SMS messaging being on the rise, regulations have tightened. Sending a text is now subject to strict rules to protect recipients. In this context, notifications are a strategic channel for informing customers. This service is widely used by developers and marketing professionals because it is extremely easy to implement. Push notifications are becoming a part of users' daily lives and offer endless possibilities for creating more targeted sends, reaching users on their mobile numbers at the right time with the right content to drive even greater engagement.

What is an SMS Push?

It allows you to send text messages to a contact list that has opted in to receive marketing and commercial services on their mobile phone. It can be characterized in two ways:

• 1- As a text messaging tool, allowing you to carry out promotional operations to reach your contacts directly on their mobile devices. With an open rate of over 90%, using this channel ensures powerful and impactful communication. In the context of SMS marketing campaigns or targeted sends, it allows you to provide short but essential information to a customer, such as:
• Promotional offers
• Alerts
• Sales, discounts
• Contests
• Order tracking or delivery updates from the web
• Etc.
• 2- As the sending of one or more alert texts by an SMS server to a user, via a platform or mobile application, on any type of mobile device, smartphone, or tablet. The specific feature is that the customer does not need to perform any configuration to receive these notifications. The information comes directly to the user:

This type of solution generally triggers three types of events on the mobile device. Notifications are integrated during the development of certain mobile applications and are triggered automatically. To stop receiving them, the user can disable them in the application settings.

The benefits of SMS push

There are many ways to use this solution. Their primary goal is to engage contacts using data that addresses an unexpressed need or for advertising purposes.

• Delivery is free. The costs are incurred upfront during the development of the application or server.
• Unlike standard text messages, this does not require prior user authorization or their phone number. Downloading the application constitutes consent to receive these types of messages.
• Unlike text messages, there is no character limit and the format is flexible.
• Notifications can appear in two ways: as a pop-up window that the user can either close or open to discover more content.
• It provides app users with useful, contextualized news in real time. These are designed to trigger impulse purchases or maintain contact with the user through a campaign of helpful information sent at the right moment.
• It proves to be less intrusive than text messaging. Messages are not sent to a phone number, do not require interrupting the recipient's activities, and incur no additional costs.

Many companies use traditional digital marketing channels such as SEO, social media management, PPC (Pay-per-Click), or even radio and television. As consumer habits become increasingly mobile, SMS notifications allow them to automate a bulk SMS campaign at a lower cost. This service is a highly effective tool for sending calls to action and engaging customers.

The different formats

• Standard notification: completely independent of the application, it appears at any time on the mobile screen.
• In-App message: it only appears when the user has opened the application. Its goal is to create interaction between the application and the user.
• Rich notification: this type of message uses an in-app messaging inbox. These are HTML pages that can support video content, animations, and more.
• Interactive widgets: these display information updates on the screen and provide real-time updates on the user's favorite topics and applications.

How to use SMS notifications?

Various situations allow you to send notifications that will help build customer loyalty. For example, a retailer can send SMS messages to users who are nearby from their store and offer them discounts or special deals. For e-commerce stores, it can be used as an alternative to email in the event of cart abandonment. It requires an internet connection, unlike a standard text message, which can be received and read at any time. Furthermore, to maintain a sense of exclusivity, SMS notifications should be sent sparingly. It is therefore essential to strike the right balance so that SMS notifications are perceived as genuine services that users truly value.

The various features offered by SMS push

• Segmentation and targeting for SMS campaigns.
• Wide selection of formats to tailor notifications to your marketing goals.
• Dynamic segmentation and personalization.
• Implementation of automated follow-up programs based on the behavior of your customers and prospects (welcome messages, re-engagement of inactive users, follow-ups for those who opened emails, etc.).
• Statistical reports to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.

The goal of SMS notifications is to send targeted text messages to users at the optimal time to increase satisfaction and foster loyalty and engagement. With SMS push, run your text-based advertising campaigns by reaching your target audience directly on their mobile devices.