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4 reasons why your customers love SMS for customer support
Your customers have pretty high expectations these days. In fact, 88% of companies reckon their customers today have higher expectations than in previous years. Worse, 86% of customers will leave a brand they trust after just two bad experiences.
It’s why customer service and support matter more than ever.
Yet delivering great customer support is one thing. Offering that support in the channels and places your customers prefer is another thing entirely. You might have the best support crew on the planet, but if customers have to spend hours on hold waiting to speak to them, then it’s all for nothing.
Let’s look at why SMS for customer support has emerged as a clear winner when it comes to delivering customer satisfaction.
Here are four great reasons why SMS shines for customer support
1. It’s oh-so-easy for customers to get in touch
These days, when a customer has a question, they expect an answer, stat. Particularly if they have a problem with one of your products or your brand in general.
SMS is a reliable, easy channel that anyone with a mobile phone can use. There’s no app to download, no website glitches or internet issues. Just a quick and easy connection via a mobile phone network, in a channel that customers are super familiar with.
Even better, the customer can reply at their own pace. They can respond at a time that suits them, without risk of losing track of the message chain in a browser window.
2. It has a warm-and-fuzzy human touch
Forget chatbots, automated responses, and website FAQs. One of the biggest perks of SMS for customer service is that your customers will feel like they’re communicating with a helpful human being. Not only does this help the customer feel valued, but it also breeds trust and familiarity with the brand.
Sure, SMS isn’t the same as a friendly face-to-face interaction. But it’s the next best thing, particularly when you consider that your customers are regularly texting their friends and family. The informal, conversational nature of text messaging makes customer support feel easy and familiar.
3. It’s easy for you to respond fast
One of the worst things about customer support? On-hold music. It’s no surprise that only 17% of customers will recommend a brand that provides a slow but effective solution. If they’re stuck in an online queue or on hold to your call center, you’re on the fast track to customer dissatisfaction.
With SMS, messages are delivered in an instant and you can have support conversations without delay. Customers don’t need to be online or on the phone – they can continue with their day while you get the information they need.
Behind the scenes, your support crew can handle multiple customer inquiries at the same time. Unlike phone calls, which demand undivided attention, your service reps can be far more productive.
TOP TIP: We integrate with over 75 platforms, so you can send text messages using the CRM you already use. Check out our Integrations Marketplace.
4. It’s a seamless experience for your customers
Finally, adding text messages as a support channel can help you create a seamless, end-to-end mobile experience.
For example, imagine that your customer unboxes a brand new phone and finds a crack in the screen. Using their old phone, they take a quick photo and send it to you via text message. No need to upload the photo to a website or send via email.
Instead of forcing the customer through multiple hoops, text based customer service:
- Keeps all communication on the same platform
- Enables you to resolve the issue in mere minutes
- Has a human touch that customers appreciate
- Allows for customizable queries (e.g. sending in videos and pics (MMS), or getting a personalized call)
By removing the friction from service and support inquiries, you’ll end up with much happier customers.
How Port Networks uses SMS customer support to stand out from the crowd
Port Networks is a fast-growing boutique US telecommunications provider that prides itself on excellent customer support. As the company grew, team members found it hard to handle the increasing volume of customer queries. To fix the issue, they decided to use our text messaging integration: SMS for NetSuite.
The solution seamlessly plugs into their existing system and enables them to initiate text message conversations with customers easily. Now, instead of fielding phone calls, customer representatives can handle multiple queries at the same time. It’s saved them between 8 and 10 hours of call time per week. More importantly, their customer service team cut their support queue time in half.
As an added bonus for their customer support team, Port Networks can now easily send scheduled texts to alert customers to upcoming issues such as downtime on the network. They can also send emergency notifications at the click of a button. Read the full case study.
I realised that a significant portion of our customers would prefer to communicate with us via SMS. And I realised it was easier, cheaper, and much faster than using phone or email.
Hugh Bethell, Founder of Port Networks
Ready to try SMS for customer service?
Text-based support is a win-win for you and your customers. Get a free trial and start exploring our messaging platform.
