Updated 18/11/2020
SMS or text messaging is a communication method that has some great potential benefits for business use. Although it has been around a long time, (the first message was sent in 1992, saying “Merry Christmas”), and many other, more advanced, communication methods exist, it is still a powerful tool that has some major advantages over newer options.
SMS Messaging Is Easy To Use
SMS messaging doesn’t require a large investment in technology, it only requires a mobile phone to access. In the UK, 94% of people own a mobile phone. This proportion drops to 76% when you consider smartphone ownership instead. So, SMS is accessible to a larger cross-section of people.
SMS is a built-in function of even the most basic of mobile phones. It doesn’t require any apps or even an internet connection. All of this makes it easy to use even for the least tech-savvy user and so messages will get through to the intended recipient without
Bulk SMS messages are often used in mass-marketing and brand relations with existing customers, but they are also increasingly sent by businesses to communicate with staff on the move.
Text messages have advantages over email and internal messaging: They are able to be sent directly to a user without any need for them to log into an email or messaging service, and there is less need to rely on 3G or wifi coverage. Pair this with the cost of sending SMS dropping dramatically in recent years, and it starts to look like good business sense.
Text messages can be sent to large numbers of staff to alert them to important company news or changes in practice. But targeted messages to a specific staff member can be triggered by pre-determined criteria to increase productivity. For example, a courier in a specified postcode could be alerted to jobs in their vicinity and accept or decline by replying to an automated text. This text would be used by the system to monitor which jobs needed to be filled.
Automating SMS is an excellent way to assist in the meeting of Service Level Agreement obligations. SMS messages can be triggered by SLA criteria, but can also be used themselves to trigger changes in case statuses. For example, a text indicating a completed job would move a case on to it’s next phase following SLA requirements.
The simplicity and ubiquity of text messages means that even the least tech-savvy employee can be linked to your IT systems with minimal training and without the need for them to download any software or even connect to a cloud-based service.
SwiftCase utilises automated SMS to communicate with staff and trigger system events. Get in touch to automate and optimise your case management, whatever your business needs.