Two-way SMS messaging is one of the most popular marketing communication tools used in businesses to send and receive responses from customers.

Unlike traditional texting(one-way), two-way messaging uses APIs, shortcodes, long codes, and sender IDs to deliver the SMS.

Usually, shortcodes have 5-6 digits (eg: 226-44) and can be used within the country and long codes resemble the phone numbers and are used by companies with some set of rules and regulations for different countries.

As SMS messaging seems to have more open rates than any other channel, businesses are opting the two-way SMS APIs to send promotional transactional messages and also to engage with their customers by allowing them to respond back.

Learn how you can use two-way SMS for your business:

Two-way SMS are used depending on what accomplishments one wants to achieve with the help of messages.

Some use-cases of SMS messaging are:

#Appointment Reminders:

Businesses can make sure that their customer will never miss an appointment by sending them automated text message reminders. 

#Confirm messages:

Sending automated confirm messages after a sign-up, or booking an appointment, or purchasing items, or wherever required enhances customer experience and builds trust with the business.

#Promotions and Discounts:

You can let your customers know about the latest deals, discounts, and offers by sending them promotional messages and increase the foothold for your business.

#SMS contests:

SMS contests are a great way of involving people in your business. Letting them respond by texting shortcodes, or long codes will give them a chance to enter the contest.

Ex: Shortcodes (Y for Yes, N for No)

#SMS surveys:

A great way of improving your business is by knowing the feedback from customers. 

Using SMS surveys, you can conduct polls or send them a customer service survey form to know the feedback.

These are generally sent in a text message in the form of links.

#Customer support:

This can be an automated process where customers can enter a keyword to know the status of their order, account balance, or talk to an agent.

Examples include: Someone texting a keyword for a bank to know their account balance.

Benefits of using two-way SMS messaging

Two-way messaging can be used across many industries in different scenarios. It is no secret that due to its effective communication; the benefits of two-way messaging are many.

#5x Open rate:

SMS messages are the channels with a high open-rate and read rate when compared to emails or any other modes of communication.

And, around 75% of people don’t mind receiving messages from brands. This way, your message can be opened and read by many.

#Gain insights:

Two-way messaging is a great way to receive quick responses from customers. Messages make people easy to respond to and give feedback to your business.

What’s more is that when it comes to customers responding in shortcodes like Y or N, the response rate gets drastically increased.

#Easy-to-use:

Because of the user-friendly APIs, businesses are allowed to create interactive campaigns that are sent, responded, and monitored on a single platform. 

The best part of 2-way messaging is, it can be integrated with any third-party application using its APIs.

 #High ROI:

Unlike traditional channels, SMS messaging is cost-efficient. 

As you are required to send messages to your existing customers or the ones who’ve subscribed, it is more likely that people will buy your products and services helping you achieve high ROI with low investment.

#Quick and Simple:

Two-way SMS messaging is simple and immediate. Businesses can send messages to thousands of customers within minutes. The best advantage of two-way SMS is it can be automated based on the preferences of the users. Two-way messaging with some creativity has a great potential to engage your customers and deliver guaranteed results. Give it a try now!