25 Jul Using Surveys Via SMS To Gain Customer Feedback
SMS platforms are swiftly becoming the best way to connect with customers and ask them about their experiences with your products, services, or employees. Outdated comment cards and low-response telephone and email surveys aren’t sufficient today. You can reach a vast number of customers using SMS feedback surveys.
What Is SMS Messaging?
An SMS feedback survey goes to each customer via an SMS text message. SMS stands for short message service. If you’ve used a cell phone to send a text message in the past few decades, you have likely used SMS.
This service uses cellular networks to send and receive short text messages, so most phones are capable of using it.
Benefits of SMS Feedback Surveys
Collecting feedback from clients using SMS is becoming more common. This method is convenient and practical for almost any business in any industry. Let’s look at some benefits of using SMS feedback surveys to gain insight from your customers.
Convenient for You and Your Client
SMS allows you to reach a large number of customers quickly. If you decide to use a gateway service to manage your contact lists, customers become even more accessible.
Text message surveys are also convenient for your client. Customers don’t need anything except their cell phones to participate, so they are more likely to take the time to provide you with feedback.
High Open Rates and Fast Response Times
With email open rates declining, businesses need to find new ways to reach out to clients. Using SMS feedback surveys offers you a better open rate and response rate.
How often do you find yourself without your cell phone? Probably not very often, and the same is true for your customers. Most people are aware of a text message as soon as it comes in and will open that message within 15 minutes on average.
Affordable Survey Method
SMS feedback surveys offer an affordable way to gain client data. For example, at touchSMS, we only charge five cents per text message with no hidden fees or setup charges, so you only pay for what you need.
Types of SMS Feedback Surveys
You can use several types of surveys for your SMS survey campaigns. Which survey method is ideal for you depends on what information you’re looking for and how detailed you want the feedback. Here are some common types of customer surveys:
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- Online Survey Links: If you’re using a website to host your feedback survey, your SMS message will invite the customer to participate and provide a link to the survey.
- Sliding Scale (NPS): Net promoter score surveys ask participants to rate a service, product, experience, employee, or brand on a sliding scale (often from zero to ten) based on how likely they are to recommend a product or business, how happy they are with the service, and similar questions.
- Text-to-vote: This single-answer survey type allows customers to contribute their opinions when you make brand decisions. This might be as simple as voting for the next T-shirt design but can also affect significant positive change within a business.
- Detailed Feedback: Some customer surveys ask questions and provide space for short answers. This option is ideal if you’re looking for more detailed feedback.
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Effective SMS Customer Feedback Survey Strategies
Not all SMS customer feedback campaigns are effective. For instance, surveys may be too long, and laws govern your customer communications. Keep the following in mind for an effective SMS feedback survey campaign:
Remain Compliant With Spam Laws
You have your customer’s email address and phone number, so you can send them whatever you want, right? Actually, no. You must meet specific requirements to remain compliant with Australian law and the Spam Act 2003.
You must get permission before sending surveys and other communications, and you must make it easy for a customer to unsubscribe. Visit the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)’s website to learn more. They have excellent resources to help you stay compliant.
Keep the Survey Short
Many customers will gladly open a survey but may change their minds if it involves a time commitment. Your customers are much more likely to complete the entire survey if it takes no more than two minutes to complete.
Give Customers a Reason to Participate
Incentives are a great way to encourage your clients to participate in SMS feedback surveys. Offer them a discount code, or enter them into a prize draw upon completion of the survey.
Quickly Respond to Surveys
You can encourage customer loyalty by responding to surveys with fast, relevant responses. Automated responses will do for many customers, but sometimes you’ll want to ask follow-up questions.
For example, if a customer brings up a specific concern, thank them and assure them that you will be investigating and working to resolve the issue. You may even ask them further questions to better understand the problem.
Start Taking Advantage of SMS Feedback Surveys
An SMS feedback survey campaign can offer your business valuable data and insight. If you need a messaging service to get started, we hope you’ll consider touchSMS. We are an online SMS platform offering prepaid service for all your SMS needs.
When you register, you’ll get immediate access to more than a dozen features, from contact management to API and direct integrations to spam compliance assistance, to name a few. Register today for ten free SMS credits.
