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Create easy, simple customer experiences with SMS

A woman smiles as she looks down at an SMS on her phone. She is in business attire and is holding a mug of coffee.

Did you know 98% of people read an SMS within three minutes of receiving one?

SMS provides a unique opportunity for businesses to communicate with customers quickly and efficiently. Not only is it widely used across the UK — research by Statista shows 96 per cent of the UK population owns a mobile phone [1] — but text messages are also difficult to ignore. Virtually all mobile phones alert users when they receive a new SMS, meaning your messages are likely to be read quickly by customers and you’ll receive a prompt response if you ask for one. Most text messages are delivered in five seconds and opened within 90 seconds.

Here are three more reasons why SMS should be part of your customer service.

1. It’s simple and direct

SMS character limits mean messages have to be simple and succinct. They are also sent directly from the sender, making them easy to read and respond to.

“Customer care is more efficient via SMS than through other channels. It delivers both satisfied customers and resource savings,” Harald Bakken, Product Manager at Puzzel, says. “It’s suitable for absolutely every target group. And younger generations in particular prefer to be able to send a text rather than call customer service.”

SMS is also very flexible. It can be used to deliver highly personalised interactions or mass communications. Some common use cases for customer service teams include:

  • Sending messages to customers during calls (eg. with a link to a specific website/webpage)
  • Sending messages to callers waiting in queues (eg. offering them a callback)
  • Sending mass alerts or reminders to customers or employees
  • Asking for customer feedback via surveys

“A simple message can guide customers on the right path. For example, you can direct users to your company’s homepage or knowledgebase so they can help themselves rather than talking to an agent,” Harald says.

2. It’s easy for customers and easy for you

SMS is readily available to customers. “Everyone has SMS. There is no requirement for the user to install an app on their phone,” Harald says.

It is also simple to integrate into your cloud contact centre solution. Puzzel’s SMS services are provided via our API, Puzzel SMS Gateway, and can be integrated into the Puzzel Contact Centre and Puzzel Case Management. This allows you to manage your SMS communications alongside all other channels.

We offer both inbound and outbound SMS, as well as automatic and manual mailings. You can perform mass mailings to alert customers of critical incidents or remind them to make payments. Customers can also send text messages directly to your company.

“Puzzel’s solutions ensure that all text messages are received and personally answered according to your defined service levels. Our service can also be linked to our Bot Gateway for automatic or hybrid processing of enquiries,” Harald says.

3. Surveys leave a good last impression

SMS surveys can be sent to users immediately after a customer service interaction to measure their satisfaction and identify any dissatisfied customers.

“These days, disgruntled customers are very vocal on social media when they have a negative experience with customer care. Their negative reviews can then be seen in search engines when people are researching your company,” Harald says.

With Puzzel SMS, you can set up triggers so customers who submit low satisfaction scores are automatically contacted by your WinBack team. “This way, SMS can help ensure that everyone has a good final impression of your company,” Harald says.

Join our webinar on May 11 to find out more about SMS and how it can improve your customer service. Book your spot here.

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/387184/number-of-mobile-phones-per-household-in-the-uk/

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