Methods to Use Textual content Messaging for Buyer Service in 2026

Enterprise textual content messages construct belief with prospects. Whether or not it’s an order replace or an appointment affirmation, texts instantly make prospects really feel cared for.

Many customer support groups use textual content messages alongside e mail and voice channels for buyer communication. Nevertheless, all too usually, textual content messaging is uncared for — or worse, misused as a spam channel.

This information explains why textual content messaging is so efficient in customer support (and never simply gross sales), methods to use it optimally, and methods to keep away from frequent errors that annoy prospects.

P.S. In case your wants relate to omnichannel assist, leap straight to 👉 how textual content messaging matches into an omnichannel technique.

Why Textual content Messaging Works for Buyer Service

Textual content messaging works as a result of it’s frictionless. SMS, as a communication channel, isn’t affected by technical or user-related points. For instance, prospects don’t require an energetic web connection to achieve you.

Texting isn’t new to prospects; it’s been of their lives since their first cellular phone. It aligns completely with how they already talk of their private lives, lowering friction from logging into portals or ready on maintain.

Texting presents a possibility to register an replace, reminder, or request in a buyer’s consciousness with out being intrusive. An automatic voice name disrupts a buyer’s day; a textual content message waits patiently for them to open it.

Why enterprise texting outperforms different channels:

• Visibility: Texts have a excessive open fee. Prospects see messages rapidly and infrequently ignore them.
• Comfort: Prospects can reply on their very own schedule with out being caught on a name.
• Effectivity: From an agent’s perspective, it permits your group to handle a number of conversations without delay, in contrast to a cellphone name the place they’re tied to 1 individual.

Core Methods to Use Textual content Messaging for Buyer Service

Textual content messaging is a dependable solution to inform prospects, eliminating the necessity for them to name, depart a voicemail, or wait on maintain to talk to a customer support consultant. Companies generally use texting for the next customer support conditions.

Order and supply updates

Textual content messaging permits you to be each reactive and proactive. For instance, when a buyer locations an order, they’ll obtain an order affirmation through textual content. In addition they recognize transport notifications as soon as their order is on its manner.

Within the occasion of delays or modifications to the order, companies can talk this proactively to take care of buyer belief and encourage endurance till the ultimate supply date.

The advantages: Textual content messages result in fewer incoming calls and, most significantly, much less buyer uncertainty. You construct belief by offering clear updates on order standing.

Appointment scheduling and reminders

Prospects solely provide you with as a lot consideration as you give them. Appointment reminders and confirmations are one solution to present consideration.

Sending these reminders through SMS achieves the next:

• The probability of no-shows decreases.
• Prospects can simply reschedule their appointments and deliberate actions.
• Buyer satisfaction will increase as a result of rescheduling is easier and fewer time-consuming.

Two-way assist for fast questions

All buyer inquiries are implicitly accompanied by the expectation of a fast response. If an worker makes an attempt to reply each inquiry in a single name, it inevitably results in exhaustion.

A textual content messaging channel relieves the burden on staff and allows automation. Utilizing FAQs and inner data bases, interactive, two-way textual content messaging bots can reply easy inquiries about opening hours, availability, or affirmation of service space.

This frees staff from dealing with easy inquiries and primary troubleshooting to allow them to deal with resolving essential points. Prospects profit from sooner drawback decision, and name quantity and worker workload are diminished.

Automated FAQs utilizing key phrases

Some companies encourage their prospects to make use of self-service through textual content message, akin to:

Ship “OPENING HOURS” for opening hours, “STATUS” for order updates, or “ADDRESS” for instructions.

This fashion, prospects obtain fast and dependable solutions, and assist reps profit from a diminished workload.

Cost reminders and billing updates

Repeated cost reminders might be disagreeable. On the cellphone, this will sound pushy and harm buyer relationships. Automated SMS advertising reminders show you how to shift this accountability to your messaging system and message templates, avoiding awkward conversations. For instance, you’ll be able to recurrently ship cost reminders for bank card payments.

This retains the shopper relationship intact and encourages prospects to settle excellent or failed funds rapidly. Utilizing textual content messaging for customer support not solely improves buyer satisfaction but additionally ensures buyer care stays uninterrupted.

Put up-interaction follow-ups

Comply with-up textual content messages assist shut the suggestions loop after service supply. Prospects can submit their satisfaction ranking at their leisure after receiving the textual content.

These follow-up texts provide you with extra knowledgeable buyer suggestions on service supply. In addition they information prospects by means of the subsequent steps and guarantee better readability, and the outcomes are mirrored in your buyer satisfaction or NPS scores. Ought to the issue persist, you’ll be able to comply with up with out having to attend till a buyer feels compelled to seek for another resolution on social media.

Suggestions and overview requests

Customer support through SMS permits you to discreetly collect suggestions and request opinions with out disrupting your prospects’ day by day routines. After efficiently resolving a problem, you’ll be able to, for instance, ask for a overview on Google or one other overview platform.

If the answer isn’t as anticipated, SMS can also be a dependable channel for acquiring confidential suggestions and addressing the issue earlier than it escalates.

The end result:

• You get essential insights on the proper time.
• You construct a stronger on-line fame and have the chance to implement suggestions for steady enchancment.

Proactive service notifications

A textual content message notification about deliberate upkeep informs and prepares prospects. They know they’re not the one ones affected and might preserve observe of the method. Proactive service notifications cut back incoming inquiries and calls to the on-call service group.

Greatest Practices for Buyer Service Texting

Textual content messages work in customer support as a result of they really feel private and respectful. But when they begin to seem intrusive or promotional, belief will probably be misplaced. These finest practices will show you how to use textual content messaging as a service channel, not as mass advertising:

• All the time acquire express consent: Prospects ought to conform to obtain your messages, whether or not through the cost course of, when reserving an appointment, or when opening an account. Consent protects privateness and ensures that prospects understand messages as welcome data, not an intrusion.
• Maintain messages quick: A textual content message ought to present solely vital particulars, not a prolonged clarification. Each message ought to comprise one piece of data or reply one query.
• Use a pleasant, private tone: Automated messages ought to sound genuine. Customized messages in easy language and with pleasant wording make prospects really feel valued and never processed by a system.
• Allow true two-way communication: SMS communication shouldn’t be one-sided. Prospects want to have the ability to reply, ask follow-up questions, and attain the fitting group. When replies result in concrete actions, it confirms that their message is being acquired.
• Talk the response time: Silence after a reply creates uncertainty. Inform prospects once they can anticipate a response, even with automated SMS messages.
• Make unsubscribing easy and clear: Prospects ought to all the time be in management. A easy and clearly seen unsubscribe possibility ensures transparency and builds belief. Keep away from sending too many advertising SMS campaigns.
• Keep away from mass texting: If customer support messages stay helpful and respectful, the channel maintains its credibility. Don’t overdo automation. All the time supply the choice to talk with a consultant and streamline the human handoff expertise.

How Textual content Messaging Suits Into an Omnichannel Technique

Textual content messaging in enterprise is only when it fulfills its meant function. It must be used alongside cellphone, e mail, chat, and social media — all linked by means of a unified buyer view.

It’s advisable to make use of textual content messaging when velocity and comfort are essential. Consider conditions the place that you must ship fast updates or confirmations. SMS reaches prospects wherever they’re and respects their time. It’s additionally effectively suited to fast follow-up questions, probably saving prospects from having to lift a assist ticket.

Nevertheless, in emotionally charged or advanced conditions, it’s advisable to contact the shopper by cellphone. For instance, in instances of billing disputes or service outages, human assist is important to totally clarify the issue and supply the absolute best resolution.

Textual content messages ought to simplify escalation and never pressure prospects to repeat themselves or seek for a cellphone quantity. If textual content messages are a part of an omnichannel customer support technique, you must align a number of points to attain the very best outcomes:

• Maintain the dialog seamless: Prospects shouldn’t need to retell their story simply because the channel has modified. Whether or not you begin with a textual content message after which communicate to the shopper on the cellphone or vice versa, your complete context should be preserved.
• Keep the context at each touchpoint: Context makes the distinction between “How can I show you how to?” and “I see your order is delayed, and also you already spoke with assist this morning.” Gaining access to earlier messages and approaches to decision permit your brokers to reply relevantly.

You want a unified inbox the place all channels converge. This provides your customer support reps a whole overview of latest communications, energetic channels, and actions already underway. You go from disengaged instruments to a unified buyer expertise.

Nextiva gives a unified CX platform that unites all channels and creates a constant buyer expertise. The VoIP-SMS platform integrates seamlessly with frequent CRM, CDP, and different enterprise techniques, becoming completely into your workflows.

Frequent Errors to Keep away from

Along with the very best practices already mentioned, listed below are some frequent errors you must keep away from when textual content messaging for customer support:

• ​​Utilizing private units: Forestall staff from utilizing their private cell telephones. This makes it tough to maintain observe of buyer interactions, and when staff depart the corporate, buyer historical past is misplaced.
• Sharing delicate knowledge: Textual content messaging isn’t safe sufficient for confidential data. By no means ask prospects to ship bank card numbers, passwords, or non-public well being data through SMS.
• Not resolving advanced points rapidly: SMS is meant for fast options. If a decision requires greater than three or 4 messages, it’s higher to name to keep away from frustration.
• Ignoring after-hours expectations: Prospects anticipate fast responses. In the event you haven’t arrange an automatic reply for evenings and weekends, prospects will really feel ignored in the event that they don’t hear again.

Try Nextiva’s resolution for enabling omnichannel CX.

Unify Your Messaging With Nextiva

Textual content messaging works for customer support as a result of it meets prospects the place they’re. It reduces effort, quickens decision, and offers groups a scalable solution to assist extra prospects with out extra stress.

One of the best ways to begin is easy. Select one workflow, like appointment reminders, and grasp it.

With Nextiva, textual content messaging isn’t remoted. It’s a part of a linked buyer expertise platform that unifies voice, SMS, and AI.

• Textual content from your corporation quantity: Maintain your private quantity non-public.
• Route conversations: Make sure the textual content lands with the fitting assist agent, not only a common inbox.
• Automate and escalate: Deal with frequent questions with AI, however let people take over immediately when wanted.

Prepared to begin texting your prospects the fitting manner? Strive Nextiva for customer support.