Two-way SMS text messaging is a powerful tool for communicating with your customers. MyTime has dozens of configurable automated transactional or marketing text messages to engage customers. These messages can be transactional, pertaining to an existing appointment, booking notifications, appointment and class reminders, etc. Or marketing related, which are promotional messages meant to drive sales or bookings. Everything you need to keep you in close contact with your customers.

But with great power comes great responsibility. There are many legal requirements that businesses must follow when sending SMS text messages to customers. As a business owner, you’re responsible and liable for complying with current regulations pertaining to SMS text message communication with customers, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and the CTIA’s Short Code Monitoring Handbook and Messaging Principles and Best Practices.

The Regulatory Landscape

Before you start to utilize SMS text messaging there are some important things to understand about text messaging compliance to keep your company safe. Most important of these is consent. You need consent from your customers to use their phone number for SMS messaging. In order to remain compliant, your customers must opt-in separately for transactional and marketing related messages.

TCPA and MyTime’s Requirements

The FCC clearly states in its TCPA rules that any unsolicited marketing or transactional text message must have prior written consent from the customer.

“A written agreement between the caller and the receiver of the call that clearly authorizes the caller to deliver advertisements or telemarketing messages using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial pre-recorded voice.”

Even if you have the customer’s phone number on file, this still doesn’t mean you have permission to text them. All customers must opt in separately to both marketing or transactional messages from your business.

While MyTime’s SMS communication solution provides the functionality your business needs to remain compliant within these guidelines, your business is responsible and liable for any misuse.

Transactional vs. Marketing SMS

• Transactional Automated Messages are those that are sent automatically to clients who have the Transactional Email or Transactional SMS options checked on their client profile. Single opt-in is used for automated transactional SMS. This means that as long as the client’s profile has Transactional SMS checked, they will receive transactional messages such as appointment and class confirmations, request reviews, and so on.
• Marketing Automated Messages are those that are sent automatically to clients who have the Marketing Email or Marketing SMS options checked on their client profile. Double opt-in is used for automated marketing SMS. When the Client Marketing SMS Opt-In template is activated, when the client is created with the Marketing SMS checkbox checked on their client profile, a text message will be sent asking the client to confirm that they want to receive SMS marketing.

How Your Clients Can Opt-In to Marketing SMS Messages

There are a few things to consider to make sure your SMS marketing runs smoothly. The first is understanding your customer concerns. SMS marketing can be seen as more invasive than email, as messages arrive directly on a personal device, making customers wary of giving consent. You must make your marketing campaigns personal, targeted and impactful. Overwhelming customers with too many messages unrelated to their needs, can make your business unwelcoming and a disengaging experience.

Second is business concerns. As we wrote about earlier in this article, it is imperative to follow all legal guidelines laid out in the above TCPA and FCC links. Businesses can incur hefty fees if they do not adhere to regulations for their market

The last concern is customer pushback. Put yourself in your clients’ shoes, and really uncover how they want to be contacted regarding both subjects and frequency of contact. Businesses risk alienating customers if the opt-in request feels too aggressive or frequent, leading to a negative brand experience or loss of trust. Striking the right balance between encouragement and pressure can be difficult.

Below are a few ways to encourage customers to opt-in.

• The Booking Widget: The booking widget makes things simple for your customers. There are two ways for your customers to opt-in using MyTime’s booking widget. Your customers can opt-in via their account page or during the checkout process.
  • My Account Settings: Clients can manage their preferences via their account settings on the business website or the booking widget page. At anytime they can opt-out of receiving SMS text messages.
  • Checkout: Your business can include marketing SMS opt-in at the end of the online booking experience. Customers will be prompted to opt-in on the express checkout page when booking an appointment or making a purchase. Here the customer can opt-in for Transactional SMS, Marketing SMS, or both.
• Client profile: Franchise locations can manage the communication preferences of each customer on the customer’s Client Profile.
• Prompting via email & SMS campaigns: Businesses can prompt customers to opt into SMS marketing through campaigns available in the marketing module of their MyTime platform.

How to Use Marketing SMS Campaigns

Before you jump into SMS campaigns you must remember all customers are different, and also audiences vary across industries. You need to evaluate how to make messages personal and relevant to customers that will encourage engagement. While email has been the go-to for contacting clients, how many people do you know with hundreds or even thousands of unread emails sitting in their inbox?

Did you know 74 trillion emails are sent each year whereas 8 trillion texts are sent each year, and the open rates for emails are only 20% compared to SMS open rates at 98%. Response rates were also extremely lopsided with email response rates being 6% and SMS response rates being 45%. Additionally, it takes an average of 90 minutes for people to respond to these emails while SMS text messages have an average response time of 90 seconds with most falling somewhere around 5 seconds, according to a Gartner article.

With MyTime, SMS marketing campaigns created by your business will automatically include all clients who have a mobile phone number on file and have opted in to receive SMS marketing campaigns. If a client has not opted in or does not have a mobile phone number on file, they will not be included in the recipient list.

In a world where both email and text messages are in the palms of your customers’ hands, the true advantage comes from tailoring SMS marketing campaigns to the needs of your customers ensures they feel understood and will be more likely to take action in buying the services or products your business is promoting.

Upgrade the Experience with MyTime’s Branded Guest App

Another more economical approach to reaching your clients is the MyTime’s Branded Guest App. This app has the ability to give customers an upgraded experience that SMS text messaging just doesn’t have. This mobile app is designed to fit your unique brand and provides a new channel to reach customers through push notifications creating a seamless experience every time you want to engage your customers Designed with an intuitive interface and tailored to reflect your unique brand voice, this app empowers customers to effortlessly schedule appointments, fill out forms, process payments, and more, all from their mobile devices. Engage more deeply and frequently in an ever-growing market for more control and customization, but without the cost.

MyTime’s Branded Guest App offers numerous benefits.

• An upgraded experience: Connect with your customers where they are through a sleek, modern app that offers a seamless digital journey from initial inquiry to booking their next appointment. Custom built for your business, the MyTime Branded App ensures customers can intuitively navigate and engage with your unique offerings. With a single sign-on feature, accessing these services becomes effortless and user-friendly.
• Streamlined operations: Time spent returning phone calls or managing check-in lines means fewer resources devoted to providing your valuable services. Improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize errors by seamlessly integrating key processes such as appointment scheduling, payments, and customer management directly into your app.
• Instant reach: Having your own Branded Guest App leverages mobile connectivity, enabling you to send real-time notifications, updates, and exclusive promotions directly to your customers’ devices. This enhances visibility and integrates your brand into the daily digital lives of your customers, driving more effective engagement.
• Boost revenue with precision: Elevate your sales and cross-selling opportunities by leveraging the power of targeted promotions directly within the MyTime Branded Guest App. Our platform enables you to tailor promotions for specific customer segments, providing highly relevant deals. This strategy boosts booking frequency and average spend per visit. Thanks to seamless in-app transactions, customers can quickly go from discovering offers to completing purchases, improving both their experience and your bottom line.
• Seamless multi-location experience: Built exclusively for franchises and businesses with multiple locations, our Branded Guest App is designed to support the unique needs of your business at every location. Seamlessly adaptable, the app ensures an immediately recognizable and smooth experience for your customers in every market. With an easily accessible and up-to-date list of your locations, customers can feel confident that their needs will be met, even when they’re away from their usual location.
• Cultivate a dedicated following: You’ve worked hard to establish a business your customers trust. The Branded Guest App reflects the design and voice of your business, inviting new customers to learn about and interact with your offerings, even beyond normal business hours. Reward and encourage advocacy from your loyal customers by creating promotional opportunities, memberships, and referral programs.

Conclusion

There has never been an easier time to engage with your customers. Merchants can now directly connect with their customer through SMS text messaging or MyTime’s Branded Guest App. The MyTime SMS messaging feature requires businesses to follow the laws set forth by the FCC, ensuring they are always in compliance. This will not only keep you in good standing with the government, but also your clients. It is also very important to keep up to date with any changes to SMS messaging regulations. If opting into SMS messaging isn’t ideal for your customer, the MyTime Branded Guest App elevates the experience of SMS messaging with ten times the customization at zero cost. A benefit merchants and customers can both agree on.