Best Practices For Transactional SMS That Marketing Experts Swear By 

Do you know that well-optimised transactional SMSes increase customer engagement with your brand? 

You might know that.  

But here’s something bigger. 

Transactional SMS can bring more traffic to your business website and boost sales. 

Wondering how? 

By following the best practices for transactional SMS. 

Top marketing experts shared with us some of the best practices for transactional SMS. 

This article will walk you through these best practices for transactional SMS. 

So that you can engage better with your customers and increase your web traffic and revenues. 

Let’s begin.

What are the benefits of transactional SMS?

Before we dive into the best practices of transactional SMS, there is one thing you need to know. 

In what ways can transactional SMSes benefit your business? 

Businesses keep their customers updated throughout the customer journey with transactional SMSes. 

Yes, transactional SMS does cut the need for printed receipts. But, hold on. There’s more to transactional SMS than just saving paper.

Give the section below a scroll to know more about it. 

Boosts engagement 

Don’t let your customers forget about you. 

Keep your customers engaged even after they are done making a purchase from your business. 

Keep them updated about their purchase – right from when they place their order to its delivery. This not only keeps them engaged but also improves their customer journey. 

That’s the power of transactional SMS. 

Creates brand loyalty

Customers love to hear from their favourite brands. 

You can use transactional SMS to let them know about your new product launch, discount offers, or free vouchers. Your customers love receiving them all. And in return, what do they give you? 

Brand loyalty. 

So next time your business offers a huge discount, make sure you share the news with your customers through transactional SMS. And see how they become your loyal customers. 

Provides 24/7 customer service

You share delivery and shipment updates with your customers via SMS round the clock. Then why not integrate automated responses in your transactional SMS for their common queries? 

Doing so, you provide 24/7 customer service to them with minimal effort. 

Also Read: 10 Free SMS Templates For Excellent Customer Service Experience

It’s convenient 

Transactional SMS is not only convenient and useful for businesses, but also for customers. SMS is the most preferred communication channel for customers. 

Want to make your customers’ lives easier? Then share with them essential updates on their preferred platform. 

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What are the best practices for transactional SMS? 

Do you wish to create a successful SMS strategy? 

Then here’s what you need to do.

It’s very simple. Implement these best practices for transactional SMS that marketing experts swear: 

1. Make your transactional SMS relational

Transactional SMS is not only about sending order confirmations, delivery updates, or OTPs to customers. So you should not stick to doing the bare minimum. 

But how do you do that? 

“Knowing your customers better helps you transform their experience from transactional to relational,” says Liz Wilson, Head of Marketing at Esendex. 

Wilson suggests asking yourself these five questions before approaching your customers: 

• Who is the recipient?
• Why do you need to get in touch?
• What channel should you choose?
• How should you express yourself?
• When should you send your message?

Combining all these aspects enable you to drive better outcomes for your business. It also helps you communicate better with your customers.

Here is an excellent example of turning your SMS from transactional to relational:

2. Link your branded tracking page in SMS

In the post-purchase journey, transactional SMS has 90-99% open rates and 50-75% click-through rates. 

What do these high open rates mean for your business? 

It makes your transactional SMS an effective way to drive customers back to your site after making a purchase.  

Blake Imperl, Head of Merchant Enablement at Wonderment, says adding branded tracking pages to transactional SMS is a best practice. 

“Branded tracking pages can drive revenue through transactional SMS,” says Imperl.  

“Transactional SMS can direct the customer back to your site through a branded order tracking link,” Imperl adds.  

When your customers arrive on your custom tracking page, provide them with helpful information. Here you can also cross-sell additional products and more. 

3. Ensure quick delivery of SMS

SMS is all about speed for retailers. 

Customers provide phone numbers so they don’t need to check their email for updates. That is why, always ensure your SMS delivers fast. 

Run tests with your service provider to ensure quick delivery of SMS to your customer.

Your customers should receive instant updates via SMS regarding their shipment or delivery.

4. Clearly communicate ways to contact 

Customers often need to contact a brand they purchased from. They turn to the last form of communication they received from you to see how they can contact you.

Always provide a click-through option in your transactional SMS messages to inform customers how they can reach you.

5. Make your SMS personalised 

You should personalise your transactional SMSes to make your messages stand out. Your customer will feel special and love your service or brand.  

Eric Even Haim, Founder and CEO of ReConvert, says, “You can make shipping transactional SMS more personal and get customers to return to your website.” 

Haim says, “You can do this by incentivizing customers with either coupons or call-to-actions to come back.”

Here’s an example of personalising your transactional SMS and getting your customer to return to your site:

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Send transactional SMS with SMSCountry

Implementing these best practices will get your website a big traffic boost. This will in return get you more sales. 

But to make your transactional SMS a success, your business needs a good bulk SMS provider. You can check out our guide on the best bulk SMS providers and best OTP SMS providers to pick the best one. 

Still unsure which one to choose? 

We recommend going for the trusty SMSCountry. SMSCountry provides premium features and fast SMS delivery at a great price. 
Contact our team for help with bulk sms or book a demo. You can sign up now and start your bulk SMS journey today with free SMS credits.