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Business SMS

News, tips & advice from FastSMS

Business SMS messaging is fast becoming an indispensable business tool for a number of applications across most business sectors. This blog category pulls together posts that illustrate this variety of uses.

SMS Marketing:

SMS marketing can be based on inbound campaigns or outbound campaigns or a combination of the two. Inbound campaigns are mainly intended to obtain opted in mobile numbers to be addressed in outbound campaigns. To persuade people to opt in a reward is usually offered – “text GIFT to 87007 for free gift” or “text VOTE plus your selection to 87007” or “text SUBSCRIBE to 87007 for latest news”. You can also buy opted in lists but building your own will almost always bring better results. Outbound campaigns can be used to send special offers, new product details, event invites or tips and hints.

Transactional Messaging

Another very common use for Business SMS is confirmation of transactions. So a customer can be sent SMS updates at each stage of a sale. Order received – order despatched – delivery Tuesday – delivery today between 11:25 and 12:15. How comforting it can be to get these confirmations especially if the customer is a bit nervous about online ordering. And of course that also boosts the brand image and encourages repeat business.

These are just a couple of the many uses of SMS messaging for business. There’s a wealth of other ideas here.

The posts listed below also focus different aspects of how businesses can profit from SMS text messaging.

Posted on 14/05/2019
In Business SMS

The hesitation around using SMS for important business communications, has well and truly been lifted, the flood gates to better business communication has opened. Banks, Hospitals and even Governments are now all using SMS to communicate. Last year the US Government used SMS to test its Emergency Alert System, which alerts all US public about any possible National emergencies – for more info click here. In the early adoption of SMS as a business communication tool, businesses gained huge response rates and successes with marketing, promotions and offers. However there were reservations about sending more important information and tasks through SMS – this has now completely changed. SMS provides a communication tool that is instant, convenient and familiar to customers, meaning they respond and engage more with an SMS. Which in turn provides the businesses with an incredibly effective method of communication. So businesses are now actively looking to put more information and...

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Posted on 01/05/2019
In Business SMS, Mobile Marketing

Short codes and virtual mobile numbers are fantastic features that can help take your SMS customer communication to the next level. Both allow your customers to text and communicate with you but in different ways. Virtual Mobile Numbers A virtual mobile number or long code, is an 11 digit virtual mobile number that allows customers to reply to your text messages and also allows them to text and engage with you. This means that you can have two way conversations with your customers through text message. Great for customer support or allowing customers to reply to appointment reminders to confirm, cancel or change the date and time. An easy, quick and convenient way for customers to have conversations with your business. You can also promote this virtual number across your website and business material letting customers know that they can text you at any time. Short codes A short code is a specific chosen word by...

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Posted on 26/04/2019
In Business SMS, Financial Services

Every business can use SMS to enhance their business, and they have been doing exactly that for the past couple of decades, finding new and innovative ways to harness the power of business SMS. However one sector in particular that is now really getting onboard with business SMS, is the financial sector. We are now not only getting more familiar with an SMS business experience, but we are starting to expect it. The convenience, speed and familiarity of SMS, means that it is fast becoming customers preferred choice of communicating. Nothing represents this more, than the adoption of this communication method by the financial services sector. When it comes to our money and more serious matters, we are rightly more cautious. But SMS is enabling the financial sector to engage with its customers in a secure digital environment that benefits all parties. Paper based communication can be expensive and ineffective, where with the...

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Posted on 03/04/2019
In Business SMS, Customer Experience

Businesses often get lost in the race to try and get new customers, spending massive amounts of money and resources on beating their competition into getting as many leads as possible. In fact, 44% of companies have a greater focus on customer acquisition, compared to only 18% that focus on customer retention (Source: SmartInsights). Which leads to our first however, did you know it costs five times as much to attract a new customer, than to keep and existing one? (Source: Econsultancy)  New customers are great, but businesses can be blinded by them, and start to neglect their existing customers, when actually, customer retention is imperative to any and every business for it to be able to build and grow. Harvard Business School research suggests, that by increasing your retention rates by just 5%, you will increase your profits by 25%.  So by focusing on customer retention you can actually accelerate your business...

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Posted on 26/03/2019
In Business SMS, Mobile Marketing

The sun is shining and the spirits are high, we can almost taste the Summer season as Spring is now shining in all its beautiful glory.  To add an even bigger spring in your step, we thought we would run a quick Flash Sale to finish off the month of March. So whether you have a pressing campaign to send or want to stock up on some free credits – now is the time to purchase some more credits. Our Flash Sale SMS Offer Any purchase over 1,000 credits will receive an extra 10% free SMS credits! The offer can be used multiple times but cannot be used with any existing offer or discount SMS credit price.  Our offer ends on the 31st March, so make sure you take full advantage of our free credits offer. Business SMS is now being used in more ways than ever, with its incredible open rate of 98%, it...

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