Customer Service
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Good customer service is often praised as the secret to establishing and maintaining positive relationships between companies and their customers. But, what is the definition of good customer service? Since the system you employ to ensure a positive customer experience can always be improved, and will evolve with technological advances, it seems the quest for the best possible customer service might not ever be complete. Wondering how to improve customer service? We’ve broken down some valuable customer service ideas to help you get started—including ways to improve customer service with text messaging. What is the definition of good customer service? Good customer service will not only satisfy your existing customers but entice others to check out your business due to your positive reviews and reputation. Improving your customer service is impossible without knowing what good customer service means to you and your business. When it comes to customer service, the difference between acceptable and outstanding can be measured by customer satisfaction and is ultimately reflected in your revenue. ways to improve customer service using text messages in 2022 Looking for customer service ideas but unsure of how to implement changes in your business? Here’s what you can start doing right now to improve customer service to kickstart the process of integrating text messaging into your company customer service model.
Reach a larger audience
According to a government study on text messaging, texts are under-utilized by companies despite over 2 trillion texts a year being sent in the United States alone. From health systems to department stores to restaurants, text messaging can be a valuable platform when it comes to communicating with your company’s audience. Accessibility is key to positive customer service experiences. Leveraging a mass texting service could be the best way to maximize your company’s customer service resources, as you’ll have the capability to reach more people with important messages via text than you would by email or phone call. Text messaging allows you to communicate directly with customers to provide shipping updates or troubleshoot issues. It also allows you to text many clients at once to let them know immediately of any product updates or changes they need to be aware of.
It’s no secret that customers love to feel like they’re getting special treatment. When you build a text list, you’ll be able to offer exclusive deals to your contacts. These services includes reaching out to loyal customers to acknowledge and reward their continued loyalty. By building a list of phone numbers which have opted into text message communication with your company, you’ll have the unique opportunity to offer this list special discounts and “VIP” treatment. Keep customers happy by using text messaging to reward their participation in your text list. Make sure you’re offering valuable discounts when reaching out to consumers via text. If you communicate too much with information that they don’t find useful, they might opt out of your text list—not to mention associating your company with spam messaging. Consider the offers you’re sending to your contacts, and whether or not they’re truly worth their time.
Automated texts to improve efficiencies
Text message-based customer service solutions are a cornerstone of SMS marketing and can answer general questions that human customer service reps would otherwise have to spend time addressing. This helps you maximize your team’s resources. Deploy employees in situations where questions are nuanced and emotions are heightened, but let an automated workflow do the heavy lifting until that point. Agents often spend their time answering general questions which could be answered by an automated text. It’s time to reverse that trend. Our advanced automation solution can detect chat sentiment to deliver appropriate automated responses or flag a chat for follow up by a customer service specialist. Plus, our business texting features allow users to schedule, trigger and drip text messages to provide good service to customers over time or as prompted. With this service you can automate a response to trigger questions, among other useful features.
USSD GH
USSD
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data popularly known as USSD is a protocol used by GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications ) cellphones to communicate with their service provider’s computers via text messages. To explain this in simple terms, when you dial a number that starts with * and ends with #, you are using USSD. This is known to be currently the best available communications technology to deliver mobile financial services to customers. USSD GH works with codes made up of the characters that are available on a mobile phone. A USSD message, which can be up to 182 characters long, establishes a real-time communication session between the phone and another device (typically, a network or server). It can be used for Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browsing, mobile money services, prepaid callback service, menu-based information services, and location-based content services. With USSD, users interact directly from their mobile phones by making selections from various menus. Unlike an SMS message, during a USSD session, a USSD message creates a real-time connection. This means USSD enables two-way communication of information, as long as the communication line stays open. As such, queries and answers are nearly instantaneous.
A typical way of how the USSD works may involve a query from a mobile phone user, such as a request for a bank account balance. Once the user sends the request, the USSD gateway forwards it to the user’s USSD application, which responds to the request. The process is then repeated in reverse, i.e., the response goes back to the ussd gateway, which displays the content of that response on the screen of the user’s mobile phone. Generally, the responses, which contain a maximum of 182 alphanumeric characters, are sent in a format that’s easy to display. The user sends and receives data by dialing a specific short code — which usually, ranges from three (3) to five (5) numbers. USSD apps are instantly available to every subscriber the moment they’re deployed to a network and do not require any installation from the User.
A USSD application may be used for several reasons, such as the following : Mobile banking. Unlike banking apps that need internet access and smartphone functionality, USSD banking can work on any mobile device, including feature phones. Order confirmations. Food delivery providers can use USSD to enable two-way communication between customers placing orders and the vendors to alert customers when their orders are on the way. Marketing surveys. USSD can be used for mobile marketing. For example, organizations can send basic marketing surveys that users can respond to immediately, enabling companies to get customer feedback in real-time. Network configuration and requests. USSD is used to configure a user’s mobile device on the network. It also provides a menu of service options a user can choose from for such things as buying airtime or requesting account balances. Callback services. Service organizations, such as insurance providers and financial services companies, can use USSD to determine customers’ interests by enabling them to request callbacks after they present their offers. Coupons and vouchers. Retailers can use USSD to communicate special offers to customers, as well as send coupons and vouchers. Customer update requests. USSD can integrate with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to request updated customer information.
SMS sales automation
SMS sales automation
From prospecting to lead management and closing deals, your sales team can use SMS sales automation to help move customers through the sales pipeline. It works by programming text messages to be sent once specific sales steps, conditions or qualifications have been met on the sales journey. SMS shines in a wide range of sales activities, including: Sales prospecting (cold and warm) Follow-ups and reminders Relationship building Sales touchpoints Scheduling appointments, demos and consultations
Your sales team reaps some big benefits
To the buyer or prospect, SMS sales automation looks and feels like a personalized, one-on-one conversation. To you, however, it’s just one of potentially thousands of personalized messages you can send with the click of a single button. By adding automated text messaging to your sales process, you can: Drive maximum ROI. Instead of the time-consuming task of manually sending out individual messages, you can send potentially thousands of personalized messages at once to help maximize ROI.
You can add as many prospects as you like to your nurture journey. SMS sales automation programs grow with you. Get your sales messages across fast. Want to capture leads faster than your competitors, but in a less intrusive way? Instead of chasing them over the phone, send them a quick text message inviting them to get in touch when it suits. Build personalized relationships. Text messaging strikes that magic formula of feeling both personal and informal. It’s perfect for building relationships and gaining the trust of prospective clients. SMS sales automation shines at every stage of sales You can use text messaging in all stages of the sales process. Map out your entire sales journey and consider which moments are ripe for a text message or two. Here’s an example of an inbound B2B sales pipeline that could benefit from SMS sales automation In the awareness stage Using the example above, a customer downloads an eBook from your website. Instead of following up with email marketing (which, let’s face it, has lower open rates than text messaging), use SMS sales automation instead. Give the customer a few days or a week to read the eBook, then send some helpful texts with additional links to content they might find interesting.
In the consideration stage
In this stage, your customer has requested a product demo and booked an appointment with one of your sales reps. Send an automated SMS sales automation reminder one day before the meeting – it’s a helpful gesture and also reduces the likelihood of a no-show. In the decision stage The customer is so close to buying. They’ve got the contract, but they’re stalling on signing. Send a quick text reminder, asking if there’s anything you can help with. Or, to get the customer across the line, offer a discount on the original offer if they sign and send the contract back within the next 24 hours. Integrating with other platforms makes all the difference Already use other SMS sales automation tools and systems? Integrate text messaging into your preferred platform for maximum scalability and minimum effort.
For example, USMSGH integrates with some of the most popular sales automation tools in use today. It means you can easily add text messaging to your existing workflows and sales processes. You can even add SMS sales automation to your internal triggers to let sales leads know when a customer needs a follow-up. Here are three powerful integrations between USMSGH integrates and sales tools.
2-Way Bulk SMS
2-Way Bulk SMS
2-Way Bulk SMS lets you send and receive messages to and from hundreds of people at once through a web-based platform that uses API. Your customers can reach you by sending simple keywords via a short code or long code. In response, you get to reply to these messages through your computer or phone application that uses the system. In terms of using bulk SMS for business, the capability of communicating to clients or potential customers in bulk is quite an efficient way of reaching your target especially when you have limited resources or manpower to carry out your promotional strategies. The added convenience of receiving replies directly (and instantly) from your recipients, increases the possibility of quick sales, repeat business or increased conversion.
Why Should You Use 2 Way Bulk SMS
2-Way Bulk SMS provides a quick solution to customer concerns. With a single keyword, you get to know what they need and promptly give them a suitable response. You are also highlighting convenience and practicality on the part of your end-users. In the past, people had to contact businesses through phone calls or snail mail and both methods were too time consuming and counterproductive to queries and concerns that needed immediate attention.
The possibilities are endless when you begin to maximize the advantages of two way communication in honing B2C relations and expanding the influence of your business. Here are some of the biggest benefits that you can possibly gain from 2-Way bulk sms: 1. 97% Read Rate 2. Practical and Budget-friendly 3. Convenient and foolproof 4. Enhanced Communication with Customers 5. Fast and Hassle-freeresses. IP addresses filter . Sending messages will be possible only from the whitelisted IP addresses (attempts at sending messages from other IPs will result in the following response: ERROR:105). IP addresses should be separated by semicolons
There are several companies that provide 2 Way Bulk SMS applications for you to read, reply, and even monitor the messages you send and receive. Some interfaces are also available for both web and smartphone. You don’t need rocket science or additional software to operate it or deliver your message, in the same way that text messaging is an activity that is already a staple in your customers’ daily routine. Simple, quick, and easy. Out of all the constantly changing advertising trends, SMS is something that has been quite constant and flexible throughout. It is a simple and immediate exchange of messages. By using 2-Way Bulk SMS, you can send a message to a hundred customers within minutes. You can upsell more products and even convert more leads without having to stress out your marketing and support representatives.
Regardless of size, every business could use a helping hand from their customers. Since 2-Way Bulk SMS lets recipients reply directly to businesses, it effectively bridges gaps between the two. The more customers get the chance to interact with brands they support, the more likely they are to willingly participate in future promotions and efforts to sustain the business.
Conclusion
Quite frankly, there are several more advantages of 2-Way Bulk SMS marketing awaiting to be discovered. The key is to have a clear vision of how you want to grow your business so you can incorporate 2-way bulk SMS accordingly for your company’s objectives and customers’ demands. Once you decide to promote your business and reach out to customers using text messaging, be sure to the New Media Services team a message. Our very own LOOP (Live Online Operator Platform) platforms have helped countless companies carry out accessible communication channels, including bulk sms service for business, for long-term growth and stability.
Email Marketing
EMAIL MARKETING
Email marketing is a powerful marketing channel, a form of direct marketing as well as digital marketing, that uses email to promote your business’s products or services. It can help make your customers aware of your latest items or offers by integrating it into your marketing automation efforts. It can also play a pivotal role in your marketing strategy with lead generation, brand awareness, building relationships or keeping customers engaged between purchases through different types of marketing emails
Email marketing is the act of sending promotional messages to people in mass quantities. It typically is to generate sales or leads and it may contain advertising. Email marketing convert prospects into customers, and turns one-time buyers into repeat customers and raving fans.
Email marketing has been around forever, and for good reason. It’s the most direct and effective way of connecting with your leads, nurturing them, and turning them into customers, consistently winning out over all other marketing channels. Whether it’s transactional email at scale by secure SMTP and API or bespoke marketing emails that are beautiful and professional the USMSgh email product has your business email needs covered.
There are a ton of email service providers out there, but we take the guesswork out and make it really easy to choose the right one for you and your goals. A big later in this guide, we’ll list out our favorite ESPs that you can choose from. After those two steps, it’s just a matter of refining your lists and your messaging so you’re reaching your audience and really connecting with them. Plus, you’ll be able to set up some automation in your email marketing service which will make things much easier for you. Email marketing can help you build a relationship with your audience while also driving traffic to your blog, social media, or anywhere else you’d like folks to visit. You can even segment your emails and target users by demographic so you’re only sending people the messages they want to see most. Email marketing also allows you to run A/B tests of a subject line or call to action to identify the best performing message by using email marketing software that can also be configured to easily send out emails. Check out USMSGH email templates to see more of what you can do with email marketing. At USMS-GH, we’ll walk you through the entire process of setting up your email marketing funnel so that you can acquire leads and generate sales, 24/7. source: neilpatel
Bulk SMS: Tips for successful bulk SMS marketing || USMS-GH
BULK SMS: TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFULL BULK SMS MARKETING
Bulk SMS API is a high-quality SMS platform, enabling you to integrate any of your applications with our SMS message sending and receiving system. The main advantage of our system is its simplicity of implementation. The SMS message may have your company name or any phone number you own as sender name. Every message sent from our system has its own unique id, which allows you to receive confirmation of its delivery. Our Platinum Partner Operator status guarantees the highest quality text service at up to 8,000 messages a second. What’s more, our Bulk SMS API can personalize messages, receive delivery receipts, schedule messages and pull results from mobile forms and surveys into your app. Our SMS gateway can also handle tickets, enabling you to send individual vouchers or tickets. Try sending a message using our Bulk SMS API today.At usmsgh, we are dedicated to helping you get the most from your SMS marketing activity. We understand the importance of achieving your goals and can advise on the best practices to maximize the potential of your mobile marketing campaigns, in addition to providing a comprehensive marketing toolkit on usmsgh platform. We help businesses use mobile marketing effectively, whether it is to build prospective customer database, to generate leads with effective campaigns, to convert them with special offers or to retain existing customers through loyalty points and timely feedback process. The results you achieve are often based on what you learn from previous campaigns and big data. And that’s why we recommend you to conduct campaigns that can be easily tracked and give you granular analytics. It is imperative that you use this data to make key decisions, gain valuable insights into customer behavior and campaign effectiveness and continuously optimize your mobile marketing campaigns to achieve the best results. Take a look below at our top tips to increase the performance of your next mobile marketing campaign…
1. Include a clear call to action
Ensure that the reason for the SMS is made clear. You want the recipient to act on your SMS, so tell them what they need to do to benefit from the information they have been sent.
Make sure you measure how effective your bulk SMS marketing campaign has been so you can improve it further next time. How many responses did you get? What was your return on investment? Try texting different offers, at various times of the day, days of the week, or target different groups of customers, to find which works best for you. Usmsgh provides granular click through metrics for webpages, files, and coupons attached with your SMS campaigns.
3. Know your audience
Make sure that the recipient is going to be interested in what you have to offer. It’s likely that each offer or message will need to be tailored to individual customer groups. Age, gender, location and past purchases should all be taken into account when you send out your messages. For example you wouldn’t offer free lipstick to men, because it’s likely the response rate would be next to zero and some of your customers may choose to unsubscribe as a result. Paying attention to a customer’s purchase history and collecting her demographic data will help target effectively. When working with bulk SMS marketing, just as with anything, the details are all important. In order to get the most out of your bulk SMS, you have to make sure that you include certain elements. So let’s look through a list of tips, tricks, and details that will help you get the most out of your SMS marketing.
4. Use analytics to keep refining your SMS marketing campaign
The key here is to keep doing it. Your analytics will tell you how people have responded to your SMS campaign so far, so you can try to watch the trends and adjust your SMS marketing campaign to match. Analytics may seem a bit techy, but there’s really no way around it if you want your marketing to be effective. They’re basically a measure of how well your messages are being received. What kind of ROI are you getting? How many responses? Test different times of the day and days of the week, as well as different subgroups of your demographic. This feedback generates valuable insights into campaign effectiveness and customer behavior. Keep watching these results, and adapt your SMS marketing to fit.
5. Short and Sweet!
Very few people want to spend more than a minute looking at a message. The goal in bulk text messaging is to figure out what you want to say in 160 characters or less. Get clear on what you really want to say. Get to the point straightaway and show the customer how great what you offer is for them. With as few words as possible.
SMS templates for Schools || USMS-GH Bulk SMS
Sometimes, it can get too exhausting when you have to repeatedly type same message over a number of times. This is where SMS templates run in to play. SMS templates saves you tons of time and comes in handy when you have to get repeated task done as quickly as possible. With USMS-GH, you can create customized SMS templates to help you run your day.
Here are some few examples of SMS templates that can be used by schools.
Admission promotional SMS template.
Admissions are open for Pre Nursery to primary 6 for academic session 2020 – 2021 and for JHS 1 and 2 for 2020-2019. Victory Int. School
Attendance notice SMS template.
Sample #1Your ward, Ajjoa was absent today without PRIOR NOTICE. Please send your ward with requisition letter. Regards Victory Int. SchoolSample #2
Dear Parent, Your ward’s, James’ attendance for the month of April 2020 is 20 days. Regards Victory Int. SchoolSample #3
Dear Parents, Your ward Mensah of Class 6 is absent today. Kindly send a leave application/medical certificate as per the school policy. Regards Victory Int. School
Holiday Announcement SMS template
Sample #1Dear Parents Tomorrow (21st Sept,2021), there will be a holiday on account of founders’ day as per Government notification. Thanks. PRINCIPAL, Pathfield SchoolSample #2
Dear Parent, school will remain closed on 21 Aug, 2021 due to Heavy down pour. Thanks. PRINCIPAL, Little Heros AcademySample #3
Dear Parent, here comes the Christmas vacation for your ward, Kafui. School will resume from 3rd January 2022 and attendance is mandatory. Thanks. PRINCIPAL, Samjoe Prep. School
School fees SMS Template
Sample #1Dear parent of Akosua, school fee needs to be paid for the month of April 2020. Please contact administrator. Sonrise AcademySample #2
Dear parent of Majid, please note the last date to pay your ward’s fee for the month of April 2021 is 21st April 2021. Makanaki Prep. SchoolSample #3
Dear Parent of Kitan, Bank Manager – Access Bank has advised parents to pay school fee of their wards by new currency notes only at their branch OR by cheque of any bank. Ignore if already paid. Inconvenience is regretted. Regards King of Boys School
PTA Meeting SMS Template
Sample #1Dear parent, you are hereby requested to attend our PTA (Parent Teachers Association) Meeting on 06 September 2021 between 9am to 10am. Regards HEADMASTER, Mawuli Senior High SchoolSample #2
Dear parent, our teaching technology is changing for your ward, meet your ward’s teacher for more information on 06 September 2021 between 9am to 10am. Regards Headmistress, Popolampo SchoolSample #3
Dear Parents, Tomorrow, Saturday (11th Sep, 2021) there will be a parent teacher meeting for the discussion of your ward’s performance in the school. It is compulsory to attend the meeting. Kindly note that it will be a holiday for students. Regards PRINCIPAL, Henry House School
School Events SMS Templates
Sample #1Dear parent, A warm welcome to our Annual Sports Day 2021 which will be held at our School premises on 06 September 2021 between 9am to 1pm. Regards PRINCIPAL, Summerlight SchoolSample #2
Dear parent, Drawing competition will be held on 06 September 2021 between 9am to 1pm. We look forward for your presence. Regards PRINCIPAL, Kyingz AcademySample #3
Dear parent, we are organizing field trip to Elmina Castle on 06 September 2021. Please read the sent manual and make necessary arrangements for the trip. Regards PRINCIPAL, Celly Queens College.
School Test/Result SMS Template
Sample #1
Dear Parent, 1st semester examinations will commence from 13th September 2021. Please get your wards ready. Regards Royal Prince School
Sample #2
Dear Parent of Racheal, 3rd term Test’s time table was sent with your ward. Regards St. Micheal School
Sample #3
Dear Parent of AMA, Kindly collect the 3rd term Test Mark Sheet from school between 9am to 10am on 06 September 2021. Regards Wallahs School
Staff Communications SMS Template
Sample #1Dear Teachers, meeting will be conducted on Annual examination. Please be present in staff room at 11AM on 06 September 2021. Regards, Headmaster New Spring SchoolSample #2
Dear Teachers, please be advised to be present on this Saturday at 11AM for important discussion on Annual School Day Function. Thanks. PRINCIPAL, Micky Mouse School
General School SMS Templates
Sample #1Parents of Nursery to class 8 are requested to come and collect the books of their ward tomorrow 3rd, April from the school between 10:am to 12 noon. Principal, Tiny Tots AcademySample #2
Dear Parent of Samir Outdoor study trip of SHS 1 has been postponed to 12 Nov from 6th due to huge rush at venue. Regards Mawuli SchoolFor further assistance, contact Support