*Hi, I’m Jerine, a busy, mostly calm and a well-behaved customer.*Today, I’m going to spill out what kind of communication makes a real difference to me and What Not.

Breaking news

Latest happenings around the world and

Weather alerts

Are the kind of SMSes I generally get from most brands that I interact with.

Do you think most of these texts have any real significance in my life? Maybe I’m going to be amongst the first few millions who get to know what’s happening in the world, but eventually, everyone gets to know.

Say there’s a rally in some city due to which the traffic would be diverted and I get an update for it – will it actually matter to me? Probably not.

What matters to me is that I get an update on the traffic situation in my city or the routes I travel to.

Then there’s breaking news – a celebrity came out about their relationship status and you get an SMS update from a webzine. Do you really think that makes any difference to me? Or if I really have time for such an interruption during my valuable work or family hours.

 

I’m sure what you sell is amazing, but what I care about more is how I’m treated.

Speed

Convenience

Friendliness, and

Resolution

Are some factors that I look for in a brand when it comes to choosing my loyalty.

I’m a full-time working, busy mom (Oh, good if you can feel me). I multitask often, I often have to do all my tasks myself. So, when my grocery is getting delayed, it’s a bit more of a hassle to take out time from my routine, dig a contact center’s number, call customer support, stand in the queue, and then after 30 exasperating minutes of listening to wait music, be informed that my query is being taken a note of and it will be resolved with no estimated TAT.

Oh, and the average email response time is 6-hours.

Can I not just send a text, do my stuff and in whatever time earliest, get a text back with the resolution.

Or how about a short simple SMS informing me about the delay, and the expected delivery time. Having me do nothing.

I’m delighted!

The easiest and most convenient way of approaching me is by SMS. I read almost every SMS within 3 minutes. But wait, you need my permission (that comes by default if I’m a subscriber of your product/service), and no promotional bugs, please.

I also understand these incoming updates are an effort towards effective customer communication and knowing my views you might want to think whether text messaging is the right content syndication way for your interaction with customers like me…

Let me tell you, there are many ways an SMS adds value to my life – more in personalized customer service and less in marketing messages.

 

This is how..

My teenager is undergoing dental treatment and needs a visit to the dentist every 25-40 days depending on the previous appointment. You know how tough it gets being a full-time homemaker, a part-time worker and then there are those me times – yeah it gets busy so keeping a tab on yet another appointment is an added task.

 

Thankfully, I receive regular text messages from the dentist’s office two days prior to the appointment reminding me of the appointment and also giving me time to schedule.

Hello Jerine,

Your next appointment is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov 7 at 1.30 PM. Reply ‘Y’ to confirm or ‘N’ to reschedule. Tip – Better teeth, better health.

‘Y’

Jerine your appointment for Nov 7 @ 1.30 PM is confirmed. See you!

 

They give an option to confirm or reschedule the appointment right there and end it with a cute little tip that brings a smile on my face. That’s the kind of SMS that really works for me.

 

Here’s another one that worked for me –

I had to attend a meeting in Mumbai the next day after the elections in my city. Thanks to an SMS alert from a travel app I registered with, to know that the fare is going to skyrocket and I planned my tickets accordingly.

It was the timely notification alert that led me on a different travel route and I could make it to the meeting otherwise I would have shelled a big amount of money. Not only did the SMS saved my resources, but it also informed me on-time so I planned accordingly and attended the meeting in full spirits.

The SMS communications worked amazingly well because they were:

Personalised

Relevant

Timely

Easy to reply

Adding to my experience

 

These real-life examples show how an SMS adds positivity to a customers experience. As a concerned brand, all you need to work on is that the message you send has to be more on the relevant side and less on the marketing side and half your battles are won.

I’m sure you’ve also had some good customer service experiences; I’d like to know how an SMS added positivity to your experience. Do share.

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