Did you know that 65.8% of adults in the U.S. now live in a home without a landline and use some form of cellular phone as their primary means of communication? Even a basic cellular phone plan includes some form of text messaging. 

In 2015, Chris Messina coined the term “conversational commerce” to describe the ability of customers to communicate with and buy directly from brands via messaging applications like text messaging. Even he could not have foreseen the popularity of SMS as a way to do this. 

SMS is ideal for customer retention because it can offer personalized shopping and customer service experiences. 

Here are three ways to use SMS text message marketing to improve customer retention:

1. Nail the welcome series
2. Get customer service right 
3. Extend your loyalty program to SMS

1. Nail the Welcome Series 

Will Rogers once said: “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression,” and this is especially true with a customer who has just opted in to receive SMS messages from your business. 

One of the easiest ways to retain customers is to treat them like a friend from the minute they engage with your business. A welcome series is a simple way to engage new customers, and to begin to build customer loyalty and retention. 

The Opt- In

Since the Telephone Consumer Protection Act states that before a business can communicate via SMS, that consumer must give express written consent. That means, if the customer has opted in, they want to hear from you. 

There are a number of ways to encourage customers to opt-in to receive SMS messages from you, including:

1. QR code or widget
2. A sign in a brick-and-mortar store or at the checkout
3. During a live chat on your website
4. A pop-up on your website
5. A call to action on a print ad, email or on your social media channels 

One of the most popular ways to encourage customers to sign up for SMS is by offering an incentive. Simple Texting found that 50% of respondents would be willing to share their information in exchange for special access to flash sales or special promotions. 

For more, read: What Opt-In Locations Are Effective for Building an SMS Marketing List

The Series

Here are some ideas for a welcome series of texts to your new subscribers: 

1. As soon as a customer opts-in, send a welcome message (make sure it reflects your brand) and offer a special welcome promotion as part of the welcome (or whatever was promised to them to opt-in). 
   
   
2. Follow up within a day if the customer hasn’t used the code, and include a link to popular products or top-rated customer favorites. Give a nudge to make sure to use the coupon.
   
   
3. If the coupon has an expiration date, send another reminder with an added incentive such as free shipping. 

2. Get Customer Service Right

Have you ever wandered around a store looking for a person to answer a question, before giving up and leaving without making the purchase? 

Eighty-nine percent of customers have begun shopping at a competitor after a bad customer service experience.

There are ways you can assist your customer, build loyalty and get the customer service thing right via SMS. 

This is done through two types of customer service: 

1. Proactive
2. Reactive

Proactive Customer Service via SMS

Proactive customer service is anticipating the customers’ needs and meeting them before they realize they need assistance. 

Recommendations

Consider this scenario: A person just bought an eye shadow palette, you can send an SMS message including a video demonstrating how to create a daytime look, smoky eye or glamorous look. 

You can also suggest other products that customers who bought that eye shadow also purchased, such as eyeliner, mascara or eyelashes. 

The next time any of those products goes on sale, you can send a message, and add a VIP discount code. If the customer browses for other products, send a message when they go on sale, are in danger of selling out or are restocked. 

Routine Transactions

Proactive customer service can also be something as simple as sending updates about a transaction, when an order has shipped, providing the tracking number without the customer needing to request it, or creating an account to check order status. 

Returns

A returned purchase is also a great way to interact and learn more about your customer and their preferences. 

A “Hey, sorry you weren’t happy with your purchase … can I help you choose something different”? can turn the customer’s dissatisfaction into a new purchase, especially if you suggest accessories or other items that go with the new choices.

Re-Engagement

Touch base with customers who haven’t shopped in your business for a while. Ask them if they need assistance, and offer an incentive such as free shipping or a VIP coupon, and include information about new products similar to their purchase or browsing history. 

Reactive Customer Service via SMS

Messaging chatbots can answer queries 24/7/365. However, even the best chatbots have their limitations, and some circumstances require a live agent. 

Live agents can help with customer service in the following ways:  

• Any time a customer asks to speak to a person. The transfer from chatbot to person can be seamless and immediate. With the right platform, the agent should have complete access to the SMS history so they can quickly determine how to assist.
  
  
• A dissatisfied customer. Empathy, discretion and a one-off solution can go a long way towards soothing a dissatisfied customer to improve retention.  
  
  
• Someone who wants to cancel a subscription. A live agent can offer a different subscription option, customize a payment schedule, skip a box without penalty or add a gift or other incentive to entice the customer to stay. 

A chatbot will always be the first line of defense and assistance, but sometimes people are needed to seal the deal.

3. Extend your Loyalty Program to SMS

Loyalty programs are a great way to retain customers. Consider the following, courtesy of Truelist:

• The average consumer has 14.8 loyalty cards
• The loyalty market is expected to be valued around $6.96 billion by 2025
• Loyal customers are 70% more likely to click through from an ad and make a purchase
• The average loyal client will fork out $699 throughout the year while the standard client will spend only $275

… You get the idea. A loyalty program is a simple way to build client retention, and SMS can be a great interface for your loyalty program. 

Loyalty Program Tips

Here are some ideas to get you started with a loyalty program via SMS: 

• Let customers earn discounts or rewards or free products as they collect points. Customers like financial rewards, which is why points programs are so popular. 
• Offer VIP double points promotions, gifts they don’t need to use points to claim and birthday and special occasion points. 
• Incentivize your loyal customers by offering front-of-the-line access to new products, VIP-only promotions and discounts, and sneak peaks for new product launches. 
• Offer suggestions on how your customers can benefit from your loyalty program. And don’t forget to make a fuss when they reach a new loyalty tier. 
• Offer customers loyalty points to opt into your SMS program.
• Make it easy to check loyalty balances and claim rewards from within SMS and messaging. It should be a seamless process for a customer to know they have a loyalty reward available. 

Loyal customers are repeat customers, and a good source of data about successful and unsuccessful marketing campaigns, product hits and misses, and trends in purchasing patterns. 

Final Thoughts

It’s much less work to retain a customer than to attract a new one, so give them reasons to stay.

SMS provides countless opportunities to build customer loyalty and retain customers. Make the most of the opportunity to engage, delight and build brand loyalty and customer retention.