As businesses continue to become more customer-centric, it is important that we keep up with the way people are communicating and where they communicate. Text messages have increasingly become a popular way of communicating, so why don’t businesses utilise them? Usually, because it is another manual task they would have to complete. At Acumen Computer Systems, one of our new features in our POS systems is our SMS integration, which can help you reach your customers without the added hassle.
What is an SMS Integration?
An SMS integration is an automated, templated messaging system you can customise and segment to send messages to your customers. Our integration is run through our reports system so it is accessible and easy to use. Simply enter your customised message into the text box or utilise our report designer to build predefined templates to use when these messages need to be sent. The messages are fully customisable to your needs and your customers buying behaviours. These text messages can also send updates, account notifications and time-sensitive information to you and your customers.
The overall goal of implementing an SMS integration with your POS system is to personalise each transaction or interaction with your customers.
Why do you need an SMS Integration?
SMS integrations have many uses to a business. Not only do they remove human error and increase efficiency by being automated but they can boost your business exponentially. Here are a few things to consider.
Segmented, Targeted and Precise
With an SMS integration, you can utilise your contact list and send out information in bulk that will be relevant to your customer’s needs. With an Acumen POS System, you can group your customers by their buying behaviours, demographics, industries or you can customise the groups to be relevant to your business. An SMS integration allows you to send targeted information to your groups and because it is a fully customisable integration you can choose when they are sent, what the message is, and the call to action all in one system.
Multichannel Experience
Particularly within this pandemic, it is likely that your customers do not just communicate with you through one channel. They like your social media posts, they call you to troubleshoot, and they may purchase from your online shop. All are ways of communicating and an SMS integration brings new channels that customers can engage with your business. It initiates actions quicker, such as paying invoices and provides your customers with another communication channel where they are able to connect with you. Optimised one to one engagements are one of the best ways to increase customer engagement and satisfaction.
Greater Visibility
An SMS integration not only sets you up for customer communication but can mean you have greater visibility to your customers and they remember you more easily. Most people spend about 2 hours on their phone every day socialising. So by sending them an SMS reminder about an invoice, or sending them a code to your latest sale, they are more likely to take action then if you were to send them an email. With greater visibility, you are more likely to see repeat customers that are engaged and tuned into your brand.
Further Data on Your Customers
An SMS Integration can help drive traffic to your business, and tell you more about how your customers interact with your website. With an SMS integration, you can add tracking links to evaluate what actions are taken and what messages are most effective via SMS. It may even give you more insight into when they will need reminding about certain actions they need to take like paying an instalment. With this new data, you are able to streamline your communication with your customers to be more valuable, personal and effective for your business.
Acumen SMS Integrations
While this is a new feature to Acumen’s POS System, our clients have been taking full advantage of it. Some of our clients have used SMS Integrations to help further their business and customer engagement by:
- Sending confirmation messages
- Sending personalised marketing messages
- Building and managing customer relationships
- Providing updates and notices to relevant groups
But there are many more ways you can utilise an SMS integration such as building loyalty groups with special discounts and providing receipts via SMS.
Currently, Acumen have three available providers for our SMS integration that run through our report system;
- SMSBroadcast
- Direct SMS
- WelCorp
Choose Acumen
Acumen POS systems are customisable to your needs and we provide ongoing support to make sure the POS system drives your success. Our POS Systems go beyond the point of sales and include stock management, inventory and reports. At Acumen, we are committed to making sure you have a product that can handle all of your business needs but is still easy to work with. SMS integration is just one feature of our system. If you need to update your business system or include a new POS System to your business, consider Acumen Computer Systems and get in touch with us about how we can help you.
