Did you know that the open rates of SMS are almost 5x more than email open rates? This is because customers are more likely to communicate and open offers received via SMS than any other channel. What does this mean? It means it’s high time your business adopted an SMS chatbot for its SMS drip campaign.
If you’re an entrepreneur, you understand customers now receive more advertisements and offers from different channels than they used to. However, some of these customers confirmed that a larger percentage of the offers they receive come in form of ads or emails and are not always related to their current situation. That is, they are not what they need. So they neither open nor respond.
Now, here is the eye opener. Research by Gartner confirmed that the response rate of SMS is 20% compared to that of email which is 6%. That’s a lot of difference, don’t you think?
In short, businesses have a better chance of improving their drip campaigns and conversion rates when they use SMS chatbots.
Luckily, this article shows you how an SMS bot can greatly amplify your text drip campaign.
But first,
What Is An SMS bot?
SMS chatbot, also known as an SMS bot is a simple yet effective software that automatically replies and sends messages to users. It’s like a regular SMS from a business that may include a welcome message, birthday wishes, and so on.
This tool helps simulate a conversation through SMS components on most mobile device systems. It is programmed to process the user’s input and provide a logical and most relevant answer.
With an SMS chatbot, you can create an interactive marketing platform that enhances customer communication and experience. Thereby increasing conversion rates and ROI.
How Can SMS Chat Bot Amplify Your Text Drip Campaign?
Undoubtedly. email drip campaigns still work for businesses. But we also cannot deny the drop in its open and engagement rates over the years. Fortunately, there is a tool with a more promising and better result. You guessed it right, an SMS bot.
Did you know that SMS has 98% open rates compared to the 20% open rates of email? When used appropriately, an SMS chatbot offers the following great benefits to your SMS drip campaigns.
1. SMS Bot Reaches A Large Number of People
There are over 7.6 billion phone users across the world. This value outranks the popular messaging apps (such as Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp) with 3.32 billion users worldwide.
It’s obvious that SMS remains the best and most widely used channel. This is large because you can use an SMS on any phone model that supports network access.
With a simple tool like an SMS chatbot, businesses can reach a vast number of users of different ages and in different locations across the world.
2. SMS Chatbot Requires No Apps or Internet Connection
Unlike other drip campaigns, such as emails, users don’t need a special app or internet connection to receive, access, or reply to their messages with the Text Drip Campaign using Conversational SMS-Bot. The text comes in without checking the mailbox or logging into any website.
Here is an example for more clarity.
When a user receives an invite to an event via an email or regular SMS, there is a link to the page for registration or sign-up, which always requires an internet connection.
On the other hand, with the Conversational SMS chatbot, the conversation goes further as the bot can provide all necessary info directly, without the need for an internet connection. Easy, right?
Plus, it works on virtually all phone models. This means your brand doesn’t need to worry about text versions or adaptability.
3. It Empowers Your SMS Drip Campaign with Automatic Responses
Conversational SMS Bots can be programmed with Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and AI to perform automatic actions. These include sending automated relevant replies based on each user input.
Having said that, chatbots are of two different types.
The first one is rule-based chatbots, one of the most widely used bots for marketing or promotions purposes. This type requires only a few questions.
They function by providing responses to users based on predefined answers. That is, the user must include the previously given answer in the next question for the bot. This is the best way to keep the conversation going.
The second bot is known as Natural Language Processing (NLP). With NLP, there are no rules. Bots understand the context of the conversation and provide relevant answers for the user. Their conversation feels almost as real as it is with a human.
As you can see, this is a powerful tool that goes beyond the usual SMS or email that gets no response from a customer.
Adopting an SMS bot is like employing a digital assistant that ensures 24/7 effective communication even when you’re offline spending quality time with your family.
SMS Chatbot Improves Overall Customer Experience
Most businesses use it in navigating through different promotion campaigns, sending personalized texts such as birthdays and events, or just collecting feedback.
Moreso, you can use it to return users to other channels. This is done by sending actionable notifications (such as providing links) once you notice the targeted user has stopped interacting with the concerned channel.
Overall, an SMS chatbot is a great tool for generating leads with the sole purpose of guiding prospects to take a specific and straightforward action.
An Example of A Reminder SMS Chatbot
“Hey, Amy!
It’s Smith from FlowUp.
Looking forward to our one-hour zoom call on April 22nd, Thursday at 4 pm (Pacific Time Canada and the USA).
Can’t wait to help you get the best out of FlowUp. #smileys.”
An Example of A Survey SMS ChatBot
“Hi Lana,
FlowUp specially invites you to take a quick short survey.
It’s FREE, and you will get … (a certain amount of) airtime.
Ready? Are you Ready to Start?
Conclusion
While text drip campaigns enable you to easily connect with the right prospects at the right time with fewer efforts, there is a need to employ the right tool and channel to achieve your desired result from prospects or customers.
By adopting the Conversation SMS bot for your text drip campaigns, you stand a better chance of not only reaching your desired audience but also addressing their immediate needs, getting an instant response, and turning them into lifetime customers.