Should you use SMS for business communication?
With mobile phone ownership at 98% and smartphone ownership at around 91% of the population in both the United States of America and Australia, it’s a good time to explore whether SMS is still being used for business communication or whether businesses havel transitioned to business messaging apps.
SMS (Short message Service), commonly referred to as text messaging, was made easily accessible to consumers in 1993 when Nokia released the Nokia 2010 handset. SMS still had plenty of limitations at the time, as it was not until 1999 that consumers could send SMS messages between phones operating on different mobile networks.
What is SMS in business communication?
SMS has a wide range of applications within companies these days and least likely is its application as a tool for communicating and collaborating between colleagues and coworkers. In fact, the advent of business specific instant messaging apps has seen the use of SMS for business communication expand into other areas of business operations. Here we will explore the different applications for text messaging in business.
Marketing
SMS is used for sales announcements, promotional offers and targeted campaigns by companies wanting to communicate with new and existing customers.
Customer Service
SMS can be used by companies wanting to provide high quality customer support, including order confirmations, status updates, delivery details and outages in real-time.
Appointment reminders
SMS is used to remind customers about upcoming appointments, to confirm their attendance and to remind them to book subsequent appointments.
Sales
SMS is used to follow up sales prospects, avoiding their email inbox and getting their attention when time is of the essence.
Employee communications
SMS broadcast services are often used for communicating a single message to a large number of employees. We’ll explore SMS broadcasting in more detail later on in this article.
Why is it that so many companies are trying to unlock business growth with SMS? It’s because SMS is miles ahead of email and other communication tools when it comes to recipient engagement.
Higher open rates
SMS average open rate of 98% vs. email average open rate of 20%
Faster response times
SMS average response time of 90-seconds vs. email average response time of 90-minutes
Concise format
SMS communication is short and direct vs. email communications that is long and requires formatting
Businesses need to make sure they select the appropriate channel of communication for message delivery in the situation. Alternative channels of communication include email, phone calls, instant messaging platforms and in person conversations amongst others.
How is SMS helpful for communication?
Three reasons why SMS is still widely used for communication more than 30-years after it was first introduced are:
Reliability
SMS utilises mobile networks (cellular networks) and does not rely on mobile data or internet connectivity. This ensures that message delivery rates remain high, even in areas with poor signal.
Compatibility
SMS is device agnostic, they work on any mobile phone whether it’s a smartphone or not. There’s no need to worry about what type of devices a recipient is using or if they have downloaded, installed and set up an account on a specific messaging app.
Cost
SMS is affordable and costs scale based on usage. These days consumers can typically access unlimited texting plans making it more accessible than ever before.
What is the best text messaging service for business?
While there are many business use cases for text messages, here we will review messaging services often referred to as SMS broadcast services. SMS broadcast services are used to send the same text message to a group of contacts, in this case to communicate to a business’ employees and contractors.
Four common business uses for SMS broadcasts are:
Critical alerts
Extreme weather events or disasters and security warnings
Operational alerts
Machine breakdowns, IT outages, safety reminders, site and office closures and shift reminders
Company-wide announcements
Essential HR updates and announcements
Education and training
New employee onboarding, training reminders, appointment reminders, policy updates and certification expiries
Leading solution providers for employee SMS broadcast services include:
Staffbase
Staffbase SMS is a solution that enables organizations to send instant text messages directly to employees’ mobile devices. Partnering with Twilio, Staffbase ensures reliable and scalable message delivery. Staffbase SMS utilises existing employee contacts and groups from within the Staffbase platform for simplified targeting of messages.
Snapcomms
SnapComms offers an SMS messaging solution designed for internal communications, delivering text messages directly to employees’ mobile devices, regardless of their location. This service is particularly useful for engaging with mobile or deskless workers who may not have regular access to company emails or intranet systems.
Is there an alternative to SMS broadcast services for communicating with employees?
Organizations often implement broadcast SMS services because they want to use a company managed messaging platform to communicate with employees and contractors that do not have company email addresses and they do not want to communicate with these people on personal messaging apps. There is now a business messaging app that does not require an email address for setup and login, it is 8seats.
8seats Workspaces enable businesses to communicate with their frontline workers in a company managed and branded environment. Your workspace gives you control to easily invite new team members when they start their employment and remove them when their employment ends. No longer be left without visibility of your former employees' access to company communications, and retain your message history including any files, documents and images.
Broadcast messages to up to 10,000 employees at once in 8seats Rooms without any SMS costs. Sign up to 8seats for a 30-day free trial today or book a demo and our team will be in touch to discuss your communication requirements.
