Customer engagement is critical for any business desiring to build long-lasting relationships with consumers, but it is paramount for financial service providers. Customer expectations and the sensitive nature of the financial sector demand a highly personalized level of communication.
SMS delivers a high-quality, secure, and engaging experience right into customers’ hands. An SMS engagement strategy goes beyond account notifications and one-sided communication. It elevates the mobile customer experience by engaging customers in real-time with personalized experiences and empowers service teams to provide first-rate customer service.
Mobile banking users will reach nearly 217 million by 2025 (Source). For perspective, there are 272 million Americans who own a smartphone today (Source). Americans rely heavily on smartphone capabilities to perform daily tasks, from ordering groceries and checking children into school to paying the tab at a restaurant and monitoring blood sugar levels.
Financial institutions not incorporating an SMS strategy into their customer engagement plan are missing an essential piece to customer loyalty, trust, and satisfaction building. Why is customer engagement critical?
By 2025, the majority of Americans who have a phone will be using mobile banking.
*Based on current projections and current total number of phone users.
79%
Increase Consumer Engagement In The Financial Sector With:
- Real-Time Reliability – Customers expect providers to communicate in a reliable and timely manner. Delays in account notifications, payment reminders, and fraudulent activity alerts could have serious consequences for consumers and financial institutions. One of the greatest advantages of SMS is the fast delivery times, with messages received in seconds. Not only can consumers trust that they will be alerted when it matters most, but they can reach their financial service providers in real-time. The Two-Way Texting solution breaks down accessibility barriers and is a convenient, time-saving solution for consumers and institutions.
- Personalized Experiences – The ability to track customer data is near limitless these days. Create a dynamic SMS messaging experience with personalized financing offers, product recommendations, and customized support solutions. Sending text messages that are not relevant to a consumer’s interests can quickly contribute to dissatisfaction levels and abandonment. Consumers reward brands that provide customized services and experiences. 77% of consumers who have experienced a personalized service have chosen, recommended, or paid more for that brand. SMS is an effective platform for customizing customer experiences. Increasing engagement with SMS personalization can be as simple as using the client’s name or as elaborate as building a recommendation based on the client’s previous transaction trends.
- Simplified Service Experiences – SMS can help reduce the stress between consumers and financial service providers by providing a convenient and quality customer service experience. Consumers can reach out for SMS customer assistance no matter the time or location. Automation keeps service teams from being inundated with common inquiries and effectively screens customers before communicating with a service representative. Training representatives to solve problems over SMS will reduce pressure from overworked service centers. SMS message templates are an added benefit that gives representatives a confident and professional voice when representing the brand. Learn more about how SMS can dramatically increase the level of customer service in your business.
Measuring Engagement
Facebook measures shares, Instagram counts likes, Twitter tracks retweets, but how can engagement be measured on SMS? Several metrics are available for monitoring with SMS, and the KPIs set will help guide you. Open, conversation, and unsubscribe rates are three of many useful statistics for engagement tracking.
Open Rate
The open rate is the percentage of messages received and opened. SMS has an exceptionally high open rate of 98%. Open rates show that customers are engaged by reading your content. Evaluate the rate from each campaign and monitor the differences in the rate over time. If it consistently declines, reevaluate the content, delivery time, and message frequency. They may not perform the call-to-action, but the groundwork is set for future action.
Conversion Rate
The conversion rate is the percentage of recipients that acted from the message. For SMS, that could be clicking on a SmartURL™, sending inbound messaging, or utilizing an SMS specific promotional offer in-store or online. The higher the conversion rate, the higher the engagement level.
Unsubscribe Rate
The unsubscribe rate is a crucial indicator for measuring engagement. It’s normal for each SMS campaign to have a few subscribers opt-out, but a sizable opt-out rate could signify you missed the mark with engagement tactics. Knowing customers’ preferences, personalizing messages, and keeping an open line of communication will help prevent your unsubscribe rates from rising.
Learn more about the best SMS analytics to monitor and how that data determines the value of your SMS campaign.
Mobile banking customers are looking for more than an account monitoring app. They want direct access to a financial institution that serves their needs and integrates seamlessly into their lives. Customer satisfaction is core to a financial institution’s success. Engagement drives loyalty, trust, and referrals. SMS is a scalable solution that integrates easily into any new or existing strategy. Talk to the team at Solutions by Text to learn how to engage your customers with SMS.()