Effective communication across all channels is vital for SaaS businesses, serving as the bedrock for relationship-building and contributing to business growth. One of the best ways to reach customers quickly and directly is via SMS.
SMS is a powerful tool for communicating important messages. Built into all mobile phones as a native app, texts are accessible, easy to digest, and grab attention, flashing up in the notification panel on the home screen. They allow you to engage in real-time, and 53.5% of US marketers agree they have higher open and click-through rates compared to other marketing channels.
Read on to discover the importance of SMS for SaaS companies, plus six popular use cases and best practices for leveraging SMS for your own business.
The top reasons your SaaS business must consider SMS messages
SMS is a valuable channel to include in your marketing and communications strategy for several reasons. Here are some of the main ones.
To support an omnichannel strategy
SMS is an oft-ignored communication channel by many businesses—yet it's such an easy and fast way to deliver your communications directly to customers. Most people keep their mobile phones within them throughout the day and they'll read and respond to texts even when they're out and about, at work, doing the grocery shop, etc.
If you can leverage SMS (and do it well), you'll not only gain an edge over your competitors but also provide customers with more choice over how they contact your SaaS business. Today's consumer likes to use a mixture of digital channels—and if your business is trying to adopt an omnichannel comms strategy, SMS should be a part of it.
To drive growth and revenue
Despite the limited character count, marketing messages of all kinds can be communicated via SMS, provided you've obtained subscriber consent first. This includes product information, time-sensitive offers, loyalty programme perks, brand awareness campaigns and more.
Combined with an enticing offer, carefully crafted SMS copy, and a clear call-to-action, texts are highly effective for customer retention and engagement, such as getting customers to revisit your website or upgrade their service. Even better, texting can lead to increased customer satisfaction, as Anneli Eesmann, Messente's Head of Support, explains:
"Several recent studies have suggested that the modern consumer prefers texting over voice calls, especially when having routine conversations with customer service. Texting enables rapid back-and-forth communication in real-time, with no waiting in call queues to speak to an operator. It also lets customers multitask at the same time if they wish. This all contributes to happier customers, equating to repeat custom and business growth."
To boost customer engagement
SMS is renowned for its impressively high open and response rates compared to email. Although emails are great for long-form content, they are prone to being ignored or getting lost in the clutter of the recipient's inbox. But texts are typically concise, making them likely to be read as soon as they're delivered, which is virtually instantly. Moreover, they're likely to be acted upon, helping to increase customer engagement. Texts should be two-way enabled to allow for responses.
To enhance customer experience (CX)
SMS messages can hugely improve the overall CX as they can be easily personalised and tailored to customers' needs and wants. Even if you send SMS marketing en masse to your entire customer base, it appears as though you're having a one-to-one conversation, and this helps make the customer feel heard and valued.
In customer service environments, automated texts work very well to immediately answer frequently asked questions and signpost customers to further information. Swift and helpful responses exceed customer expectations, leading to better trust and loyalty.
Six key use cases for SaaS SMS campaigns (with SMS templates)
From user onboarding and enhanced account security to SMS marketing and taking payments by text, here are some of the most popular ways to use text messaging for your SaaS business.
1. User onboarding
A warm introduction message is vital during the onboarding process. It provides a solid first impression of your business and ensures new users and subscribers receive that personal touch so they feel supported right off the bat. SMS is a good choice for essential communications like this—it's such a direct channel, so your message is unlikely to get missed or ignored. Even though you don't have a lot of space to play around with, you can personalise the content and direct users to detailed educational content, such as a video tutorial on how to use your application.
Template:
Welcome aboard [Name]! Check out our 'Getting Started' guide online, where you'll find video demos and FAQs. [URL] Need help? Reply to this text.
2. SMS marketing campaigns
The high open rates of text messages make them ideal for marketing campaigns. You can send all kinds of promotional messages to potential and existing customers. For example, they can be used to encourage new sign-ups with freemium offers or to persuade free trial users to upgrade their plan to your premium model. You can also cross-sell other products to subscribers through personalised recommendations.
Templates:
Hi [Name], did you know you can try our app free for 14 days? (No credit card required.) Sign up here to get access to our full suite of features: [URL]
Hey [Name]! Having fun playing [X Game]? We think you'll like [Y Game] too. Check it out here. [URL]
3. Important product updates
Occasionally, you may need to send out a blanket communication informing all users about a new product or service or a feature update. An SMS broadcast lets you reach all subscribers quickly, with each message personalised as if you're sending it one-to-one.
Other important updates include scheduled maintenance activities and unplanned downtime. Instantly alerting subscribers about downtime is imperative for reputation management (no one likes having to spend time chasing a provider to see why they can't log into their app and when it's likely to be back up and running).
Templates:
Hi [Name], great news: we've added some brand new features to improve your experience. Check them out here: [URL]
IMPORTANT: We are experiencing sudden downtime due to a network outage and are working hard to resolve the problem. Check our status page for updates: [URL]
4. Account activity alerts
SMS is ideal for sending out unusual login or suspicious activity alerts because users will receive them straightaway, even if they're not connected to the internet, enabling them to take prompt action to secure their accounts.
Many SaaS companies offer 2FA with SMS to enhance user security. This involves sending a unique PIN code to the user's mobile device as part of the login process. Basic account management functions can also be administered via text message as long as user security isn't compromised. For example, you can send text reminders asking users to check their account details are up-to-date.
Template:
URGENT: We've detected a suspicious login to your account. If this wasn't you, please change your password immediately. Log in here: [URL]
5. SMS payments
Offering Text to Pay provides several benefits for both customers and your business. Customers can enjoy simpler transactions via a frictionless and quick payment process. Meanwhile, your business will benefit from prompt payments, faster transaction speeds and operational savings. Texts are also often used to send out billing statements, payment deadlines and reminders, subscription renewal alerts, etc. These can be automated and sent as the customers' payment due date approaches, e.g., on a weekly, monthly, biannual or annual basis.
Template:
Hi [Name], your monthly subscription payment is due on [Date]. Please ensure you have sufficient funds in your account. For billing queries, contact: [Number].
6. Customer support
In addition to online and telephone support channels, consider SMS-based customer support. It's highly convenient for customers with queries or complaints who don't have internet access or the time to make a voice call.
Once two-way communication is enabled, customers can text their questions, and your business's response will appear in their SMS inbox. A team of live agents can handle SMS support, but you can set up an SMS chatbot to provide quicker responses. SMS is also helpful for gathering quick feedback through surveys and polls.
Best practices for leveraging SMS messaging in SaaS
If you decide to implement SMS messaging within your business, there are some 'must dos' to be aware of. Firstly, you need to go through the process of registering a Sender ID for your company before you start communicating with subscribers. In relation to collecting subscribers, this must be done lawfully, i.e. you should comply with the GDPR (enforced by the EU) and/or the TCPA (enforced by the FCC in the US). This involves obtaining express consent from each recipient for sending SMS marketing and allowing them to opt out of receiving such communications with every message you send.
Here are some other best practices to follow:
Embrace automation to streamline your messaging processes: but avoid sounding impersonal and robotic. Leverage customer data to ensure you send out highly relevant and personalised messages.
Optimise your SMS campaigns: by tracking campaign performance and using insights to maximise your SMS marketing ROI. Metrics to monitor include open and click-through rates and subscriber opt-in and opt-out rates.
Include a URL when you can’t fit all the information into a single SMS message: customers often appreciate being signposted to detailed resources, such as a tutorial, a self-service knowledge base, full explanations of new features, etc.
Tme your text messages correctly: don’t text users at a time when you know they might feel inconvenienced like late at night or very early in the morning.
SMS can enhance CX and your marketing strategy
SMS is a direct communication channel that's often under-utilised by businesses yet can significantly improve messaging engagement rates. There are several ways to use SMS services for your SaaS company, including user onboarding, marketing, launching new products, improving customer loyalty, taking payments and more.
Getting started with SMS involves properly registering your business as a legitimate Sender and following data protection laws to ensure you collect subscriber data legally. Once those tasks have been handled, you can start creating and sending a wide range of communications to users.
Discover how to use SMS for your SaaS business with Messente's mass texting service.
