A Short Message Service (SMS) contact center is a support hub that offers SMS services as its main method of interaction. Customers might prefer SMS support from your contact center because SMS messages typically result in faster resolutions. SMS messages are generally opened quicker than email messages, resulting in a shorter response time for SMS messages (time taken by customers to respond).  You can use SMS for payment reminders, callback requests, and promotion alerts.

An SMS contact center can help you serve your customers more efficiently, creating a more productive environment for your agents. You can also reach your customers faster and cheaper with SMS support and thus increase your customer engagement rates. 

SmartReach provides SMS to enable you and your agents to contact and interact with your customers using SMS messages. 

  • For information about the roles and permissions associated with SMS, see the  User Roles and Permissions  section in the  Product Documentation Library.
  • For information about building and deploying a virtual agent (bot) to deliver personalized conversations through SMS for your customers, see  LiveVox Bot.

Example

You can provide your customers with a phone number and a messaging prompt using an SMS system. When a customer needs help, they submit a request using an SMS message.

Suppose that an SMS message for customer inquiries is as follows: Text HELP to 123456 to submit a service inquiry.  When a customer sends HELP to 123456, the SMS system automatically creates a service ticket, after which the customer receives the following automated reply: Thanks for your inquiry! Your request number is 59104H. We’ll update you soon. For status updates or to ask a question, simply reply to this message.

Features

Some of the capabilities of the SmartReach SMS are:

  • Campaign management: You can create and schedule SMS campaigns and obtain key metrics. In addition, you can create personalized messages for your customers by including customer attributes in the body of the messages. You can use Human Text Initiator (HTI) service to create an SMS campaign, see Human Text Initiator for more information.
  • Two-way communication: Your agents can respond to incoming SMS messages from your customers through a unified Agent Desktop that includes a multi-channel inbox. To ensure effective service resolution, you can direct the SMS activities to specific agents. All SMS interactions are automatically linked to the customer's contact record.
  • Personalized experience: SMS messages generate meaningful conversations and create a personalized experience for your customers.
  • Account notifications: Automatic reminders by SMS can help customers stay up to date with payments, account updates, and order status.
  • Compliance: Before you can send an SMS message to a customer, you need their permission. The SmartReach Portal helps you manage consent for the SMS channel in real time.
  • Keyword auto-responses: Businesses must respond to carrier-mandated keywords such as START, STOP, and HELP from customers. SmartReach gives you the tools to configure keywords, auto-replies, and consent management for these scenarios.
  • Average handle time: SMS allows your agents to handle multiple interactions at once, resulting in faster service times for your customers.
  • Automation: You can automate your SMS communication by creating your own chat bots. Using a chat bot, the platform can automatically respond to customer inquiries over SMS..
  • Supports international numbers: You can send and receive SMS messages to and from international phone numbers. 

Benefits

You can use the SmartReach SMS to:

  • Save your customers and agents time:  When your customers submit a request using SMS, they are not waiting on a phone call from an agent. They submit a request and receive an automated confirmation text message informing them that a ticket has been created and an agent is working on it. Meanwhile, your agents receive the inquiry without having to create a ticket or immediately respond to the customer. Your customers receive assistance without waiting on a phone call and your agents can assist multiple customers at once.
  • Improve analytics with message archives:  You can archive SMS messages to review at a later date. These archived messages allow you to analyze customer exchanges and improve your support strategy accordingly. 
  • Boost customer engagement:  SMS messaging consistently shows high read and open rates, resulting in better engagement over other types of customer support. Additionally, emails and phone calls require higher bandwidth and connection requirements while text messages do not. SMS messages deliver faster results and improved accessibility.
  • Support more customers: When a customer submits an inquiry using SMS, an automated system gathers basic information and raises a ticket. Your agents can spend their time actively assisting customers instead of processing requests. You can even set up an Artificial Intelligence virtual agent or a live chatbot to help customers with simple requests.
  • Improve communication:  When a customer submits an inquiry using SMS, your agents can understand and process the request quicker without having an introductory conversation. Customers and agents do not need to repeat themselves if the connection is poor. You can also equip agents with written templates and scripts to save them even more time.
  • Keep customers (and agents) happy:  No one likes speaking with an upset or frustrated customer. SMS messaging fosters a more positive environment for your agents by reducing potentially negative customer exchanges. 

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