Thinking Outside the Inbox With Business SMS: 7 Smart Ideas

People’s inboxes are oversaturated with work emails, marketing newsletters and other content. Using SMS for business is a powerful and versatile way to communicate directly with people. It can be used to send timely reminders, alerts and marketing discounts straight to people’s smartphones.

Here are seven smart ways to leverage SMS.

Why Businesses Are Turning to SMS

SMS is gaining momentum among businesses since it is more immediate, cutting through the overflow of inboxes and noise of other communication channels. Many professionals receive so many messages that one email can get lost in the volume. In 2024, 361.6 billion email messages were sent and received daily worldwide. This makes the channel harder for companies to use for marketing or internal communication.

On the other hand, SMS is short and accessible, which can increase the likelihood of opening and reading messages. Since people spend most of their time on their phones, business SMS also does well for personal and immediate communication.

1. Implement Smart Omnichannel Workflows

SMS can be a good addition to a business’s omnichannel strategy. This approach connects all sales and marketing channels into one strategy, whether in-person stores, social media, email or SMS. Each one is seamlessly connected for a smoother sales process and centralized data.

This is highly beneficial, as businesses can track brand engagement and interactions across channels. For example, SMS can be used for 24-hour follow-up after unsuccessful touchpoints, such as unopened emails. It’s also useful after a system event or a user action, such as reminders for abandoned carts or work deadlines.

2. Enhance Internal Team Communication

SMS is a great way to keep in touch with employees, especially when work requires them to be off-site. One of the key advantages of SMS is its ability to send urgent messages. This is especially crucial for alerts, such as bad weather warnings, building closures and other emergencies. Updates to safety protocol and reminders for work meetings, training and other events can also be sent out through SMS to ensure they are read.

SMS is a useful tool for instant shift scheduling and swaps, such as alerts for open spots or to facilitate shift swapping. This makes a complex process much more efficient for the manager.

3. Revolutionize Customer Service

Businesses can utilize SMS for streamlined customer service. It can send appointment and service reminders and reduce no-shows, and customers can easily reply by text to confirm or reschedule. Support agents can manage multiple conversations rather than deal with one phone call at a time. Some platforms can combine support tickets, such as one person sending both an email and a text inquiry, to keep interactions in a single system.

SMS can also support two-way conversations so people can send quick questions and clarifications. This allows businesses to nudge prospective customers along the sales funnel or enhance satisfaction among existing ones. The business becomes a reliable and friendly company to deal with. Besides SMS, companies can utilize apps and other technologies to streamline their processes.

4. Streamline Operations and Logistics

SMS can be a powerful tool for improving operational efficiency. One study found that 81% of consumers check their text notifications within five minutes of receipt, and nearly 30% do so in just 60 seconds. SMS improves the entire process for everyone, from drivers and warehouse staff to customers. Business partners are notified about shipment departures, arrivals and delays, freeing up time on manual check-ins and improving transparency. The proactive nature of SMS can help reduce customer service calls by providing continuous updates.

SMS can also be used for technician dispatch and coordination to inform them of job details and addresses. The technicians can use text replies to confirm job acceptance and completion. SMS can also be used to send alerts for license renewals and safety log completion.

5. Gather Instant Feedback and Data

SMS is also useful for gathering customer data. For example, a one-question text message is an effective way to collect information on service interactions since people can easily respond to it. Other approaches might yield lower response rates due to the extra steps required to reach the survey form or platform. Businesses can send out quick polls to segmented customer groups to measure interest in a new product line or service.

Additionally, direct marketing opt-ins through SMS are essential as regulations on third-party cookies change. In-depth customer profiles can be built from personalized and relevant interactions in SMS while still respecting privacy.

6. Secure and Simplify Access

SMS is important for ensuring verified transactions with security features such as multifactor authentication, one-time passwords, notifications and passwordless log-in. These methods provide hassle-free digital access to products or services. This is exceedingly important as businesses grow and operate across different regions and time zones.

Aside from security, critical information can be delivered instantly to people from a single platform. Multilingual messaging can send automated updates in someone’s preferred language, better aligning with their communication preferences. Another SMS service can send QR or temporary access codes so customers can join events.

7. Personalize the Customer Journey

SMS is a personal way to communicate with customers. Employees don’t have to spend so much time and energy on personalizing interactions, as SMS messaging can be easily automated while remaining highly effective. For example, SMS can be sent at the most relevant times, such as when a package arrives or when a registration confirmation is sent. Automation enables companies to scale their messaging among different people and parts of the processes. A single workflow can execute so many interactions while still remaining personalized and immediate.

SMS hyperpersonalization goes beyond naming the recipient. Businesses can use it to tailor messaging to consumer behavior and connect the customer relationship management database information to the messaging.

This is best illustrated by appointment reminders. A client sees all the necessary details in the text they receive, from the appointment time and location to instructions and the provider’s name. Other examples of data businesses can use when personalizing include browsing history, local weather, past purchases, physical store offers and date of last purchase.

Getting Started With Business SMS Strategy

SMS is a versatile tool businesses can use to enhance communication. The key to its success lies in an engaged subscriber list and a reliable platform. The right time is also crucial in messages that convert. By utilizing SMS well, companies can cut through the noise and deliver urgent and high-value messages that drive results.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash