As a brand, one of your continuous goals is standing out from the crowd.
SMS is cutting through the noise by creating direct communication with your audience. However, most brands use SMS just like they use email. While there's nothing wrong with that, SMS is an intimate channel that opens a whole new world of possibilities.
With today's technology, brands can now use SMS to chat with their customers just the way you'd do with a friend: through 1:1 messages.
Conversational SMS marketing is now an essential SMS feature that helps brands communicate in a more personal way.
Conversational marketing has been around for some time. Brands are now looking to create closer connections with their audience.
But how does it apply to SMS?
Unlike marketing blasts which push out promotions and discount codes with no intention of offering personalized real value, conversational SMS focuses on engaging customers, and offering support, and getting real-time feedback. It’s an empathy-driven approach, which other mediums like email or push notifications can't offer.
This has a number of benefits, like reducing the number of support tickets, increasing customer retention, and converting more abandoned carts. With almost 70% of carts ending up abandoned, many brands face issues converting them to a final sale. With tools like Cartloop, your shoppers are guided through every step of their journey.
A Shared Number is actually a pool of numbers, and an algorithm decides from which number to send your SMS. If you're using an SMS provider that uses Shared Numbers, your customers will receive text messages from the same number they might be receiving text messages from other brands as well.
A Dedicated Number is a 10-digit standard length number typically used by conversational text messaging apps, like Cartloop, to create a 2-way communications channel between the online stores and their shoppers.
It's basically a dedicated contact point which you can communicate to your customers proactively. This enables customers to reach out to you at any moment.
The only pro is it makes more $ for providers.
The cons however are various. Due to the possibility of multiple brands using the same number, there are many dangers associated with using a shared phone number:
These are the reasons why dedicated numbers build strong relationships and create the ultimate customer experience.
BionicGym is a fitness brand with high ticket products and is using conversational SMS to provide assistance and educate customers on the benefits of its products.
LEVO is using conversational text messaging to reduce the number of hesitant first-time customers that were having product-related questions.
Conversational SMS Marketing is an effective empathy channel available to brands right now. Customers demand real-time, empathic communications, and reject anything that seems impersonal. As a matter of fact, 84% of consumers consider customer service to be a key factor when deciding whether to purchase. So why don’t eCommerce brands pay more attention to their customers' experience?
Consumers' perspective has changed over the past 10 years. They want (and are actively looking) to support companies that are concerned about people just as much as they care about profits. This is why using a dedicated phone number when texting with your audience is key to building strong relationships, loyalty, and, of course, increasing revenue.
At Cartloop, our focus is building true, meaningful relationships with your shoppers. That's why all our brands have dedicated phone numbers to increase familiarity to shoppers, allow them to reply and start a 2-way conversation.
Start your 14-day unlimited trial of Cartloop today!