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Over 5 billion people own phones and spend an average of 3 hours, 15 minutes on that device daily. Allowing companies to receive SMS from customers all around the world. The point of all these numbers is to show you how great of an opportunity you have here for your SaaS business.
With the invention of smartphones and new apps getting out each day, people have been getting increasingly glued to their phones. At parties, on dates, in cafes and restaurants, one of the most common activities everyone engages in is checking their phones.
SMS messages have been around for a very long time, but it is only recently that SaaS businesses have begun to realise how powerful they are as a way of receiving messages from customers.
Why should two-way communication with customers be important to your Saas business?
As a SaaS business owner, you should know that customer engagement helps customer retention significantly if you can ensure a positive customer experience.
However, most SaaS businesses interpret “communication with customers” as establishing a one-way communication to let customers know regarding updates about the brand. Businesses post on social media every once in a while and leave it at that. Many of them do not actually engage in a proper conversation.
When you establish two-way communication, it helps you relate to your customers.
Firstly, you will learn to understand your customers’ needs. People’s needs change all the time. Who better to learn about the changing needs from than your customers themselves?
Knowing what customers expect from you is crucial. It allows you to target their needs and meet their expectations.
You will also be able to identify their concerns and address their problems. This can also help you with product development, as you can hear about what’s missing or needed – directly from your customers.
SaaS businesses typically don’t get to meet their customers face-to-face. You do not get to see how they react while using your service. Hearing through SMS from your customers will greatly help you see things from their perspective. This will further help you cater to their needs.
Even when you have to encounter an angry customer with harsh criticism, you can still benefit from the conversation. How so? You can identify the issues that may pile up and lead a customer to switch from your business to your competitors. This will help you work on those problems and improve overall customer experience.
Moreover, communication with customers can greatly help build customer loyalty. If a customer has a positive experience while chatting with your SaaS business and feels genuinely valued, he or she is likely to keep coming back to your service and potentially recommend your service to other business partners.
Besides, two-way communication gives you plenty of opportunities to upsell or cross-sell to your customers. If the customer is already engaged in a conversation with you, he or she is more likely to trust your recommendations. Thus, if you ask your customers to invest in some other software services, or to upgrade their current SaaS plan to a bigger one, you can at least expect them to seriously consider your suggestions.
Lastly, having two-way communication with customers is a great way to get more word-of-mouth. If you want some numbers, 72 percent of customers who have had a positive experience will tell at least 6 people about it. That means more sales coming your way!
Why is receiving feedback from my Clients through SMS important?
Feedback refers to customers’ perception of your service. Like we said earlier, no one knows what your customers think of your SaaS business better than the customers themselves.
Moreover, as we mentioned previously, SaaS businesses do not get the chance to observe what problems customers face as they happen in real-time. Getting feedback from them is the only way to bridge the value gap – that is, provide them value according to their expectations.
But can’t I just read reviews and leave it at that?
Well, not really. While you can extract some opinions and pain points from reviews, you will not get a holistic picture for your SaaS business. Not everyone takes the time out to write a review, especially if they have received good service. They’ll just put a 5-star rating for your software and move on. While such ratings are great, they don’t tell you details about customer expectations and issues.
Reviews and feedback serve slightly different purposes for SaaS businesses. Positive reviews are meant to serve as social proof for your business. Feedback tells you what your customers like, what they don’t, and how you can improve your service.
Customer feedback through SMS
SMS surveys have made effective customer feedback channels much easier than in the past.
Given that text messages are read almost right away, it is important to get the timing right. You can automate texts to be sent right after someone has taken a service from you, downloaded an app from your site, or used the said app a certain number of times.
But why use SMS?
For SaaS businesses, engagement and communication are more important than you think. And to make the most of your interaction SMS from customers, you’re less likely to find a better option than SMS.
Emails can sit collecting dust in their inbox for days, or even go directly to the spam folder where they are never opened. But texts aren’t like that. People usually read SMS messages right after receiving them.
And we’re not even just doing guesswork here. SMS marketing has a read rate of 95 percent and a conversion rate of 45 percent. Who would’ve thought, right?
Moreover, SMS is a channel that can be tracked. You can track who opened your messages, see if the recipients clicked on the links, and even find out how many people ignored the texts.
You can easily receive feedback by asking the right questions and asking the recipients to reply with a yes, or by including a link to start a short survey for a chance to win an enticing prize.
Also, automating your SMS to customers will receive texts instantly. If they reply using the code letter or word provided in the text, they will get instant follow-ups, too.
Lastly, texts are cost-effective. Especially if you buy them in bulk, you’ll notice that the cost incurred per message is relatively affordable. Sending SMS is the most cost-effective way of adding a personal touch to your communication SMS from customers.
If you want to enjoy these benefits yourself, it would be a good choice to invest in Octopush’s SMS Pro service. In addition to all the benefits listed here, you can also send messages that are longer than 160 characters. This is a feature you can never get by texting through personal mobile numbers.
You can also integrate Octopush’s SMS API and manage inbound SMS messages from your contacts from your mobile software or app.
Does SMS marketing actually work?
Yes. But don’t just take our word for it.
Consider the case of Netflix, a popular subscription-based SaaS company that we all know and love. Devika Chawla, a Director of Messaging Engineering at Netflix, thinks that mobile messaging is a way to keep customers happy. Devika’s team knew the importance of diversifying communication channels. Not everyone checks their emails every day, and so it is pointless to continuously use that as the only medium of communicating with subscribers.
At first, Netflix used SMS messages to resolve the problem most customers face – resetting passwords. They offered SMS verification to solve password issues. The customers can now log in with the help of automated texts sent from Netflix.
Netflix also said that they derived useful insights from their callback API.
Whenever there are issues with SMS to customers, they can place a voice call. In situations like this, a virtual number can greatly help you since customers across different countries can directly give you a call.
And if you want to integrate such features yourself, you can rent a virtual number from Octopush yourself. Or if sending bulk messages with a personal touch is more to your tune, Octopush’s SMS Pro service is the way to go.
In a nutshell, how can SMS messages help your SaaS business?
The usages and marketing campaigns will vary from industry to industry, but here are some common uses of SMS messages by SaaS businesses around the globe.
- Automate SMS messages to be sent immediately for events such as password resets, new member signups, or payment failures.
- Enhance the security of your software by adding two-factor authentication codes, which will be sent through SMS messages.
For promotional campaigns such as free trials, coupons, or discount codes, SMS messages are a lifesaver. You can send SMS to customers as you want. Buying bulk message packages can really help out here.
Other ways to communicate with customers?
We sense a question coming. As a SaaS business owner, you’d think that you can send messages through other modes, too, so why not use those?
And we’re here to tell you that you should. More specifically, we’ll now disclose the benefits of using virtual numbers and WhatsApp Business.
What benefits can you get from using virtual numbers?
Virtual numbers offer a cost-effective way to manage communication. By using Octopush’s virtual mobile number service, you can get local numbers in over 40 countries managed remotely. Using a local number signals a local business presence for receiving SMS from customers, and thus, they may feel more comfortable using your services.
Besides, having a unique number for your business helps you appear more professional to potential customers. Using different personal numbers often seems shady to people.
Since virtual numbers can be set up anywhere, they allow you the flexibility of choosing employees to answer them. The employees don’t have to be in a certain call centre or geographical area. You can choose whoever you deem best, irrespective of their location.
Moreover, using virtual numbers is very secure. Organisations can track who has been called or texted, and at what costs. Also, you never have to miss a call again. A virtual number allows you to connect to a call through different devices. So, you’ll never lose a customer just because he got tired of calling you and not getting through.
What advantages can you get by using WhatsApp Business?
WhatsApp Business is an instant messaging app and can bring great value to your SaaS business. It is a platform that enriches messaging your customers by adding the options of sending images, audio, and video. So, how can this add value to SaaS businesses?
You can automate the conversation for some scenarios and add an automated greeting message that welcomes anyone who sends you a message.
Conversations initiated by SMS from customers are also free.
Moreover, you never have to worry about privacy. Conversations on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted.
You can also create a business profile on WhatsApp. Add useful information like your website URL, email address, descriptions of the different plans and services you offer, and more.
Whatsapp Business can also help you stay organised by categorising your contacts using labels. For example, you can add the labels “new customer”, “payment due”, or “paid” to your customers’ numbers, saving yourself a lot of time and cost with this enhanced medium of communication. Visit Octopush to learn more.
What do you need to do to be able to receive messages from your clients?
Whatever SMS communication your SaaS business needs, there is one simple solution: Octopush. All you need to do is follow 4 easy steps:
1) Visit Octopush and create an account for free.
You can choose the language you are most comfortable with on the website.
Don’t worry. You have just created an account; you haven’t made any commitments yet.
2) Import your SMS contact list
Fear not, for it only takes 2 clicks!
3) Build your SMS campaign
Now is the time for action. Create the message you want to relay to your customers about your SaaS business. You can set up options for sender personalisation, personalisation merge tags, scheduling messages, campaign templates, and acknowledgements of receipt.
What’s more, is that you get free messages to test it out before sending! This means that you can literally try out the entire sending process of SMS campaigns for absolutely free before you recharge your account with credit to actually start sending.
And don’t worry about the prices at all. We offer the best rates. The prices differ depending on the country and the number of messages you will buy. So, however many messages you send, you’ll be paying the lowest possible price for that with Octopush.
Finally, hit send.
4) Monitor your SMS campaign’s statistics
You can check the numbers to find out how successful your campaign has been. You can view your campaign’s history and see reports on the delivery of your messages.
And this isn’t even all. Octopush has a wide range of mobile marketing services for your SaaS business that you can view here.
Some good news
Octopush offers a free trial on all its services. So, if you’re unsure about which service to go with, no worries! You can try them out for free and see if the shoe fits.
We understand how important communication SMS with customers is for your SaaS business. Receiving messages from customers, getting customer feedback, using virtual numbers or Whatsapp for business – all of these can make or break customer perception about your service. And there’s no one better to trust with this crucial task than Octopush’s team of professionals.
So, what are you waiting for? Get started today with Octopush!
