Money talks, but unfortunately, it doesn't always text. While financial institutions still rely on trusted forms of print communication, 91% of clients have expressed their desire to receive SMS messages from businesses.
Clearly, there's value in the convenience and time savings associated with automated SMS, whether it's a Transactional SMS Update or a Payment Reminder. Let's walk through some examples and best practices to see how text messaging can benefit your financial services organization.
The Benefits and Use Cases of Text Messaging for Financial Institutions
In financial services, bulk SMS can serve as more than just a marketing tool. While that's one use case, real-time updates on transactions, account balances or even credit card fraud can deliver tangible value. By investing in a reliable message delivery platform, financial institutions can not only position themselves as a trusted business partner but also productize some of those services, creating incentives as part of their customer support offerings.
Here are some of the benefits for finance professionals and their customers:
- Improved Customer Experience: SMS marketing allows financial organizations to directly engage with their customers in a more personalized and immediate manner compared to traditional communication channels like email or direct mail.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Due to its higher engagement rates and lean technical requirements, text marketing is generally more cost-effective than other advertising channels. Institutions can reach a large number of customers with minimal investment, making it an efficient way to disseminate information about new products, services or promotions.
- Increased Security: SMS Authentication Pins can be used as part of multi-factor authentication processes, enhancing security for online transactions and account access. Sending Security Alerts or an OTP SMS adds an extra layer of protection against fraud and unauthorized access, while it validates a client's mobile number.
- Efficient Customer Service: Texting allows for quick resolution of customer inquiries or issues. Clients can easily text their questions or concerns, and institutions can respond promptly, improving overall customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Timely Payment Reminders: An SMS service can be used to send Timely Payment Reminders to customers, reducing the likelihood of missing payments and late fees. This investment in caring client communication helps customers stay on top of their financial obligations while also improving cash flow for the institution.
- Enhanced Compliance: Financial service providers can use mass texting to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements by sending important updates or reminders about recent terms and conditions directly to customers' mobile devices. This helps institutions maintain transparency and uphold regulatory standards.
- Improve Account Management: SMS Alerts can assist customers in monitoring their account activity. It is most effective when customers can set their own parameters such as, "Text me when my balance goes below 2,000 dollars." Another valued Alert is when abnormal account activity is detected and the customer is sent a Text Alert on it.
By sending SMS about helpful tips and resources from a registered number, institutions can support clients with their financial goals or remind them of a late payment that other banks would simply charge for. With more companies turning to artificial intelligence for automated marketing, those who offer personalized and compassionate communication will stand out as trustworthy and high-quality.
Make SMS Part of Your Strategy: A Guide for Finance
A global bank conglomerate will require a different strategy than your local bank next door. That's why the first step to a successful SMS strategy is to understand and assess your financial institution's technical and compliance requirements.
If you've used Transactional SMS services or SMS marketing, analyze what types of messages have been most relevant to your audience, be it Transaction Alerts or Promotional Updates. If you haven't used text messages, try to gather information from your client base and employees to understand what would suit your current situation and resources. It is an excellent strategy to start with Transactional SMS services first. Doing so increases a customer's confidence, because it focuses on security, alerts and calendaring services.
Customers who engage with your Transactional SMS services will be the most willing to migrate to your SMS marketing services.
Use information to ascertain the volume and frequency of messages that are suited. Integrate your SMS marketing with your traditional advertising channels and their campaigns. This will reinforce brand and service recognition of your business and institution.
Once armed with a comprehensive understanding of the security measures and compliance requirements your organization must meet, you can turn your attention to choosing an SMS platform like SwiftSMSGateway. Ideally, your platform should be compliant with relevant data residency and privacy laws like HIPPA in the US and PIPEDA in Canada, TCPA and others while being able to handle the volume and type of SMS services you require.
Depending on your technical setup, you may even need an SMS solution with API capabilities. These allow you to integrate the text messaging platform with your current financial management or customer relationship management systems. Keep in mind that you might also have to invest in additional security measures and employee training to maintain optimal standards.
Book a Demo Now
Text Message Updates can be an incredibly powerful tool to foster a trusting relationship with financial clients and create more attractive financial services and customer support options.
If you're curious about the details and would like to see the workflow in action, book a demo with our expert team now!
