In our 2023 Benchmark Report, Listrak clients triggering Transactional SMS saw – 

• 14% average click-through rate 
• 8% average conversion rate
• $0.99 revenue per text send

If you aren’t sending Transactional SMS today, now’s the time to implement campaigns! Let’s break it down and share a few best-in-class Listrak client examples for inspiration.

Why Should I Use Transactional SMS Within My Mobile Program?

Marketing broadcasts are the lifeblood of your SMS program, providing frequent touchpoints for customers and prospects alike to return to your site and reactivate. But we know that as soon as a contact browses, abandons, or purchases, they become even more valuable. So, targeting Transactional updates upon purchase is the perfect opportunity to engage. The likelihood of purchasing again is highest within the first 24 hours after placing an order. Transactional texts can kick off that retention stage of the customer journey!

Additionally, order updates sent via SMS are no longer a "nice to have" but rather more of an ecommerce expectation – 75% of all US retail consumers signed up for at least one Text Message Marketing program to receive order notifications in 2021. Think about it: How often do you click through order updates via text vs. email on your mobile device? Both are important and have their benefits, but providing order updates to your customers via SMS is efficient, easy, and makes for a great overall experience.

How Can I Use Transactional SMS Alongside My Transactional Emails?

Transactional emails are perfect for sending full order details, including SKUs purchased, billing details, and more, as the message has more space. They also boast some of the highest engagement rates within their respective channel and provide an avenue for dynamic Product Recommendations to encourage further that next purchase mentioned earlier. Transactional SMS supports by satisfying customer expectations of quick, short updates and reinforcing messaging if an email isn’t opened right away. You can even reference your Transactional emails within text messages, noting that full order details can be found there, and encourage engagement with both channels.

How Do I Get Started with Transactional SMS?

Maintaining compliance withing Text Message Marketing is critical, and it starts at time of acquisition. With Transactional SMS, consent to subscribe must be explicit – You cannot scrape for phone numbers, automatically subscribe customers, or buy phone numbers to add to your mobile program. Calls To Action must outline what the program is, what the terms are, how to get help and unsubscribe, and in general, make it clear that you’re consenting to receive text messages.

The best place to collect that consent for Transactional messaging is during the checkout process when you’re already asking for the phone number to complete an order. The opt-in disclaimer language can live directly underneath the phone number field, accompanied by an unchecked checkbox for the customer to use to provide consent. Then once they type in their phone number, check the box, and submit their order, a welcome text is sent to confirm their opt-in and deliver the additional messaging required by compliance rules.

Once you’ve gotten that explicit consent to opt-in, you can leverage Listrak’s SMS REST API to trigger your order updates and notifications. These can be as simple as Order Confirmations and Shipping Confirmations, but also order stages unique to your business – This could include personalization status, proof ready to view, order delayed, and return status. The most basic messages are still compelling to your contacts and help alleviate customer service issues or decrease calls to your support team.

What Should I Put in My Transactional SMS Messages?

When sending order updates via text message, less is more. Standard text messages allow for 160 unique characters, so it’s best to share a brief order update in one sentence and a clickable link for order management/tracking. Remember that your program name must also be in each message per compliance rules!

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Get Started Today! 

When you send Transactional updates via SMS to your customers, you can expect more channel engagement and overall customer satisfaction. Plus, they're easy to set up and one of the most efficient ways to send those critical and highly valued campaigns. If you are a current Listrak client, contact your Account Manager to get started. If you aren’t a Listrak client, click here so we can quickly set you up for cross-channel orchestration.