By now you have likely heard that utilizing SMS for your brand is a great way to get in front of your customers. However, many merchants are using SMS specifically for promotional messages, which can garner a 40%–60% opt-out rate. For those merchants with a subscription model, the less-risky form of SMS communications, transactional SMS (with only a 3%–6% opt-out rate), allows for increased engagement from your customers around their subscription.
This Monday, we officially launched RechargeSMS. This tool allows Recharge merchants to send text messages to their customers so they can update and manage their subscriptions. And today, we’re excited to announce that we have put together a guide to help you take advantage of utilizing transactional SMS for your brand.
The Ultimate Guide to Transactional SMS
Though SMS itself has been around for decades, its use in a subscription business model is fairly new. With that comes uncertainty around the success metrics and use cases of sending transactional messages. Will it be easy to implement? Will customers take to it? We put together The Ultimate Guide to Transactional SMS to help you understand the best practices around sending transactional messages. We also showcase some of the merchants who have found success with this strategy, like OLIPOP and GEM.
What’s in the guide?
In The Ultimate Guide to Transactional SMS, we first analyze email and portal communications around subscription management.
The difference between promotional and transactional messages
While there is merit in showing your customers all the cool things you have to offer and any exciting discounts you want them to be aware of, promotional SMS messages have a high opt-out rate. Since transactional SMS is highly personalized and action-driven, it provides a level of convenience to customers, rather than being another marketing message to sort through. In the guide, we break down the anatomy of SMS messages to showcase areas to take stock of.
Why email isn’t enough anymore
For so long, email was the default communication style for marketers. Want to tell your customers about a new deal? Email them! Want to get customers to manage their subscription order or take action? Email them! With low open rates, especially for the ecommerce industry (only 15%!), and even lower click-to-open rates (2%), the effort versus reward is quite low. And don’t even get us started on the new iOS update, making email communication that much harder…
The benefits of transactional SMS
Transactional SMS has a slew of benefits, all of which we break down in The Ultimate Guide to Transactional SMS:
- Increases customer lifetime value (LTV)
- Reduces churn
- Increase average order value (AOV)
- Assists in automating support
Considerations for implementing transactional SMS
With any addition to your business, there come risks that need to be taken into account prior to implementation. In the guide, we dive into the two main considerations—the potential for churn acceleration, and opt-in consent—and discuss the solutions to ensure those risks don’t become reality for your brand.
Subscription models and how transactional SMS works within them
We analyze which subscription models were best for transactional SMS, and how merchants within those models found success using transactional SMS. Sneak peek: Replenishment is one of the best-suited models for success while sending transactional messages.
Your very own checklist to get started with transactional SMS
You didn’t think we’d leave you without a step-by-step guide on how to get started with transactional SMS, did you? In the guide, we added a “Getting started with transactional SMS checklist”, with seven steps and instructions on how to set your brand up for success and mitigate the considerations mentioned above.
How sending transactional SMS helps you strengthen your long-term relationships with your customers
Our mission at Recharge is to help you turn transactions into relationships. Utilizing transactional SMS to better engage with your customers and allow them to take control of their subscriptions further solidifies your relationship with them. They no longer have to remember a portal password or log in to their email to check messages from you. In fact, giving them the power to text message you from the device they use most often puts them in the driver’s seat, and increases their overall satisfaction and LTV.
Putting RechargeSMS to work for you
The final section of The Ultimate Guide to Transactional SMS is all about RechargeSMS and the features that allow you to tackle business challenges like reducing churn, gaining predictable revenue, and increasing AOV.
We hope this guide provides you with insights and actionable opportunities for you to leverage transactional SMS in your business. Download it today.
