It’s ironic how smartphones are used for almost everything but making phone calls these days. One example:  9 out of 10 people prefer SMS texting to the phone, according to an SMS Comparison study. Yet so few banks today leverage SMS options effectively for customer service. 

SMS offers a huge opportunity to engage with customers and deliver mobile experiences as part of an overall Digital Customer Service approach to improve customer satisfaction, build loyalty and drive more business. But it’s not simply a matter of bolting just any SMS solution to your customer engagement platform to fire off messages. SMS can be much more than sending out new credit card promotions and low balance alerts. Banks should optimize SMS as part of their overall digital engagement strategy, ideally keeping customers on screen without breaking the digital connection. 

Make SMS a Two-Way Street

While customers strongly prefer SMS messaging to phone calls and email, they all but demand the ability to answer back via text. Based on CTIA research, 75% of customers are frustrated when they are unable to reply to an SMS text and take action. Forcing mobile customers to call into your bank when they get an SMS alert defeats the purpose of providing a convenient, popular engagement channel. Just think of the panic customers experience when they receive an unusual activity alert and how frustrating it is when they can’t respond to that text message. 

Look for solutions that enable two-way SMS conversations, allowing customers to respond to an alert, for example, and reach live support. Whether they are initiating an inbound text or responding to an outbound message, customers should be able to connect to a live representative or chatbot right from the SMS message, without breaking the onscreen connection.

Integrate SMS as Part of the Seamless Mobile Experience

Ideally, your bank should integrate SMS messaging as part of a seamless Digital Customer Service platform. The ability to effortlessly upgrade to richer communications channels, including live chat, voice and video, helps keep customers fully engaged within your digital domain. Maintaining that digital connection across all channels, with collaboration features such as CoBrowing can lower abandonment, accelerate engagements and boost conversion rates. 

Empower Your Service Team

SMS capabilities not only enhance the customer experience, but can greatly improve the employee experience. Especially if the SMS solution is fully integrated as part of your Digital Customer Service platform. A single integrated platform allows the service team to manage all engagements across all channels, from one seamless customer engagement system, simplifying training and staffing. No need for dedicated teams for each engagement channel and no more reliance on predicted channel demand. 

Ensure Customer Security

SMS is a universal mechanism to start engagements with your mobile customers. SMS messages are not encrypted, however, and can pass through many networks between you and your customers. If the engagement includes texting information such as bank account numbers, or documents containing sensitive data such as social security numbers, you’ll want to move the conversation to a more secure communications channel. Seek a customer engagement solution with secure chat, where live chat sessions are encrypted end-to-end, and allows secure document exchange. For added security, users can be asked to log into your mobile app or web portal to confirm their identity before continuing the conversation, whether it be messaging, live chat, voice, or even video.

Better Service, Lower Costs

SMS can dramatically lower costs while boosting the customer experience. Consider leveraging SMS for call deflection from the IVR as phone queues fill by offering a live chat option. Customers who opt for chat service would get a text that allows them to effortlessly connect with a live chat representative. Chat is often more economical than phone support, as representatives can handle higher volumes and even serve several customers simultaneously. 

Additional efficiencies from unified reporting, analysis and administration add further cost savings, managing all customer engagements as part of a single data stream. 

A secure, two-way SMS solution, fully integrated with your seamless Digital Customer Service platform, allows your bank to engage mobile users for customer service and dispute management and also support document requests, loan applications and marketing. Extend the convenience of your overall mobile banking offering with one seamless onscreen experience, which in turn builds stronger loyalty. It’s time to rethink your SMS strategy. 

Steve Kaish is the SVP of Product Marketing and Alliances at Glia. He has over 30 years of experience in cloud software, specializing in bringing to market category-creating B2B offers.