5 reasons why SMS can be the secret weapon of your business

In the age of Facebook and WhatsApp, a discussion about how SMS can help your business may seem like a joke. If in the early days of mobile telephony, SMS was a cheaper way to communicate than voice calls, today the Internet and dozens of messaging applications seem to be taking advantage of offline communication technologies. Is that so?

5 reasons why SMS can be the secret weapon of your business

Here are some arguments that show that not only should you not give up SMS, but that you should (start) using it for the benefit of your business.

1. SMS is widely used. The number of people using their mobile phone is still growing, which means that every new customer has a pre-installed application at hand: messaging. For some users, this is also the only one used because: they got used to it, they don't have the technical skills to install another one, they don't have uninterrupted internet access or they have the advantage that their phone subscription includes unlimited SMS .
2. A very high viewing and response rate. What we all know is that almost everyone sees the text messages they receive almost instantly. What we may not know, but statistics tell us, is that more than half of users respond within the first 5 minutes after receiving a text message. So we can say that this channel is not only effective but also very effective
3. Possibility of automation and customisation. Through applications like Notify, the sender can choose who to send messages to, when and in what form. Thus, by choosing from a contact list, the right message is sent to the right customer. Then, by scheduling the time the message is sent, we make sure that our action takes place at the most favorable time. Last but not least, by personalising the SMS with, say, the name of the recipient, we deepen the personal nature of the relationship with the client.
4. Possibility of integration in online platforms. The basic expectation of a buyer is to be kept up to date with the processing of his order. This wish is fulfilled through technologies (plugins and APIs) that link sites / applications to the messaging application, sending an SMS at each step of the purchase process. At the other end of the relationship, the bidder is released from the care of repetitive communication through a secure and reliable procedure.
5. Data monitoring. With the help of third-party applications that are created to help entrepreneurs, statistics can be measured and tracked as delivery rates, opening, response. In the case of Notify customers, we have integrated in the web application interface a series of graphs that show the relevant data for the business they run.

In short, SMS is a channel that is largely ignored in business due in large part to the impression that it is a technology that is rarely used by customers. But when we look more closely at its advantages and possibilities, we realize that we can turn it into an effective help in trying to reach customers who want fast, universal and reliable communication.