Customer Engagement In The Philippines: Texting Capital Of The World

The Philippines has over 110 million mobile subscriptions with the ability to receive text messages. It is time for businesses to transform quickly to meet the demands of the tech-savvy generation of today. We do see an increasing number of companies in the Philippines leveraging on innovative digital tools to make meaningful customer engagement. For startups and SMEs using SMS to engage their customers in the Philippines, every morning is a “Gud AM”

Given the popularity of SMS among Filipinos, it is no doubt that SMS is the way to go for effective customer communication in the country. In a market where text messaging is part of one’s lifestyle, it can be quite a challenge to keep it fresh and engaging for your customers. Here are some tips that will help you to use SMS to engage their Filipino customers.

Enhancing customer service using SMS

SMS messages enable companies to offer personalised customer services and better customer experiences. From delivery updates to customer support, companies can leverage on SMS solutions to offer real-time notifications and services to Filipino customers.

Personalised promotional messages

Generic, lazy promotional messages often get ignored by customers due to their spammy nature. By personalising the type and content of messages sent to customers, you will not only improve your customers’ reception but in turn boost sales as well. Personalising messages means sending content which customers have shown interest in. This can be notifying them when an item in their wishlist goes on sale or their favourite store releases a new product.

Customer feedback forms

When it comes to improving your customer engagement, the first step is understanding your consumer base. Feedback forms are the perfect channel for customers to give honest feedback and opinions to the business. With feedback received, businesses can work towards providing a better experience for customers.

Notifications and reminders

The reliability of important notifications and reminders play an impactful role in customer satisfaction. This can include delivery progress updates, successful purchase notifications and payment reminders. Keeping customers regularly updated on important information provides them with a sense of control and security, which results in smoother customer experience.

Accessible customer support

SMS can also be used as a customer support tool. Traditionally, customer support is provided over a phone or video call, where customers are placed on hold and made to wait unnecessarily. By presenting customers with the option to send support tickets and interact through SMS, you help them save time by eliminating needless waiting. Another benefit of implementing SMS is that it is not bounded by time and place, allowing customers to send support tickets anytime and anywhere.

Find out more about Wavecell’s SMS API.

Leverage on chat apps in the Philippines

It is true that despite the advent of chat apps such as WhatsApp, LINE, Messenger and more, SMS still remains the most popular choice of communication in the Philippines, with more than 73 percent of people still preferring SMS.

However, times are changing. Studies suggest that 33 percent of Filipinos prefer using Messenger for engagement and communication, and these numbers are expected to increase in the coming years. The increase in customer engagement, loyalty and satisfaction when your users know that they can reach out to you via Chat Apps for instant support, will allow your business to be more credible and reliable. Therefore, adding Chat Apps in your communication strategy for 2019 may make sense to move forward into digitally transforming your business

There are numerous chat app channels out there and it would be almost impossible to reach all customers through the chat app channel they prefer. Find yourself a Chat Apps API provider that allows you to manage all of your communications across channels in one place.

One such API provider in Asia would be Wavecell, whose Chat Apps API allows you to manage your messages across different chat app channels, including WhatsApp, WeChat and FB Messenger, all through a single API. Your team can now focus on other constructive tasks like optimising campaigns, instead of worrying about which channel to communicate through.

Learn how to use WhatsApp Business API to engage your customers.

The bottom line here is that SMS API is an inevitable marketing tool for enterprises looking to expand or grow their business in the Philippines. The other equally substantial and emerging trend is the significant shift towards chat apps. SMEs and startups cannot afford to miss out on the potential market in either segment. The key to remaining relevant is rich and fresh content that has valuable information for existing as well as new customers.

SMS solutions can improve the efficiency and productivity of your business, making you a key player in this new era of technology. Learn how we can help expand your business’s growth using these technologies.

To learn more about Wavecell’s SMS solutions, drop us an email at hello@wavecell.com

Originally published at https://wavecell.com on May 16, 2019.