Johannesburg, 03 Aug 2022
When it comes down to it, there are basically two ways to keep a customer: offer prices that are impossible to refuse and maintain exceptional service. Incidentally, those are also the two key reasons that businesses across all sectors lose customers.
User experience has been touted as a critical business differentiator in today’s world. Your customers don’t want to wait, they don’t want to “hold”, and they want to be treated as an individual. In fact, numerous studies have shown that people are willing to pay more for a product in exchange for excellent service.
We can’t speak to your pricing model – that’s an internal issue. But there are some simple and viable ways to create and maintain an amazing user experience, which prevents your customers from shopping around when you’re looking the other way.
Yes, we’re talking about international SMS – an often overlooked technology that is quietly growing and sustaining businesses across the globe.
Industry-specific international SMS application
Business headaches vary from one industry to another, so we’re taking a look at just two spaces where implementing international SMS communication can solve even the trickiest of business challenges.
Logistics operations can often feel like herding a group of delinquent cats. There are so many moving parts to consider and not all of them know how to co-operate with each other. The timing needs to be precise to successfully get a product from a supplier to a busy customer, all while checking off numerous administrative tasks.
Consider some of the practical applications of SMS in your business:
- Send and receive real-time delivery updates;
- Allow driver/customer communication for rescheduling;
- Avoid unnecessary trips with clear, instant messages;
- Allow customers to track orders by providing a direct link in their SMS;
- Make use of an API to automate messages at each delivery stage;
- Capture relevant customer information for enhanced service; and
- Compose and schedule messages with your team and customers.
Yes, solving the ever-present problems of multiple deliveries and unnecessary trips will certainly serve as both a time and cost-saving, while keeping your valuable customers happy.
Financial services are, without a doubt, one of the most fiercely competitive business spaces.
Personalised care, immediate responses and next-level service are the expected minimum in this arena. Customers, especially those with means, have very little tolerance for ineptitude and red tape. Today’s tech has made it a simple thing to switch to another service provider who will be more than happy to snatch away your hard-earned customers.
How can the humble SMS contribute to this massive, fluid and fickle industry?
Here are just a few ways that smart businesses in the financial sector are making text messaging work:
- Send time-sensitive alerts and warnings;
- Regular communication of limits and transactions;
- Send secure documentation via personalised links;
- A user-friendly platform for promotions and limited offers;
- Respond to customer requests on balances or pending debits;
- Automated payment reminders; and
- Integrate SMS with various CRM software for enhanced service.
As we are acutely aware, the financial world is shrinking and your customers may not be local residents anymore. With the rise of remote working and the constant shifting of populations due to economic and political reasons, communication channels, too, are changing.
It’s an exciting time for forward-thinking business owners. Technology has thrown open the doors to newer, faster ways of communicating with customers and it’s easier than ever to integrate these smart and efficient systems into your own operations.
However, don’t forget that international SMS remains a viable and practical way to stay in touch with your customer base. It provides simple systems that are easy to implement, familiar to your customers and incredibly cost-effective.
SMS communications provide:
- Cost-effective contact;
- Guaranteed message delivery without the need for data or internet access;
- Instant messaging for time-sensitive communication according to personalised time zones;
- Automated messaging via dedicated API; and
- Reduced carbon footprint by switching from printed communications to electronic media.
If you’d like to implement these undeniable benefits in your business, chat with the team at Cellfind. They will be able to guide you in the best way to get started with this valuable communication platform.
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