How to Improve Customer Retention with SMS Chat

SMS is one of the most direct channels to reach your customers, perfect for providing one-on-one, personalized treatment to your shoppers at their fingertips. It’s cost-effective and mighty powerful. 90% of SMS messages are read within three minutes of being sent, which makes them a straightforward and convenient way to actively engage with your customers at key points of their journey and avoid churn. 
 

Let’s look at what are some other advantages of text messages: 
 

• With a 98% open rate, you can rest assured that your message will be seen and read by your customer.
   
• Text messages have a 209% higher response rate than phone, email, or Facebook.
   
• Nearly 30% of customers will respond to your SMS messages, and nearly 50% of respondents will make a purchase.
   
• It is quick. The average person takes just 90 seconds to reply to an SMS. 

(Source)
 

In this article we will give you three examples of how to use SMSBump Chat to communicate with your customers so they are satisfied with their Shopify experience, feel valued and remain loyal to your brand. 

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Real-time Customer Support

SMS Chat gives you the opportunity to be at arm’s length when your customer needs you. Are they having some questions regarding their order? Did they receive the wrong size shoes or simply want to ask you if you have a certain item in stock?

Regardless, texting is the quickest way to have proactive, one-on-one conversations with your customers, send them fast responses and answer multiple queries, without taking forever to do so. Your customers will appreciate that you are there for them when they need you the most, armed and ready with all the answers.

On top of being one of the fastest means of communication, SMS chat is one of the easiest and it comes as the most natural way for most people nowadays. With the increased usage of mobile devices in general, it only makes sense to communicate with customers using a mobile-first channel like SMS.  

SMS communication is a win-win for both customers and support agents, as it also allows them to juggle multiple conversations at once, eliminating the need to put either side on hold.

Fast, easy and convenient SMS real-time support is one of the key ways to delight your customers, get them to continuously engage with your brand, and keep them coming back.

Bonus tip: For an even more consistent and quick customer support, you can connect SMSBump with your Zendesk, Gorgias or Re:amaze helpdesk system and keep a constant eye on your SMS Chat even if you’re not currently in the SMSBump app. Each time a customer replies to any of your messages, it will also appear in your support system in the form of a new ticket, guaranteeing you will never accidentally miss a message. 
 

Personalized Customer Service 

Shoppers nowadays are constantly looking for tailored offers and experiences from the brands the interact with. This is just as true for the service they receive. Personalized service on a consistent basis sets a standard of care that your customers appreciate and can set your Shopify store apart from its competitors. Some 66 percent of shoppers believe customer service is the biggest spending motivator, and a great 86% of buyers are willing to pay more if provided with seamless customer experience.

And this is where the SMS chat comes in. With the detailed Customer profile you have at your disposal, you get a complete picture of who's standing on the other side of the conversation, providing you with all the necessary information to “put a face to the name”, such as your customer’s name, address, number of orders, total amount spent at your store etc. 

This functionality can help your brand and your support agents decide what approach to take with different customers, based on their history with the store, preferences etc., giving them a more personalized experience and the feeling that they are, in fact, speaking with a living, breathing human being. 
 

SMS Chat as a Way to Follow up for Feedback

Feedback and continuous improvement are invaluable to a successful eCommerce strategy. Gathering customer reviews could be quite overwhelming, though, especially when trying to get the opinion of a disgruntled shopper. But don’t forget - negative reviews are just as important as the ones coming from happy customers! 

Asking for feedback is one of the ways to either win back or earn your customer’s loyalty. Actually, 97% of customers say that they are more likely to be loyal to a company that implements their feedback. And loyalty, more often than not, means increased customer lifetime value.

One of the ways to ask your customers for feedback is by setting up an Order delivered feedback automation. Send a friendly message asking your customer for feedback on their order. Let them know that they can reach out if they have any questions or comments by simply replying to the text message. Their response will appear in your SMSBump Chat section, ready for you to answer. 
 

Example: 

Hey, {BillingFirstName}. This is Joe, owner of {StoreName}. Just wanted to personally reach out and ask how you like your recent order? If you have any questions or comments, we are always available at XXX XXX XXXX. Reply STOP to opt out.



Pro tip: Always remember to show your gratitude to those who respond to your invitation to share their thoughts! Offer them a small discount or free shipping with their next order just to let them know how much you value their feedback.

SMS chat could also be a way to follow up with your customers, especially ones who have experienced some issues, and is of great importance both to you as a business and your customers. In fact, whole 56% of customers complain about poor follow-up.

Say you just helped a customer resolve an issue with their order. Wait until they receive their shipment and fire off a text, asking them for quick feedback - how do they like it, is everything alright with the order etc.

Within the context of these follow-up conversations, you can even upsell by recommending products that match your customer’s unique needs, similar to the experience at physical stores. 
 

To Wrap it Up… 

SMS truly has the potential to become one of the go-to ways to gain your customer’s trust and loyalty with personalized one-on-one conversations. With a 90-second response time and a 200+% greater response rate than other marketing channels, SMS has positioned itself on the customer happiness landscape and is here to stay! 

So don’t waste any more time! Start building your game-changing SMS customer support today!