A recent study shows that over 90% of people own mobile phones worldwide. This makes phone calls and text messaging the fastest means to communicate with people, regardless of location.

For a business enterprise, a sample text message is a smart way to utilize this rapid and effective means of communication to reach a larger audience, boost sales, and bridge the gap between customers.

What Is Text Message Automation and How Does It Work?

Writing SMS text messages is easy when it is for a friend. But for the corporate business world, it is a different story entirely. Marketing SMS texts are not only a lot of work, but they are also time-consuming too. This is due to a large number of recipients. So it is wise to use a text message automation system for sending SMS messages.

Text message automation is the process by which bulk SMS messages are sent using a scheduled trigger rather than manual means. The system is programmed to send a pre-written text message to clients based on specific criteria set up in advance.

You only need to set up according to real-life scenarios you’re sure to encounter in the business. This way, you can track and attend to all clients with one simple, streamlined process. The good thing is you can change the criteria or add a new one at any time. Everything is based on your commands!

Advantages of Using Automated Text Message Templates

The benefits of using an automated text message to keep in contact with your clients cannot be over-emphasized. Here are some of the advantages you get from using automated text message templates.

Time Advantage

If you are to send each SMS sample the traditional way (manually), you’ll spend a whole lot of time. Time is one limited resource, especially for businesses, as there are usually lots of tasks to be completed. Automated text message templates help you save much-needed time.

Reduced Stress

As a business entrepreneur or employee, there’s no escaping from stress because you must always be on your feet. However, automated text message templates help eradicate the stress of sending messages and replying to customers one after the other.

Customers Satisfaction

One thing that displeases customers is the delay in feedback. With automated SMS templates, you can ensure that your customers get prompt and professional replies at all times.

Effective Marketing

What better way to launch clever marketing campaigns than through an SMS strategy? You can notify old customers of new services and products. You can also send constant and fun reminders of discounts and promos the company has to offer at each point in time.

Increased Participation

You will surely receive more customer feedback when you use automated text message templates. In fact, recent research has shown that 9 out of every 10 customers prefer to communicate with businesses through text messaging since it is more convenient and fast.

Reduced Cost

You can always market new products and get customers’ feedback through text message templates for free. You get to save a lot of costs which you would have otherwise incurred in customer care and advert flyers.

How Can Automated Text Messages Help to Improve the Business?

Automation is the one thing every business can do to save time and money. Eliminating manual labor and relegating the business load to an automation tool can speed up mundane tasks and free your employees to focus on more critical tasks. Here are some of the ways automated text messages can improve your business.

Strong Customer Care and Relationships

An automated text message helps you reach out to customers anytime. Since it is a more personal means of communication, it helps you to build stronger relationships with your clients. An appointment reminder will come across to a prospective client as a trait of good customer service. This will make the customer comfortable enough to keep up with the brand.

Also, automated texts help you attend to customers promptly. These days nobody likes to be kept waiting. With automated SMS responses, you can address any issue a customer may encounter immediately.

Higher Customer Retention Rates

Automated SMS allows for good customer care, a sure way to retain your customers. It will cement customers’ trust in you and prevent them from seeking other brands. A few crucial pieces of automated texts like an appointment reminder template ensure customers are always aware of the company’s readiness to please customers. Hence, customers will be more loyal.

Boost in Sales

Customers who are satisfied with your service and customer care tend to return. This will not only help you retain your customers, but it will also generate more sales. Personalized SMS templates like the appointment following reminder message sample help increase sales by encouraging customers to continue their transactions. There sure is to be more sales when all customers complete their transactions.

Let’s not forget that automated text messaging helps you reach a larger audience through bulk marketing campaigns and adverts. This translates to more sales in the long run.

A Higher Level of Productivity

Nothing slows productivity more than having to do monotonous, boring, and tedious tasks. More errors will occur, and less work will be accomplished. Text automation system helps you overcome these impediments and improve general productivity at work. Since your employees no longer have to sit through long hours of sorting emails, they’ll be able to direct their time and energy to productive tasks.

How to Set Up SMS Auto Responses for Business?

The main idea of a text message automation system is to improve communication between you and your clients. This includes prompt responses to their questions and messages.

Auto Responses is an essential component of SMS automation that helps you give immediate replies to your customers. When customers or prospective clients send you a message with a keyword, they get a reply instantly. This ensures their satisfaction and works well to opt people in for text messaging.

Here are the steps you need to follow to set up SMS auto-responses for your business.

Sign Up for an Automated Text Message Platform

The most important aspect is to find a robust messaging platform that can help you improve productivity. At Textback.ai, we provide absolute value for your money. Click here to see our pricing plans.

Upload Your List of Contacts

You cannot automate SMS responses without a contact list. While uploading, try to organize your contact info into columns. This way, each customer’s mobile phone number, First name, and last name are properly displayed and distinguished.

Create Separate Groups

Use different personalized text message templates for each group. Personalized messaging templates have proven to be more productive and engaging. You are also likely to receive more responses with a direct and personalized text message.

Set Up a Keyword for Your Automated Responses

Auto responses are usually elicited when a business number receives a message containing a certain keyword. It is therefore important to set up a keyword.

Once your business line receives a message with the keyword, it automatically opts the sender into receiving a notification text message. Ensure your chosen keyword is concise, popular, and displayed on your website or social networks.

Schedule for Sending

After completing all the steps listed above, you can now schedule messages for sending. Almost every automated SMS tool allows you to schedule messages. You can schedule the message for one time or repeatedly over time.

Do Statistics Prove the Benefits of Text Message Automation?

Yes, recent statistics prove that text message automation is indeed beneficial to a wide array of businesses. Here are some of the surveys and research conducted by different sources showing how SMS automation helps businesses.

  • A whopping 97% of American adults use mobile phones to communicate with people. Meanwhile, almost all Gen Z citizens own smartphones.
  • 88% of people who use mobile phones check their mobile phones within 30 minutes of waking up. This comes as no surprise, as mobile phone use has become so rampant that people even sleep with their phones.
  • About 69% of consumers confirmed that they preferred to be communicated via text messaging.
  • 91% of customers will like to sign up for text messaging and get SMS notifications from their favorite brands.
  • To cap it all, 96% of marketers agree that automated text message templates help improve business engagements.

Numbers don’t lie! And these statistics attest to the benefits of automated text messaging.

Use Cases of Automated SMS – Can They Be Used for All SMS Marketing Purposes?

You can use automated SMS for various marketing purposes like promotional offers, new product or service launches, and content sharing. Many business sectors now use automated SMS to streamline business operations and improve communication with their target audience.

One of the frontrunners in using automated SMS is financial institutions such as banks and credit services. These institutions use it to send customers texts to verify their login details or generate a one-time pin automatically.

Another prominent sector is the travel industry. Companies communicate with travelers on flight details and travel itineraries. Travelers can even track lost luggage and make hotel reservations with just a tap on a tracking link.

Even the health sector is not left out. They have begun to leverage the swiftness of text messaging to save lives and attend to medical emergencies. Sending appointment reminders and schedule changes has become the norm in many hospitals and clinics.

How to Make Sure My Clients Do Not Ignore Auto Replies?

It is one thing to send messages to clients using automated SMS templates, and it is another thing to optimize outbound messaging communications. The text templates will not serve their purposes if the right strategies are not used.

The following sentences are great SMS template takeaways. Remember them no matter the SMS text template you use.

  • The best way to ensure your clients don’t ignore your auto-replies is to use compelling CTAs(Call-to-Action). Your texts should be concise yet detailed and captivating.
  • Include links for clients to reach your service directly. A few shortcuts and a tracking link template will go a long way to improve clients’ engagements.
  • You must maintain a courteous approach to clients. A professional but friendly tone should be used, whether it’s an appointment reminder, a thank you message, or an order confirmation message.
  • Entice customers with memorable keywords, vivid pictures, and clear, concise descriptions. For instance, cart reminder templates should include a product picture, while delivery notification templates should include related goods that the consumer may like.

Contact us for professional help to ensure your clients do not ignore your auto-replies. We offer the following text message templates.

  • Appointment reminder templates
  • Basic sample text messages
  • Delivery notification template
  • Delivery confirmation message sample
  • Confirmation templates
  • Follow-up messages
  • Marketing SMS template

Best SMS Templates for Common Automated SMS Messages with Examples

Templates are an important factor in SMS automation. The templates you use to send automated messages can either improve or ruin consumers’ perception of your business. So, you need to be careful with the kind of text templates you use for text message marketing. One of the best practices you can follow is to ensure they are brief but engaging.

Below are some of the best text message templates free with examples.

Marketing and Promotions Templates

They are used to promote sales and market new products and services. This is one of the most common ways to use a template in your SMS marketing strategy.

  • Thanks for being a loyal customer of [COMPANY-NAME]. We’ll like to offer you a gift on any order you make today.

Delivery Notification Template

Customers appreciate when they are given updates on the delivery of their purchases. You can even add a tracking link, like the notification text message example below.

  • Hi [FIRST-NAME], Successful delivery! You can follow this link to track your purchase [LINK].

Appointment Reminders

Send appointment reminders to your customers using an appointment reminder template. Below is one appointment reminder example.

  • This is [COMPANY-NAME]. We look forward to your scheduled appointment on [DATE].

Abandoned Cart Reminder Template

Encourage customers to finish shopping by sending them an abandoned cart reminder.

Hello, [FIRST-NAME], your choices are amazing. Try to complete your shopping today to get your goods by [DATE].

Appointment Confirmation Template

When customers make appointments, send them a confirmation message to update your customers every step of the way.

Hi [FIRST-NAME], your appointment is confirmed for [TIME] [DATE]. Thanks for your patronage.

Order Confirmation Text Message

It is important to confirm that you have received a customer’s order. Below is an order confirmation example.

Hello [FIRST-NAME], your order has been received! Thank you for choosing us!

Pros and Cons of Automated Text Message Templates

Like every other communication channel, SMS texting has its cons. However, the pros of using SMS templates for communication and marketing in business are numerous and outweigh the cons.

Pros

  • Instant message delivery
  • High open rates
  • Affordable automated text templates
  • Extra cost savings for marketing and customer service
  • Higher probability of customer feedback
  • Ability to reach a wider audience
  • Applicable to be used by any type and size of business.
  • Convenient to use

Cons

  • You have to make your message short as the number of characters you can use for text messaging is low(160 characters).
  • SMS templates are usually too simple. They do not allow for extra files like pictures or videos. As a result, the information in an automated text message is sometimes insufficient.
  • Text messaging templates allow for little to no creativity. You cannot add colorful descriptions or graphics.

DO’s and DON’Ts of Using Automated Text Messages

Your messages represent your brand, so do well to abide by these guidelines when sending bulk SMS to clients.

Do’s

  • Do send marketing SMS messages sparingly. Too many promotional communications at a time might ruin your chances at future marketing communications.
  • Do include essential updates like appointment reminders, payment reminders, follow-up messages, abandoned cart reminder SMS, and order confirmation text messages. Your texts should help customers keep up with happenings in the firm.
  • Do give value in every message you send to consumers. Perhaps a discount code or a Black Friday SMS promotion. The key is to attract their attention with juicy offers.

Don’ts

  • Don’t schedule messages to customers or prospective clients at odd times to avoid alienating them.
  • Don’t use slang and informal language. Since it is an automatic message, you risk sending foul language to hundreds of customers.
  • Don’t spam your customers with the same templates. Try to diversify and keep it unique. The last you want is them to block you.

FAQ

Is it legal to send automated text messages?

Yes, sending an automated text message to a customer is legal. As long as the customer in question has opted to receive SMS notifications from your company.

Do automated text messages cost more?

Not at all! On the contrary, using an SMS template helps you save more. Automated texts are much more affordable than emails, flyers, and banners.

Are automated text messages recommended for all businesses?

Although texting was considered an informal communication method, it has proven to be the best platform for helping businesses reach out to their customers. Hence, it is recommended for all businesses.