Reach customers immediately with SMS Alerts

Reach customers immediately with SMS Alerts

SMS alerts (also known as SMS notifications) are a great way to grab your audience’s undivided attention and make an impression. These alerts are different from your standard marketing blasts as they’re transactional, designed to directly inform the customer.

There are a variety of potential applications for SMS alerts within an automated SMS system. What all SMS alerts have in common is that they convey urgency—here’s why that matters.

Meaningful and effective uses for SMS alerts

SMS alerts should be used when time is of the essence. Let’s go through some scenarios when you might need to quickly reach your audience:

  • Emergencies

    Natural disasters, amber alerts, and service disruptions are all situations where prompt communication is not just needed but potentially lifesaving. SMS alerts help you reach the intended recipient quicker than any other medium, minimising risk to people and property.

  • Managing customer relations

    Business emergencies can be mitigated with prompt communication to your customer base. For example, you might need to let a customer know that an unknown device has accessed their account, or that their flight has been delayed. It’s always best they hear it from you.

    By using SMS alerts, you can better manage customer expectations and give your customers a positive experience of your business, even when the unexpected happens.

  • General notifications

    Burst SMS offers a flexible and robust SMS API which can be used to send general SMS notification alerts to customers when triggered by an event.

  • Client empowerment

    SMS API can also be used to empower clients, particularly in making financial decisions. You might use it to notify your client that their stock value has dipped below a specified safety net or that the exchange rate has reached their desired value.

  • Sale alerts

    The above SMS API function can be used to alert customers of sales, such as letting them know the flight they were eyeing is now marked down in a flash sale, or that they’ve got a discount code to complete their online purchase.

Why businesses are embracing SMS alerts

The benefit of using SMS alerts is simply that they work. Unlike emails, which are often filed away as unwanted communications, SMS enjoys a glorious open rate of 98%. SMS alerts instantly draw the recipient’s eye to the message, informing them of your urgent update.

SMS alerts also reach the customer much faster. The average person sees and replies to a text message within 90 seconds but an email within 90 minutes. In an emergency situation, those extra minutes are invaluable (Rebrandly).

An innovative example of SMS alerts in action

SMS alerts can be used across a variety of industries. The travel industry is a great example of creatively using SMS alerts to their advantage and giving their customers a great experience at the same time.

DealRay, a travel deal site, has created an innovative prepaid notification system using SMS alerts. This allows members to access exclusive travel deals at the touch of a button, saving an average of US$428 per deal.

Identifying a core need of their customer base (the desire to score a cheap flight) has allowed DealRay to elevate customer satisfaction and boost their own profits, all sparked by a humble SMS alert.

When communication, action, and timeliness are of the essence, SMS alerts are the tool you need on hand.

Ready to get started? Try our online SMS service with a 14-day trial from Burst SMS.