stuck on a phone call talking to a customer service executive. We have too many important things to do we cannot even commit 5 minutes of our time for something that can be received in the form of a text message. This is not to say sales calls are a waste of time but honestly, not everybody likes being called; sometimes a message can do the needful. Messages are quick, short, meaningful and saves a lot of time!

Considering these six reasons, we have developed a plugin for Tally, SMS module which will enable you to send instant messages to your customers as soon as you pass an entry in your Tally software. Connect with us for more details.

Also read: Win them with your product, keep them with your service: 4 case studies

Image source: freepik.com

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